Am I killing my Phal?

[vcuchick]

More Phal Questions-

I have a small 6-7" non-blooming phal that needs some TLC:

I had a damaged leaf about 2 months ago and an orchid grower for the Smithsonian recommended cutting the leaf below the damage and dusting with cinnamon to prevent fungus.

Now I have another leaf nearest the center core of the plant that is turning white/translucent and the spot is spreading... Also, an older leaf is beginning to yellow from the base of the plant towards the tip.

Any ideas on what might be wrong?

I repotted this orchid back in January with coco husks. I'll upload some photos tomorrow once I get back to the office... thanks!

[vcuchick]

Forgot some more info that might be important- My orchids are in a tray with pebbles and water...east/ south-east light. very good light. very dry office environment, but when i water (about ever 7-10 days) they get soaked thoroughly in tepid water for about 20 minutes and a light misting early in the morning every 2-3 days.

[brookn]

Hi can you get a pic?

[vcuchick]

Originally Posted by brookn

Hi can you get a pic?

Here are some pictures taken this morning...sorry for the quality-cell phone pics.

thanks for your help...

the bottom group show was taken this morning- they were moved here from a south-facing window on 03/30/2009 because of the dark leaves i'm not sure if they're getting enough light...

[FLBob]

I see a bad burn, does sun shine directly through your window?

[vcuchick]

not where they were- in a south facing window- their current location in the window in the above pictures was moved this morning since the leaves are very, very dark and I'm not sure if they're getting enough sun- I moved them to the above window which is east facing.

[mayres]

Be careful with direct sun striking the leaves - you need to be quiet a ways back from the window. Feel them with your fingers and see if they are warm. If they are heating up from the sunlight you need to back off. My first phal I burned to a crisp in my office window facing NE - which is less light than yours. I actually put some shear curtains between the plants and the windows to cut down on the heat - those windows act like magnifying glasses heating up the sun's rays.
A yellowing leaf, if the bottom leaf, happens normally 1-2 per year.
They also yellow if given too much light.

[11Orchid126]

Make sure you put something between the pebbles and the pots. I use coffee or margerine lids. Also, the plant or plants in pictures 2, 3, 4 and 5 look grossly overpotted. They should be in much smaller pots. The pot should only accommodate the roots and a tad more for growth. An overpotted plant will hold too much water for too long and root rot can occur.

[vcuchick]

okaaaaaay,

pictures 2, 3, and 4 are all of the same plant...it's the original pot I got the plant in from the grower. I only changed out the potting medium when i repotted it back in January...

So, move them back to the south facing window instead of east? (even though the leaves are very dark?) I'm confused...more light, less light, more water, less water...I'm getting 3 different answers from 3 different sources...

help! (she squeeks)

the only direct sunlight they get is in the morning until about 11-ish am...then it's indirect light for the rest of the day...

[mayres]

Sorry for the confusion............
In reference to the direct light - feel the leaves with your fingers. If they are warm to the touch it may be too much. Having a fan to provide good air flow can help alleviate heat buildup (another option to consider).
Colors are VERY difficult to distinguish through pics with different monitors but your leaves do NOT look "very" dark on my monitor. They look the appropriate color - a "medium' green.
If you are pushing the light the first thing you should typically notice is the leaves starting to tinge red at the edges, provided you are not WAY over the line - in which case they will yellow and fall off.
You might check out the AOS culture sheet and see if this gives you any answers that you feel more secure in - AOS | Phalaenopsis.
It can be tricky alright reading different ideas by many different posters - this just goes to show to some extent that "there is more than one way to skin a cat" - or so the saying goes.
If you stick with the forum you will eventually become more and more comfortable with specific members that have conditions similar to your own and who seem to share many common issues and then you will become more secure in whose responses may work best for your situations.

[vcuchick]

Originally Posted by mayres

Sorry for the confusion............
In reference to the direct light - feel the leaves with your fingers. If they are warm to the touch it may be too much. Having a fan to provide good air flow can help alleviate heat buildup (another option to consider).
Colors are VERY difficult to distinguish through pics with different monitors but your leaves do NOT look "very" dark on my monitor. They look the appropriate color - a "medium' green.
If you are pushing the light the first thing you should typically notice is the leaves starting to tinge red at the edges, provided you are not WAY over the line - in which case they will yellow and fall off.
You might check out the AOS culture sheet and see if this gives you any answers that you feel more secure in - AOS | Phalaenopsis.
It can be tricky alright reading different ideas by many different posters - this just goes to show to some extent that "there is more than one way to skin a cat" - or so the saying goes.
If you stick with the forum you will eventually become more and more comfortable with specific members that have conditions similar to your own and who seem to share many common issues and then you will become more secure in whose responses may work best for your situations.

I uploaded some new "individual shots' of my orchids tonight to my album...any suggestions would be much appreciated I'd love to hear what you think... Thanks again! U da' best! (the sad little unknown phal that's not blooming is the one I'm trying to save in another thread conversation...)

[FLBob]

Burns normally occur when you change the plant location to provide better light. The amount of light may be just fine.

I grow my Phals outside, and some in locations where they get full sun through a screen. Even with direct morning sun my leaves are dark green, with the occasional black mark from moving them too quickly into their current location.

Many if not most people grow phals where they never get direct sunlight. Phals will do well in low light conditions. I like to provide as much light as the plant will take, I have some that have adjusted to bright conditions, and others that seem to do better with more shade. I let them tell me what they need.

As far as water.... a lot will depend on your growing conditions and medium.

I believe that you can never water too much at one time. You can water too often. I water very well each time I water. So when I water I shower the entire plant for minutes, then water another set of plants, then come back to the first and shower it some more, then do some other plants, and then come back an do the first plant some more.

How often I water depends on how quickly the medium drys. I have good airflow and grow in sphagnum moss which never drys. Depending on humidity and rain I water weekly.

[vcuchick]

Originally Posted by FLBob

Burns normally occur when you change the plant location to provide better light. The amount of light may be just fine.

I grow my Phals outside, and some in locations where they get full sun through a screen. Even with direct morning sun my leaves are dark green, with the occasional black mark from moving them too quickly into their current location.

Many if not most people grow phals where they never get direct sunlight. Phals will do well in low light conditions. I like to provide as much light as the plant will take, I have some that have adjusted to bright conditions, and others that seem to do better with more shade. I let them tell me what they need.

As far as water.... a lot will depend on your growing conditions and medium.

I believe that you can never water too much at one time. You can water too often. I water very well each time I water. So when I water I shower the entire plant for minutes, then water another set of plants, then come back to the first and shower it some more, then do some other plants, and then come back an do the first plant some more.

How often I water depends on how quickly the medium drys. I have good airflow and grow in sphagnum moss which never drys. Depending on humidity and rain I water weekly.

Bob-

I gave them a really good soak this morning and probably won't water them again for at least 4-5 days depending on humidity.

Now as for light, how will I know moving them was a bad idea and now they've got too much light?
(I moved them all of 3 feet from one corner of the counter at my office to another side of the same counter...)

[vcuchick]

ok, so noone really answered my question on how to fix the white spot...????? anyone???

[FLBob]

There is no fix... you could treat the leaf by using a sterile knife and cutting away the ugly and treat the new wound with cinnamon.

[kmarch]

The white spot looks to me like some sort fo sunburn, perhaps resulting form some direct sun on a wet leaf? This type of leaf damage never heals and so there's not really anything you can do to fix it. It looks dry so you could just leave it or remove just the dead part.

[vcuchick]

thanks. the roots seems healthy...now how do I encourage new leaf growth for future blooming?

[mayres]

Good culture = new leaves.
The more you give it what it wants the more leaves and bigger leaves it will grow.
Warmth (correct temp range), humidity, light, fertilizer, water, air movement - mix these up in a bag and apply in perfect combination = lots of nice big leaves. Just make it hap-hap-happy!

[vcuchick]

Awesomeness! I'll give it a few weeks and take new pictures... :-) You all rock!

[dorothea]

i love the fact that most of my phals finished flowering in autumn and are now growing second or third leaves since i got them, so it doesn't take that long...

vcuchick, you have some really nice orchids, and i hope the burnt one starts growing new leaves soon!

[vcuchick]

Originally Posted by dorothea

i love the fact that most of my phals finished flowering in autumn and are now growing second or third leaves since i got them, so it doesn't take that long...

vcuchick, you have some really nice orchids, and i hope the burnt one starts growing new leaves soon!

me too! I have noticed that the burnt leaf is starting to grow out from the crown. I don't even remember where I got that plant from...I got it as a donation from a coworker who received it as a gift from a patient (the plants live in my physical therapy clinic) so I "think" it was purple but it was really sad to begin with and I'm hopping some TLC and worm tea and proper husbandry will help.

Going to order worm tea off the internet tonight. I called my local garden center and they sounded like they thought I was nuts...hahaha!