When to repot Oncidium Alliance?

[Toddott]

I bought an Oncidium Alliance (I think... it wasn't labelled). It is in bloom (six 3 inch purple speckled flowers) and has two new growths. It's planted in shredded coconut fiber that appears really packed so that the roots don't get much air. Should I repot it or wait until it's done blooming?

[tucker85]

I would wait until it's finished blooming. Oncidium flowers don't last as long as some other orchids so I'm sure your plant can wait a few weeks to be repotted. Enjoy your new flowers.

[espranch]

I would wait until it's finished blooming. Oncidium flowers don't last as long as some other orchids so I'm sure your plant can wait a few weeks to be repotted. Enjoy your new flowers.

I definately agree with Jeff...and unless it's crawling out of the pot, I'd leave it alone. No need to re-pot unless it's really over grown. ( If it isn't broke, don't fix it! ) Betty :-)

[Toddott]

thank you.

[Roy]

I tend to disagree slightly with the advice above. The longer you leave one of these plants over grown, the harder it will be to have it survive when you do repot it. They can & do suffer division shock badly from that situation, you may loose some divisions OR they will take an extra long time to recover.
The best time to do any potting, dividing etc is when the plant just starts to make new growth. The growth shouldn't be any longer than 100mm ( 4 inches ). This will allow the new roots to grow and keep the plant healthy even if the older bulbs look poor. This family of plants rarely if ever make a secondary root system so root loss or damage on the older parts of the plant doesn't really matter. Its the new roots from the new growths that need all the care. A division can be 2 bulbs & 1 ng.

[espranch]

Roy, I appreciate your advice on oncidiums, since I don't grow many of them. Most of my orchids are in plastic ( including six oncidium types ) and the plant roots do not stick to the plastic. The result is that the orchid can easily be pulled from the pot without breaking any roots. I have found in the past that with clay pots, I've had to actually break the pot in order to get the orchid out. Even then, some of the roots tear because they are almost glued to the clay of the pot. But I will in the future, make sure I remember exactly what you said about re-potting oncidiums. Thanks for the good infomation...Betty

[Roy]

Your welcome Betty, I learnt the hard way.