Help my dancing lady oncidium is not well

[Carolla]

I wish my "healthy" Oncidiums looked as good as your "sick" one! I think your choice of moving it for more light and humidity is a good one, it should do fine. I agree, just take good care of it and don't worry.

[kdennis14]

I can not help it Carole, I take after my mother.....a constant worry wart. I love all of my Orchids, and cannot stand to see something wrong. All the little dancing ladies are falling off slowly. So sad.

[78Terp]

Sounds like you need more orchids. Once you do, it is easier to let things 'go' without the obsession!

[Jx3]

Hi karen,
I grow many oncidiums and have a few rescues myself. First I want to let you know that the shriveled pseudobulbs most likely wont swell back up and are not detrimental to the plants health. As long as the new pseudobulbs stay nice and plump your doing things right. I would be weary to have any oncidium in a plastic pot btw, I always preferred clay for oncidiums, although they dont like to dry out between waterings plastic seems to extend the moisture period at the roots for a bit too long. I would recommend keeping this oncidium a little on the drier side until new growth and roots form, just dont let the existing pseudobulbs shrivel anymore then they are. Sometime when you rescue an orchid from a big boxstore there roots are soo far gone you need to wait for new growth before the plant can establish it's self well.

[cucubirds]

I agree with Jx3. Shriveled bulb will not be plump again. New bulbs will be plump if you provide correct culture.

[kdennis14]

Hey Harve,

I have about 20 Orchids now. I have a really hard time passing them by. We only have a Boxstore here, and they only have Phals., and occasional Oncidiums. If it were up to me I would have a whole lot more. I have a small screened in front porch. I moved them there 3 days ago. They really seem to love it already. The humidity is up there. In our house it is very cold and dry. I have some baby cats, and they have new roots already!!! Is this even possible?? I am happy. I will take a picture or 2 later. It is a west facing porch with NO direct sun.
I have OCD, so I do obsess. Let me know if you think my babies will be good where I put them.
Karen

---------- Post Merged at 12:56 PM ----------

Thank you Jeromy.
There is a woman with many orchid videos her name is soo neaty. She actually says if the bulbs dehydrate soak them for an hour and that will take care of it. I am so glad you told me the truth. My oncidium is in a clear plastic grow pot. I put it into that. It was in a ceramic little pot loaded with moss. I hate that. Jeromy, is there anything else I need to know about this orchid? Do you ever trim it? I want to do right by it. My OCD will not allow me to do otherwise. I appreciate your input. You and Harvey are the best. I just started with Orchids when my son gave me a Pink Phal for this past Mothers Day. I fell in love. Good thing I retired at the end of last year. I have plenty of time.
May I add you as a friend on this forum? Thank you
Karen

---------- Post Merged at 12:56 PM ----------

Thank you cucubirds.

---------- Post Merged at 12:58 PM ----------

Thank you katherine

[Jx3]

Yes karen add me, we're all friends here.
Once pseudobulbs shrivel beyond a certain point its unlikely they will plump up again regardless of soaking or not, sometimes they will comeback a bit but never to full form. As far as plastic vs clay ive just found that with my growing conditions I prefer clay for my oncidiums, yours may do well in plastic. Oncidiums never like to dry completely like catts, I use a very open mix consisting of med bark, perlite and charcoal and I water fairly often. My thin leaved oncidiums like sharry baby, twinkle and cheirophorum get watered more often then my thick leaved oncidiums like ampliatum. My best advice to all orchid growers is to use a mix that allows tons of air and dries quickly, ive noticed that frequent watering and drying pays off ten fold compared to a mix that needs watering once a week. Most oncidiums are known for dry or spoted leaf tips, ive eliminated this almost completly by keeping humidity high in my grow area. Ive noticed over the years when the humidity drops for an extended period of time my leaf tips start turning.

By the way your screened porch sounds like the perfect orchid home

[kdennis14]

I really appreciate all of your reply's.

Thanks a million.
Karen