Question
I have an oncidium that i saved from the top shelf at a convenience store but now i feel helpless cause i don't know how to make her better. She is potted in regular potting soil with lots of vermiculite which i sense is her 1st problem and since i don't know what her flower looks like i cant figure out what she is. Her newest bulbs are 1/3 the size of her older ones. what do you recommend to pot her in and why would her bulbs be growing so small

Answer
Jessica, it sounds like that oncidium has been neglected for a long time. As a first step to recovery, you need to find a standard orchid potting mix and soak a portion for use.  Then unpot your plant and wash the roots carefully.  The roots should be hairlike.  Repot your plant in the new damp orchid potting mixture and gradually introduce it to increased amounts of light.  A week after repotting you can begin weekly watering and when you see new growth start feeding the new growth with 1/4 tsp of plant food per gallon of water.  Oncidiums often like a lot of light and it sounds like they didn't have it where you found it.  You can put it outside for the summer.  You can find a hanging pot of a size so as to put the newly repotted oncidium in it and hang it under the shade of tree.  You will know you are growing it well when the new bulbs are larger than the previous ones.  I think a plastic pot with lots of air holes would be suitable for repotting your plant.