After the Transplant - Oncidiums | ||
| Oncidiums usually adapt to
hydroponics without incident. Plants with
healthy
roots transfer easily. If
your plant had damaged roots
however,
a little "tender loving care" might be needed. |  Oncidum transplants
in our
greenhouse. (We use Grow Trays instead of Outer Pots and
Gauges.) | |
| Plant Care - Oncidium Light: Bright light with some direct sun is ideal. Temp: Omcidium like cool temps 65-75 degrees during the day and 50-60 degrees at night is best. Water: Water to 1/4 - 1/2 on gauge. Then wait until system is completely dry before rewatering. | |||||||
After the Transplant - What to Look For
| We find healthy Oncidiums to
be heavy drinkers after transplanting.The LECA pebbles in our
system seem to be the perfect media for their rather thin
roots. As
moisture is
"pulled up" from the
bottom by the LECA pebbles, fresh air circulates around the
roots.
The perfect environment for new root growth! | |||
 Psuedobulbs on a healthy Oncidium |  Healthy Oncidium roots are
almost white in color and have a supple texture. | ||
After the Transplant - Possible Trouble
| If you
found rotted and
mushy roots when transplanting, your plant wasn't happy in its
old
pot. The roots where suffocating as the potting materials
decomposed. This potting mix did not drain well and the roots
where too wet. Another common sign of trouble is wrinkled pseudobulbs. Wilted, wrinkled psuedobulbs means your plant's root system has shut down and isn't absorbing water. Your plant is dehydrated. The image below shows the difference hydroponics can make. I'm holding an Oncidium with a dehydrated pseudobulb on the left. The decaying root system just wasn't delivering moisture to the plant. The plant on the right has active roots. See the difference? |  Decaying roots.
Healthy Oncidium roots should be white. Did your old roots look like
this? | ||
 Comparing
psuedobulbs. | |||
| Wilted plant! Your
first instinct is to more water. Stop! That's exactly
the wrong response! Inactive roots
need more air,
not more
water. Water plant by running fresh water through the pebbles at the sink. Return plant to outer pot. Do not allow standing water at the base yet. The space between the LECA pebbles and the openings in our culture pot will promote good air circulatation around the roots. This stimulates new growth. Older psuedobulbs may never fully recover. A better approach is to watch the new growth. You can see a new growth in the image comparing plants above. |  Run fresh water through the
roots 1-2 times a week. | ||
We aslo recommend giving the
roots a boost with KLN Rooting Solution. The
new watering routine will be:
Store unused KLN solution in a cool, dry place (refigerator is good - be sure to mark the bottle!). These plants will take 4-6 weeks to respond. When it looks like it's recovering (starts looking perky or forms a new growth tip), return to the regular watering routine along with nutrients. Otherwise, continue watering with this process until plant recovers (or until you decide to give up and send the poor thing to "Plant Heaven"). Note:To prevent spreading disease, don't try capturing solution for reuse at the sink. |  KLN Rooting Solution gives new roots a boost. BUY KLN now | ||