Sharry Baby misbehaving
I have a question regarding the oncidium family of orchids; in particular Sharry Baby. Got her in spike years ago and she hasn't bloomed since. My home does not provide adequate light, so I recently placed her and a bunch of other orchids under an artificial grow light. The phaels are doing great, my maxillaria and dendrobiums are growing well and even the poinsettias that I place nearby are pushing out new growth. Can't figure out what the problem is with my oncidium.
I expected her to do well since the Phaels are doing so well. From what I'd heard, they require similar amounts of light. In fact, many bloggers say that the key to flowering with this oncidium is to provide abundant light. They are all getting more that 3500 foot candles daily. I have them on an astrological timer so the light exposure varies with the seasons. Her leaves are a very light yellow with brown speckling near the tips. Could too much light be the problem?
I am getting psb growth, but they are mostly small and never develop into the large, fat psb's that I see in most videos. Recently I repotted her to check out her roots as she was climbing out of her pot. Everything looked ok in my opinion, not many dead roots. I potted her in a mixture of organic and inorganic media consisting of mainly coconut husk, sphagnum moss (20% max), and some perlite. I resisted splitting her; she just looked really crowded. Do you think that she may not be getting enough water?? The pot is see through and when I check there is usually still some condensation on the inside walls.
She sits with her friends on a bakers' rack with light overhead with a fan that moves and circulates air. Seems to me that I've covered most of the important requirements for this particular orchid. Can you help??
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