Leaf trouble

[Ben Grader]

I have a leaf on my zygopetalum that is very gradually turning brown. I have attached a pic. The flowers are OK and I don't think it is scorch from the sun. I make sure that when I mist the foliage it is in the early morning so that all the moisture is absorbed. The pot stands in an ordinary flower pot so no moisture is retained when I water and the roots are not waterlogged.
There are darker spots that show on the brown discolouration.
Help and advice needed and will be much appreciated.

[brookn]

Hi Ben, could be fertilizer burn. Could you tell us if you are using any, what kind, how much fert., and what is reccomended by the fert. directions? Thanks.

[Ben Grader]

I had been using NPK fertilser which I diluted when using as a spray. I have now changed to Worm Tea but only a couple of days ago.
If it is caused by the NPK I am not using it now. I must see if it keeps spreading now that I have stopped using it.
Would it be best to cut off the damaged partion of the leaf?

[brookn]

Cut past the yellow part into the green part and dip in cinnamon do not leave any of the yellow. It may stop there. Could have been the fert. After cutting keep a close eye on it for more yellowing. I did this with a Catt. and the yellow went no further. Someone may have different advice though.

[Ben Grader]

I have cut the leaf as recommended and found some ground cinnamon.
The spots show quite well on the underside.
I hpoe this will do the trick.

[Tobi]

Ben,
I agree with Brook in that it could be from the fertilizer. The other thing
that could cause this is excessive minerals in your water that you use.
Are you using well water or tap water?

[brookn]

Nice surgery, hopefully that will take care of it. Tobi good call on the water, I did not even think of it.

[Orchidflowerchild]

Yeah, not that I ever grew Zygos, because they just aren't really my thing, but I recall many people talking about how they are kindof sensitive to salts and hard water. You might look into that.

-Cj

[Ben Grader]

Tobi, I am using tap water at the moment but a friend has supplied me with some rain water to make my next batch of worm t. Our water is very hard here in North Somerset.
We have arranged that I can make the T in 4 pint ex milk bottles. When it is done I shall let it settle well, then syphon off the T into plastic soda bottles. He will get the milk container back with the dregs of the T and castings and use that on his garden.
The T will stand for a while in the 'brewing' bottle so any ideas on how much dilution for the spray?

[jerrymeola]

Stop worrying. Zygo have delicate leaves and often blacken from excess moisture, sun, heat or just age,

The plants grow very fast putting out a lot of new leafs each year. With any of the plants (Phaius are another example) that grow new leaves fast, they discard old leaves equally fast.

If you had ignored it nothing would have happened until the leaf dried back to the base and fell off. The rest of the plant would be fine. It may still die back until the whole leaf is gone, it is not something to worry about.

The treatment you used would have been necessary on Cattleya

This is the start of blooming season for Zygo and for those who do not grow them they are extremely fragrant. Most are like this photo with hybrids having slight color varieties. For some reason hybrids do not change much from the parents unlike other family hybrids