Soak it for 15 minutes. See if you can get it out of the pot in one piece undisturbed. Then put it in a bigger pot with the back bulbs on the edge of the pot and the smaller new growth able to grow into an open area in the pot It is currently and correctly potted high on the medium. Get it so the very bottom of the bulbs are above the pot. A rhizome clip or 2 may be needed. This is an air plant. It likes to get wet but it must dry out.

If planted in a clay pot with lava rock, like I do, then water every day. Tight schedule? then not as good plant in plastic pot with bark and water every 3 to seven days depending on conditions...

Local help is alway the best answer. Local knowledge matters...

I agree with Harvey.

Having grown Sharry Baby in NY for many years, I found they did better in a plastic pot with small/med bark with some sphag mixed in. They do not like their roots to dry out but do not like to stay wet, just keep them slightly moist. The winter season indoors can dry them out quickly. The leaves might get dry from low humidity. I kept mine on a pebble try over the winter indoors.

One point, the roots on your plant appear to have been cut. Do not cut any roots! Orchids are not like 'dirt plants.' They rely on those roots throughout the year. New growths make new roots for that bulb. Your plant is sending out roots because it needs to be repotted. Please do so as soon as possible with as little damage to the roots as possible.

They like good light. I put mine outside over summer in a bright area. If you have an Eastern exposure, put it there. Mine always bloomed in Nov/Dec. They begin to spike in early September.

Good luck,

Jane

Hi both, thank you for the replies. Just realized now my title must have autocorrected to “reply” instead of “repot”!

I will go ahead and repot it. With my succulents I always take off the old soil, since the new soil I repot them in is something different and fresh. I can do that with an orchid right, remove the old soil gently before putting into new?

Jane this plant shipped to me so maybe that is why the seller cut the roots, to avoid them getting damaged in shipping? Not sure. But thank you I will make sure not to do that.

I am indeed planning on leaving it outside, until it gets chilly and then will bring inside.

One more question - I know everyone’s mix is different. Before posting this I had been planning on buying “oncidium mix” from repotme.com, it consists of small sized pieces of lava rock, bark, and turface. Does this sound okay?

If the potting material is rotting AND it can easily be removed, do so.But because this plant is above the medium, don't be too aggressive. Most times I put the entire contents in the pot and add medium so the plant is above the pot rim and surrounded by the new medium. No issue for mixed mediums. The new roots will go to the new medium or in the air...

This time the re-pot was a pot in a pot. It would have been very traumatic to remove it from the pot. It has been several months and appears to be in excellent health...

All lava rock is best with a clay pot if you can water daily...mimics its habitat.

eventually the plant will grow into the new medium

It is OK not to remove the medium if it is firm to the roots. If the plant is surrounded by fresh medium and needs or wants it, the plant will find on its own the best place for their roots to go.

AS, Do you have time to water daily? The potting material and the pot it is in is very important. You need to apply different amounts and frequencies of watering depending on pot and potting material. Optimum is water daily. That mimics nature. That requires lava rock and clay pot. The least beneficial is plastic pot and fir bark. Far different than what oncidiums have been getting over the milinium. Orchids are tough and try to adapt.

It appears that the oncidium mix is bark. Bark can work but if you do not repot in time the plant can suffer or die. I lost too many plant that way and gave up on that method. The bark will break down and all roots in the breakdown die. Lava rock never breaks down.

Watering does not take much time. But I know that some of us have allocated their entire clock and do not have the time. But if you do have that extra 5 minutes or less, water every day and pot accordingly...

In the picture of the pot in pot above, notice 2 roots jumping out of the old pot into the lava rock. More to come...

The empty clay pots in the first picture is not an orchid pot. Orchid pots need lots of holes or slits in the side of the pot. It will hold too much water.

Thank you Jane and Harvey.

I should be able to water pretty regularly. I have both plastic and terra cotta pots available. When you say the clay pot is not suitable for orchid you mean a standard terra cotta?

Clay pots with holes or slits on the sides. Yours in the picture is a clay pot for all else.

I wish more Northern growers would pipe in.

Harvey and I live in South Florida. Totally different growing conditions here.

I spent most of my life in NY and grew many types of Oncidiums, including Sharry.

I'll give you a link from AOS which adds a bit of info.

The biggest problem growing them up north is humidity in winter. I grew all my Oncids on pebble trays and that helped. You will still get crinkled leaves and dryness.

Harvey, growing in the N. East is like the desert in winter. I would register 11% humidity with pebble trays and vaporizers running 24-7. With the heat on in the house, it dries the air to a point where it can be a challenge growing orchids. But there are work-arounds.

What I recommend is small bark mixed with some sphag. I always grew them in plastic pots to hold moisture and keep the roots from drying out. I grew them in winter, on trays with pebbles and kept the trays filled with water.

In summer, they all went outside in bright light. I actually found the large Oncidiums can take a lot of sun (morning is best). They love the cool nights and will begin to spike in early Fall. Leave them out until the night temps fall into the low 50's.

They are fun plants to grow, give off lots of blooms and the flowers last a long time.

Jane

Sorry, forgot the link!

AOS

If they are watered daily, lava rock and clay will be plenty of moisture...

I also live in NJ and grow Sharry baby and agree with the advise given by Jane and Harvey.

I grow mine in regular terracotta pots with medium sized bark mixed with chopped sphagnum moss. I have had the plant for a long time, about 15 years, and have divided it many times and tried many different growing conditions until settling on the above.

I would add that I like to use tall slender pots. I like to keep them somewhat pot bound leaving only an inch or less in front of the new growth. I usually don't bother removing the old potting mix because the root ball is pretty dense making it hard to do without doing damage.

I do get pleated leaves in winter and they do tend to get black spots on the leaves but they still flower fine, at random times through out the year.

I tried to grow it in a semi hydroponic set up a few years ago which didn't go well at all. The plant died back quite a bit but recovered quickly when moved back to a bark mix. I find them to be pretty tough plants in general, not too picky about light or temperature, they like regular watering but if you miss a watering here and there they don't seem to mind.

West central Ohio here, zone 6B.

I was staying out of the conversation as I only grow 1 onc, but...

I'd pull it from the current pot, drop it in a larger plastic pot and fill in around the edges with a fine bark medium or spagh or a mix of both. If using bark, soak mix well first and water 2x a week for the first month and then @weekly afterwards. If using pure/mostly spagh then water when the spagh is just drying, which when outside is very dependent on weather, rain, temps and such. My 1 onc (Twinkle) grows outside where it gets early morning and late afternoon sun and does well. I bring my Twinkle in around Sept-Oct and give it a very bright spot under LED lights. Back out in early to mid May. I have mine planted in a spagh, cork and perlite mix that hold moisture well. I water once a week when indoors and I control the environment.

Good luck,

Bob

I used bark in the past for years. It does work. But I frequently missed the expiration date on the bark and loose plants. That is one of the reasons I use lava rock. But if one keeps timely on repotting it will not be a problem. However in plastic it is harder to mimic its natural environment. In orchid growing there are multiple paths to success.

Jane, you mention about different growing conditions need different potting. And that is why lava rock works for me. Yet you now living in Florida still grow them in bark here in Florida? Is that right?

Yes, l do. Some are in clay pots with bark/sphag, my larger plants are growing in plastic with the same mix. I do not water daily and find this combo works for me.

Growing plants has to fit your lifestyle. I just can’t be tied down to daily watering. Plus the Oncids grow fast and usually need yearly repotting. I use Orchiata bark and, although more expensive that regular bark, it holds up well in Florida.

Ive been repotting for two months now (yikes), and am pleased how well the roots look as well as the old bark. I have all my various orchids in bark except the mounted.

If I watered everyday, I’d probably consider changing medium.

So if you grow the same north and south in bark, then lava rock can work north and south also...

I grow in NY. Here is mine growing outside in bright but not direct light on a deck

and it looks like sh*t. I've been growing this inside for years and it was doing fine. I put it outside for the first time this year and, well...I don't know what I'm doing wrong. It is growing in repotme oncidium classic (coconut husk mix) in a plastic pot inside a clay pot with holes to keep it upright. Repotted it in February. The background photo of my page is the Sharry Baby in bloom a couple of years ago. Any advice is truly appreciated.

A pot in a pot can not aspirate. It needs to dry after it gets wet. And loose the bark and fill the pot to the top and plant the orchid high in the medium. usr a rhizome clip or 2. Remember they are air plants...

Arghhhh it has been extremely hot and humid here for the last week so I’ve been keeping it in the shade (or so I thought) but it must still have gotten too much sun the tip of one of the leaves got sunburnt! Sigh. Well I repotted it today and besides the sunburn I think it looks okay and hope the new mix will be good. It took me an hour to get alll if the old mixture out.

Harvey, you can grow in lava rock up north or whatever you choose to use, but it requires a lot of work. Not worth it, in my opinion, it would be difficult.

The air is too dry during winter. Barely any humidity at all due to the heating systems in a house. You could water five times a day and hope its enough. Heating systems dries out the air, thus the roots dry out. I had trouble carrying over many orchids including Catts in bark. Aerial and surface roots shrivel up.

In late Fall I would put a 'winter blanket' over the surface of the pots. A thick layer of sphagnum moss to keep moisture above the roots. I removed it in Spring. I could not grow mounted plants for the same reason. Spraying, humidifiers, vaporizes barely made a dent in raising the humidity.But there are many people who grow mounties well. It takes work and an environment you can control. I didn't have that type of space to grow in.

The Oncidium family have fine roots which dry out faster than Catts and Phals.

James, I do the same. Tall pots work well and I am still using plastic with them. My Twinkles go in shorter, clay pots. I do add more sphag to them.

As I stated before, growing has to work for your lifestyle. I do not water daily. Mine are lucky to get watered once a week. Summer is the rainy season in Florida. My plants are getting watered almost daily with rain.

I'm on vacation from watering!

Jane

I forgot to mention to Luv.

Your plant is potted to low in that plastic pot. The plant must be raised up to allow air around the plant and to prevent holding too much moisture against the bulbs.

Move it higher.

Jane

Jane, growing them like you did in New York here in Florida is not a good idea. Look at your Sharry Baby. You allow it to get rained on daily and have it potted for the dessert with water retaining medium. Like it or not your plant gets water every day it rains so mount it or grow it in lava and clay. Or take it away fro the rain and control the water. You are asking too much of that plant.

Back to the original poster who is from zone 6B:

As a northern grower who doesn't want to have to water everyday, bark and/or spagh works best for me. I do grow in all types of media: bare root vandas in pots, mounted phals, dends and vandaceous, potted in orchiata bark phals, catts, dends, phrags, paphs, dendrochilums, bulbos, reed stems and straight spagh for a dracula and my Twinkle. If I had to water everyday (I do in winter for mounties and bare root and that's enough), I'd feel too tied down. Like Jane, I like to take a vacation from watering during the summer months when my other hobbies take precedence.

My experience says an indoor northern grower would have to put in a lot of effort to keep a lava-based media collection going during the heating portions of winter. It's possible, but you'd be visiting/watering/misting your plants multiple times a day for weeks at a time. Going away for a few days becomes problematic as it's also something which is very hard to automate without greenhouse conditions/systems.

Bob

Hi Jane, I love your idea of giving orchids blankets in the winter for indoor growing. I read an article once about layering potting media with course media on the very bottom, appropriate sized media in the middle, and a top layer of sphag, etc. I repotted my miltoniopsis that way and so far I think it's very happy. I keep it indoors year-round.

Marie

Yes, Luv, it does really help get them through winter months.I would put a thick blanket of sphag on the surface to prevent drying of the roots. Held moisture and they grew much better. I took it all off in Spring.

Harvey, I am not growing it the same way at all. In NY my Oncids were grown in small bark, and 50% sphag, In Florida, they are in large, chunky bark with perlite and about 1/4% sphag. Pots drain quickly during summer.

However, Florida is dry as a bone for about 6 months and I want the mix to hold more moisture. That's where the plastic pot comes to play. I do not water anything daily. I water about once a week in winter months. It works for me.

I am happy with how my plants are growing and blooming. If something looks off, I change things around.

Thanks for your opinion,

Jane