Three weeks ago I purchased a very small Cptra. Sydney Smith 'Green Monkey'. It has been happy in my south window where we have a covered porch and wood blinds. It is in spagham and it has filled it's 4" pot with new growth. Here is a pic where it is sitting in front of a finger coral that I love.



'Green Monkey' has one 13" leaf and it seems to be very happy. Probably, I'm thinking, I'll need to repot it in maybe 3-4 weeks or maybe longer. Right now I have fresh spagham moss as well as some very fine paph. mix that I just used to repot my 2 paphs. I also have some medium mix to use with other plants. What should I use to repot this little guy? I have a bigger 4" clear pot or a 5" clear pot. I also have 4" clay and 5" clay pots.

What should I do? I've not had good luck with Ocidiums and I just what to do what is right for this small plant.

Your Oncidiums have not doing well because the pots might be too big. When healthy they should be repotted every 2 years!! Orchids do not like to be disturbed. Use as small of a pot as possible if you really need to repot.
Make sure you have adequate drainage holes in the container. Oncidiums have very slender roots and grow best with regular waterings. They should be in a fine mix, plastic is better then clay because it does not dry out as fast. In a 4" pot, you could try watering it every four days.
Oncidiums need a couple of hours of morning sun, then bright for the rest of the day. Afternoon sun can get them overheated.

Two days ago I repotted two of the oncidiums in 5" plastic pots with a very fine bark mix. Previously they were in 6" clay pots with medium size mix that I put them in 15 months ago. They surely do look happy now--never slowed down! One had really nice roots and the second one has the roots I expected. Not so good.

Bill, are there any other orchids that should be potted in plastic pots instead of clay pots? I have two Paphiopedilums that I downsized and repotted in plastic using that fine mix after looking at your thread about repotting Paphs.

I do appreciate all the help you give to people! You are a very valuable asset to this board.

Oh thanks Flo, I appreciate that!
Yes, if I had my choice offhand I would say for beginners and novices, Phalaenopsis, Paphiopedilums, Oncidiums, Latouria and Nobile type Dendrobiums, Maxillaria, Masdevallias, and Pleurothallis like plastic because they generally like to be grown more moist. Not wet but damp. Clay pots might dry off too quickly and they stay drier then they should.
There are others but are not encountered by many beginners.
Again. It is my pleasure to help.

This afternoon I decided to repot Zygo. Jumpin Jack. I bought it in Orlando on February 8, and I wanted to give the plant some time to adjust. On the other hand, it IS potted in a plastic hanging pot that is more appropriate for petunias. Apparently it was convenient in the greenhouse. Looking closely, I found that it is putting out 2 nubbins--guess it is happy here. I think it will be happier after repotting. The plastic pot is 6" and I have two clay pots soaking--one is 6" and the other is 6.5". It will be interesting to see the roots. I thought it was in moss, but apparently it is in bark. The top layer of moss was fairly deep.

Wish me luck! Instead of watching TV, I'll just go in and repot that plant. It's off-spring, Gptm. Starburst 'Parkside' is very, very happy in the same location as Jumpin Jack. It's blooming and growing!

Good luck Flo.
But I must admit, in all my years of growing orchids I rarely heard the term "nubbins"!!!
Must be a very technical term!

Those pieces of bark must have just been thrown on top of the moss at some point. Picture this: a 6" pot full of moss and full of healthy white roots that don't appear to be too brittle. I haven't found any desiccated roots at all! It's going to take hours to get those roots clean, then what will the plant do? It only knows how to grow in moss! I can barely see a solid mass of roots in the center. I haven't gotten near them. This is interesting.

About the nubbins. I was sorta in a hurry, you understand. They are 1/2" tall new growing points on either side of this mature plant. I hope they live!

Do you think I should let it sit in a bit of water overnight? I'm due to make cinnamon rolls for the EMT's who helped us Tuesday night (911 call because DH couldn't stand up and couldn't quit vomiting). Stressful? Yes! The guys from the fire department do deserve my best baking! When that's done, I'll continue pawing at moss. Good thing--it is fairly fresh and it pulls nicely.