Bad luck with Oncidium

[plntlady]

Was unlucky enough to purchase a wonderful Oncidium unnamed
from a local grocer just after they received shipment.
Have had this Oncidium for five days and today noticed the main
bulb is starting to rot from taking the beautiful flower spike with
it. I have not watered this since I bought it and can only surmise
it was over watered before it was shipped and when grocer
received it. Oh well live and learn. I will have to be more selective
on where I buy them from.
This is probably one of many reasons why people think orchids are
too fussy and hard to grow.:sob:

 

[Heather]

Well, that's frustrating!
How many growths does it have? It might be worthwhile to cut the spike and put it in a vase and remove the affected pseudobulb to save the rest of the plant. You can also try putting some cinnimon on the rot, sometimes that helps to dry it out, but if it is really rotting, removing the bulb might be best.

 

[plntlady]

I did place the flower spike in a vase.(Can't through away that)
I removed the affected pseudobulb and there is one left with
very few roots. I repotted this and will let it dry out abit before
watering. Its just so frustrating to buy something like orchids
and lose them from no fault of my own.

 

[gore42]

You may want to go have a chat with the people you got it from... sometimes they are understanding about that sort of thing and will give you a new one. If it was a grocer, I wouldn't count on it, but it will depend on how much they value your business.

I find that sort of thing happens a lot with orchids from Home Depot or grocery stores; they have no idea how to take care of them at the store, and by the time someone buys them, they're in rough shape. My SO bought a dendrobium at HD, where the (soaking wet) pot had been wrapped in decorative celophane, ensuring that there was no air movement or drainage.

We did manage to save it, but it wasn't pretty when it came out of the pot.

- Matt

 

[Heather]

I was thinking the same as Matt. If you've only had it 5 days...might be worth a trip back.