Several questions!

[Winterwhite]

First, you have all been gracious with answering my questions and I thank you for that. Let me start on my youngest acquisitions.
About 4 or 6 weeks ago I got my young paphs. They have actually grown quite nicely but on two of the three I notice I am loosing a leaf or two. This may not seem significant but when they only have 4 or 5 leaves, it seems as if I'm loosing a lot. What would cause these leaves to yellow? Too much water, not enough water or too much light or not enough?
I have just purchased a flora cart with wide spectrum florescent lights. There are 4 tubes at each level. Is it possible to have too much light?
I also notice that my dendrobiums are struggling. The leaves while green seem to be drying up. Also the newest growth is drying up. On my newest dendrobium, there are some black spots .....like moles on them they are about 1/3 to 1/2 inches long, thick, and resemble a body mole. Is that something I can and should be treating?
And of course my poor phals are slowly dying. I over-fertilized big time and having even flushed them, I think I will loose them. I chalk it up to beginners luck but I am very disheartened. If anyone has some suggestions, let me know. Mary

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Are you using the skewer method for checking dryness? If you over fertilized really big time, you may have killed the roots. You probably should pull the rootball out of one of the pots to check for live roots. Plastic pots are easiest to work with as a little flexing helps to free up the roots. Living roots are firm and do not collapse between your fingers. There will probably be dead roots in any case, but some living ones are you are looking for, then just slip the ball back into the pot.

Leaf loss is common while acclimating in new plants. I hope you are not watering with sodium softened water, that can cause all sorts of havic.

For the black spots, I think we will need a picture.

[mayres]

Hi Mary - too much light is definately not an issue when talking about fluorescent fixtures, so at least you can cross that off your list of concerns. I have 6-7 paphs myself and get anxious with a yellow leaf. As long as it is the oldest one or two to some degree it might be normal - at least that is what I have been told. This will also be the case with your phals - As long as it is the oldest leaf or two don't panic if everything else is normal. Many dendrobiums also naturally loose leaves during the winter months. On the other hand, young immature growth drying up to turning brown on any of these types is certainly cause for concern and change. As Cynthia has noted - any digital pics of concerns would help us see what you are seeing. mike