Leaf turns yellow at tip

[Hisjazzy]

How scared should I be if one of four leaves is turning yellow at the tip??

[nessy]

Not very happens all the time. I f its a cattleya I would be worried because it takes about 2yrs for new ones to grow back if they do at all. Makes sure its not sun damage

hope you are following the golden rule about fertilizer, weakly weekly. too much fertilizer can cause tip burn.
about catts. it was my understanding that old pbs will not grow new leaves once lost, i may be mistaken. it is the new eye/growth that i watch most.

[Hisjazzy]

So far there is no fertilizer involved at all much less weakly weekly.

[jerrymeola]

You did not mention the type of orchid. Browning tips are not very common on cattleyas but are very commmon on oncidium alliance plants. (the word alliance means to include all the plant families that have the same general characteristics, in oncidiums that includes all the intergenetic hybrids, miltonias, brassias etc)

Oncidium types have very thin leaves while cattleyas have thick leaves that do not bend easily. It is almost impossible not to have some yellowing and death on oncidiums.



On a plant like this most of the leaves may yellow and die in a season and be replaced by new leaves. they are very strong growers.

Since you said it has only 4 leaves I am lead to guess it can be a phalaenopsis, often called moth orchids because of the shape of the flower. It is identified by thick very broad leaves.

Phals have a natural tendancy to discard all leaves that are fully covered by other leaves. Grown in pots Phals will often have only 2-3 leaves. When grown naturall with teh roots at the top like this



The leaves will begin to grow with each new leaf half covering the last leaf. In a pot they tend to overlap each other. Even when grown naturally, once the leaves have formed a full circle the older covered leaves start to yellow and fall off.

If you need more information try to identify the family as I described and ask again.