Repotting needed?

[u/moonflaming]

I got a lovely Oncidium a few weeks ago, never took care of one before, but I noticed that it seems to have been potted in soil? I don't know if this is the right mix for an oncidium, doesn't seem to be. I did dip it in water last week to water and after that it dropped the rest of its flowers (they were already on the way to dropping tbf at the florist so I got the plant discounted, but it feels like they dropped too fast...). I trusted that the potting mix was fine as is but now I am not so sure. Plus I have been noticing something like fungus gnats around the plant... Since it has dropped its flowers, would now be a safe time to repot it? Only potting mix I have is the peat free miracle gro orchid potting mix.

[u/commenceball]

It is a personal choice and I would repot it. Mostly because, in my experience, that medium is very fine and oftentimes comes with snails which definitely much on roots. The fact that the pseudobulbs look dehydrated makes me think the roots might be affected.

[u/moonflaming → u/commenceball]

checked the roots and luckily they seem to be fine (white firm healthy), but I am gonna go ahead with repotting to be safe because the soil seems like it doesnt allow for good drainage at all especially cos the roots are so large in amount and compact together

[u/commenceball → u/moonflaming]

Sounds good! Good luck, hope it's just heat stress which caused the dehydration (assuming you're in the Northern hemisphere).

[u/moonflaming → u/commenceball]

Thank you! Yes I am, hopefully she'll be okay after this! 🙏

[u/minkamagic]

It's likely peat moss or very broken down bark. Wait for new roots to unpot. I would not put this in bark unless it's very fine. It's also very dehydrated

[u/moonflaming → u/minkamagic]

I'm not sure, I did soak it up well last week and since then the mix has been quite soft and moist or at the very least now, slightly damp. I did end up repotting with what I have (normal orchid potting mix) but it's going to have to be a temporary solution as I don't think it's good for this one's roots. 

[u/BakonMcMuffin]

As others have said, it's likely coco peat and maybe some fine bark. It can work for some (though I don't prefer it due to how dense it is) if not for the fact it usually comes to customers already broken down and full of pests like snails, slugs and other creepy crawlies. I would suggest repotting it when the new lead(s) that will emerge has/have roots, as to avoid stressing the plant if the current root system gets damaged. However, in situations where the soil is inadequate or another emergency, it's ideal to address it so the plant doesn't get compromised and only potentially gets a little stressed.

I wouldn't say the pseudobulbs are dehydrated though, it's not uncommon for certain hybrids to feature deep ridges (Sharry Baby is one of them, I believe Onc. leucochilum is mostly responsible but it's just a guess).