problems with my phal

[moki]

Hi,

I am new to orchids.

I never had one before and last August we bought one with my boyfriend. It was a gift to him for his new appartment.

Apparently the new appartment did not have enough light and we didn't know that orchids need light and the poor orchid lost it's flowers and its stem became brown so i decided to cut the stem of.


I thing my boyfriend watered it too much (ie twice a week instead of once). Also, once we left if at a sunny position in our house for nearly 1 hour!

I don't know what is wrong with the orchid but i think something IS WRONG!

There is a black thing developing near it's one leave (on the left side of the photoes as you can see. It seems to me that this leaf is melting at that point. Also if you take a good look at the photos it seems that the smallest leaf at the righ hand side of the photo is turning yellow. In addition a new leaf is trying to develop but it is trying for a loooooot of time! I mean it is trying to grown from mid-September!How is this possible?I thing you can not see the new leaf from the pics because it is too tiny and can not be captured clearly by my camera.

I think is good for you to know that i moved the orchid from my boyfriends house to my mother's house where light is more, and there is much more air ventilation.

Please help me! I don't know what i am doing wrong, i don't know a lot of things about orchids but what i do know is that they are very beautiful and that it would be a pitty if i loose this orchid.

If anybody can give me specific advice on how to rescue this orchid i would really appreciate it.

Thank you in advance

moki

[Daniel S. Barrett]

The plant you have looks good and healthy to me from what I can see from the pictures you have here, you've done a good job caring for it so far!
You have a Phalenosis orchid!
Pronounced: "Fail-in-NOP-sis"
it's also refered to as a "moth orchid",
it likes low to bright light, with NO sun,
fertilize it with weak fertilizer water once a week, 1/4 the strength of what the package recommends. find some orchid fertilizer if you can, any house plant food if you can't.
Once a month water it well with clear water to remove any built up salts in the potting mix.
keep the potting mix evenly moist, but not constantly soggy! (some people let the potting mix almost dry out between waterings without harm to the plant.)
Phals like ideal temperatures between 60 to 80 degrees,
(5-10 degrees higher or lower will not harm them.)
and will be happy with temperatures you live with.
they prefer humidity to be between 50 to 70 percent, but will tolerant what you live with. You can mist them (in the morning only), they love that! you can also set them on a tray of gravel kept wet to raise the humidity around them, But, NEVER let their pot sit in water!
They also like some air movement around them,
like a small fan near them to keep the air in the room moving but, not pointed right at them.
A Phalenopsis plant will commonly loose a lower leaf as they grow new ones, so don't be concerned about this as it's normal.
Unless..., it's loosing alot of leaves in a short period of time and not growing any new ones to replace them. then you need to look for other problems with the plant.
With simple good care & proper feeding, some varieties of Phalenopsis will bloom once a year, other varieties will bloom twice or even more times in a year!
You can go to Google and type: Phalenopsis care sheetand look for printable information on care for your plant..
Just remember to: "Keep it simple"
Your doing a good Job! Keep it up!, you'll have blooms again before you know it!
~ good luck!!~

[moki]

I am fertilizing it with an orchid fertilizer
and i will continue to fertilize it.

So you are saying that the black thing that my phal has started to develop in it leaf is normal?

What is it? Can you give me a reference so as i can search for it in google?

Thank you again

I will try and keep you updated with any 'developments' on the plant.

Also i would like to ask you....If the plant is young will it bloom soon or will it take a longer time to bloom? I think i read somewhere that older plants bloom more often but i am not sure about that.

[desertgal]

Your phal has to have a cool down period in order for it to bloom again. It needs a temperature drop of 15 to 20 degrees for about a month. Since my home is almost always around 72-75 I am carrying my phals outside each night and bringiing them back into the house in the morning. It gets to about 55 now at night. Don't take them out if it is freezing. Most phals bloom in the spring. It is said that it takes 3 months for a spike to fully develop, 3 months for the blooming period and 6 months to rest. Mine are in plastic pots and I can tell by lifting the pot if it is dry, that's when I water, usually 5 to 7 days. I fertilize every 2 weeks and once a month I run water through them until they are soaked. This flushes out the built up fertilizers and also the chemicals from the tap water that I use. I also use Super Thrive about once a month with the fertilizer. I have potted my phals in plastic orchid pots that have slits in the sides. I put the water (with the fertilizer in it) in a bowl and place the pot in it so that it covers the slits. When the bark on top gets wet I take it out of the water and drain it. This method seems to work well for me. I water early in the day when I am taking them outside. Also, never get water in the crown, this can cause crown rot. If you do accidently get water in the crown use a paper towel or Q tip etc. to wick it out of there.

Katie
Katie

[mayres]

Watch the black spot to make certain it doesn't grow. If it develops a yellow ring around it and/or starts spreading it could be a disease problem. If it starts spreading it is possible you may have to remove the portion of the leaf (sometimes the entire leaf) with the spot. On the other hand, if it doesn't spread - you are in luck and can continue as you are as if it wasn't there. I have had a black spot on a leaf that did nothing for 3-4 months and then conditions changed somehow that caused it to rapidly expand in a matter of days and was in danger of taking out the entire plant if I didn't remove the leaf. mike

[moki]

thank you for replying


What can be that black thing?is there a chance that it is caused by water?

Is there anything i can do (precautionary measures) to prevent it from spreading from the first place?( i mean instead of waiting to see if indeed the orchid is sick)

thank you very very much
moki

[mayres]

I'm not sure if the black spots are typically fungal or bacterial - but they are often disease organisms one way or other. I'm totally guessing that potentially increased humidity/water "could" increase spreading if it is indeed diseased tissue. I think the jury is still out on your plant and hopefully it will end up being nothing to worry about - just keep and eye on the size over time. mike

[Willc73]

If you post some better pictures, "in focus" I could tell you more. Looks like you have some fungus.

[Anton]

Moki, just some advice about posting, you would be better off posting in one of the sections in "Orchid Care" as most of us tend to hang around there, as this section is mainly aimed at problems with the site, or site suggestions and other "Geeky Stuff".

That way you can aim your question at a specific group, eg Pests and Diseases, Orchid Care(which includes problems), Potting Mediums etc.

Welcome to the "Family".

[moki]

I know i posted my question in the wrong forum


It's just it was my first time and i was so eager to find an answer to my phals problem....

Anywayz. Thank you for welcoming me into the family....it's great!

The yellow leaf finally fell off, and i think i have some new more focused pictures for you to see and tell me what you think

The first two pictures are of the black spot.For the last one i lifted the leaf up and photographed the portion where the leaf connects with the crown and it is all black!

So i think we are all sure now that the plant is sick ....Is there anything i can do to save it?

[mayres]

I definately agree with your assessment - good pics this time! It shows the problem well. The usual things to try and apply to stop the spread are things like cinnamon (natural approach), 3% hydrogen peroxide (pour over the affected tissue right out of the bottle), anti-fungal solutions, etc. I don't wish to be a bearer of bad tidings but (IMHO) this is probably going to be a very difficult plant to revive, if at all. As noted by others, one thing that causes these kinds of issues is water in the middle of the plant that doesn't evaporate by the late hours (crown rot). It might be time to try another plant - don't feel bad, we've all been there........mike

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

If the black at the base of the plant is firm when you press in on it, it is probably just an external discoloration. I really don't see any obvious problem with this plant yet. That black mark very definitely looks like mechanical damage to me. So just sit tight and wait to see how it goes. If some people here want to write it off so quickly, what have you to lose by just waiting to see. Remember, soft spots are what we start to worry about.

Just to clarify the fertilizer issue. If the product is labled orchid food, you do not reduce the labeled amount. If you use regular general purpose plant food, then use 1/2 to 1/4 strength. The only difference between the orchid for and the non-orchid food is on the label. The instructions on the label for orchid food have already reduced the concentration for orchids.

[mayres]

No one is saying you "should" write this plant off. Of course the choice is always yours. If you stay the course, keep us informed as to how it is responding over time - it may be an educational experience for everyone on the forum. I'd like to see how this plant looks 3-6 months from now! Good luck! mike

[moki]

thnx. i will keep you up to date on the plant's developments