Hi there,
I have oncidiums growing out on rocks in bright light and they rarely get
watered. They only really get the mist from the garden next door or if it
rains but if they are looking a bit sad i do spray them with a water spray
bottle. I live in Brisbane, Australia so it is rather warm all the time and
we do get a mixture of dry days and humid days.
If the bulbs are starting to shrivel you definately need to up how much you
water them particularly if it is the new growths that are suffering.

I dont know much about zygo's so hopefully someone else can help you.

Goodluck
Krystal

"fotografer" wrote in message
...
Thank you for the reply.

I usually watered them when I "felt" they were dry. I heard the rule is to
water them once a week, but I was afraid they might die before then, so I
watered them. I suppose they would have done fine even without water for a
full week.

The Oncidium initally came from the grower, so the medium was obviously
fine. They were grown in Hawaii with plenty of humidity. When they came to
Austin, since it's so dry and hot where I left them (in a shade house), I
used a sprinkler and watered them every day. I took them out of their pot
and placed them in coconut husk made baskets.

I saw a dendrobium in Ft. Lauderdale in July that was out open tied to a
tree (not in the shade) at a hotel. The management told me it had been
there for over a year and bloomed again there. I imagine the Florida sun
would have been too hot for that plant, but it managed to survive that. My
question is, without a potting medium, would an oncidium (and zygo for
that matter) survive a week without water? I noticed some roots that were
in the air got killed (had brown tips) after I watered them. I was using
tap water. Would that be the reason the roots died? Or, could it be the
fertilizer that killed them? I have started using distill water, but
haven't seen the results of it yet.

I also have phals, paths, and phrags; but they are a lot easier to take
care of. The Miltonia has new roots coming out. I am walking on thin ice
not knowing what I did right and am just trying to keep the roots growing.

Ray wrote:

Sounds like you're killing the plants before they have a chance to mature
fully. Old pseudobulbs are intended to stay around long after the leaves
that grow on them are gone, acting as food and water storage for the
colony of plants, and as they're still green, will add to the
photosynthesis as well.

In an oncidium, those old bulbs can hang around for years before they are
sucked dry, turn brown and papery. Zygos, in my experience, don't hang
onto the bulbs quite as long, but it's certainly not the direct sequence
you suggest.

If you're drowning your plants to death as you state, either you're
overwatering or using a growing medium poorly suited for your growing
conditions and plants. Can you provide more detail about the growing
medium you're using, how often you water, or other info that might help
us be better guides?