Is my oncidium overpotted?

[Morja]

I ask because I feel like it's not happy. (Current pic at the bottom, progress pics before that for funsies)
It's my only oncidium, rescued a year and a half ago from family as an absolute messy mass, which I divided and kept one of the newest divisions of. The mass hadn't flowered in a couple years, probably, as it was chronically dehydrated and never fed. I had seen it in bloom before though, it's a yellow Dancing Lady type noid:

Yeah that's the original pot on the left

It was barely big enough to be a division in July 2022, but I did it anyway.
April 2023:

I emergency repotted it two months ago when I realized it was in bad media that had turned to dirt. It hadn't lost many roots thankfully. I put it in Repotme paph/phrag mix because it sounded like that would be tolerated via a Google search. I situated it more sideways to get more roots in the media as it likes to climb and ended up using a bigger pot to make it fit being more sideways (also I'dhad to cut the old pot off, boo). It's in a slotted pot, that I originally kept in a ceramic pot to keep it stable, then decided it needed more airflow so I stopped doing that. I water it a couple times a week while it's hot but will decrease that as things cool down. I feel like it's overpotted for the density of media I chose. Would it be worth it to bother it by slightly unpotting to check roots? Current:




Hard for me to tell if these roots are all alive. I'm kind of suspicious some are not? This is right after watering.
TIA for insight, O knowledgeable ones

 

[Morja]

Ah, ignore the couple pieces of coconut husk in the above shot. They are not throughout the media, they just fell out of another orchid pot and I stuck them in there.

 

[big923cattleya]

I really think that this Oncidium looks pretty good actually. Here are a few things that I have observed over the years.
When Oncidiums are happy and being watered properly, the pseudobulbs look nice and plump. Minor furrows or grooves on older pseudobulbs.
They do not hold onto all of their leaves for very long. I think that is just what they do in my mind.
They like water, when grown in too large of a pot or they are not watered enough, the bulbs tend to shrivel or get furrows.
Their roots love to wander.
Do not put them in too large of a pot. If torn between two pots, pick the smaller.
They like a little early morning sun, otherwise bright light.
They do not like heat! They seem to struggle with temperatures over 85, more so over 90 for prolonged periods.
I use a fine mix of seedling grade bark, either fir or orchiata, seedling grade charcoal and seedling grade perlite. If you are in a low humidity area or in a warmer area, you can add some chopped sphagnum in the mix.
Plastic pots are better then clay.

 

[Morja]

I really think that this Oncidium looks pretty good actually. Here are a few things that I have observed over the years.
When Oncidiums are happy and being watered properly, the pseudobulbs look nice and plump. Minor furrows or grooves on older pseudobulbs.
They do not hold onto all of their leaves for very long. I think that is just what they do in my mind.
They like water, when grown in too large of a pot or they are not watered enough, the bulbs tend to shrivel or get furrows.
Their roots love to wander.
Do not put them in too large of a pot. If torn between two pots, pick the smaller.
They like a little early morning sun, otherwise bright light.
They do not like heat! They seem to struggle with temperatures over 85, more so over 90 for prolonged periods.
I use a fine mix of seedling grade bark, either fir or orchiata, seedling grade charcoal and seedling grade perlite. If you are in a low humidity area or in a warmer area, you can add some chopped sphagnum in the mix.
Plastic pots are better then clay.

Thank you, wonderful info!
The two older pseudobulbs started wrinkling and the oldest lost a leaf- part of what was causing me to worry. So it's good to know all that. Do you think, all things considered, that this pot size is okay?
I have been watering it almost as much as a paph. Scary but it has stayed plump!

 

[big923cattleya]

Thank you, wonderful info!
The two older pseudobulbs started wrinkling and the oldest lost a leaf- part of what was causing me to worry. So it's good to know all that. Do you think, all things considered, that this pot size is okay?
I have been watering it almost as much as a paph. Scary but it has stayed plump!

Thank you, wonderful info!
The two older pseudobulbs started wrinkling and the oldest lost a leaf- part of what was causing me to worry. So it's good to know all that. Do you think, all things considered, that this pot size is okay?
I have been watering it almost as much as a paph. Scary but it has stayed plump!

I think that the pot size looks just fine. When happy, they produce a ton of roots. It is next to
Impossible to confine them to a pot. I always choose a pot that fits the root mass, not the greenery.

 

[big923cattleya]

Some mornings I wake up feeling overpotted myself!

 

[Morja]

Some mornings I wake up feeling overpotted myself!

Honestly, SAME

 

[Ozpaph]

growing up a storm. Well saved. They will outgrow those pots in no time.

 

[Morja]

growing up a storm. Well saved. They will outgrow those pots in no time.

Just wanted you to know, you were right.
It outgrew its pot in less than a year making new pseudobulbs in the fall and spring, and this year it actually made two spring growths! I just potted it in the biggest pot I had thanks to its tendency to climb slightly and need to be laid a bit sideways upon repotting (it did not, in fact, fit the fancy 6 inch pot I bought for it). It went to live at my sister-in-law's house for a while, since it is officially too big for camper life (and why would I waste my premium paph and phrag space on a random oncidium?! No offense to it, of course. Lol) Here it is enjoying its new view:


That super chunky pseudobulb on the bottom right is the most recent to mature. It's significantly bigger than its siblings. I've been feeding everything better, so I hope it blooms!

 

[big923cattleya]

Oh that is good news Morja, very good news!!!

 

[BrucherT]

Great job. Bet it blooms.

 

[Bob in Albany N.Y.]

Yes, good growing. I've been growing quite a few oncidiums and ondots. at the moment. Have been experimenting adding tree fern as part of the mix. Have a number of different formulas for the mix being tested at the moment. Only time will tell. With only the early results in, it appears as if tree fern added into different formulas is increasing the speed of growth and the amount of water that the pseudobulb is holding. But its to early to draw any conclusions.

 

[Morja]

Yes, good growing. I've been growing quite a few oncidiums and ondots. at the moment. Have been experimenting adding tree fern as part of the mix. Have a number of different formulas for the mix being tested at the moment. Only time will tell. With only the early results in, it appears as if tree fern added into different formulas is increasing the speed of growth and the amount of water that the pseudobulb is holding. But its to early to draw any conclusions.

How interesting!! And thank you!