Please help I have a sick orchid

[viper]

i got a orchid. it started getting small purple spots on the leaves. it died 3 weeks later. i now have another orchid from the same place and it is getting purple spots.
what is this and how can i fix it?

[fred]

welcome to the forum viper
what sort of orchid do you have ?
does your orchid have a name tag ?

you can also help us with going into your user setting and update your Profile with your Location as we have members form all over the world with different growing conditions.

[jbigio]

Viper first STOP buying from that source one is bad two is a problem. Isolate the plant from all your other plants ASAP. I would first pull it out of the pot and check the roots if they are good replant into a fast drying medium. If bad trim the dead roots and I’ve had some luck dusking with root hormone in cases where the roots are poor before repotting. I would remove and burn any effected leaves and treat the plant with fungal and bacterial sprays. Keep a look out for any singes your other plants may be turning. Sterilize anything you use on this or and other orchid.

[kmarch]

While it is a good idea to isolate the plant and while many of us routinely check the roots of each new plant we get, that's really as far as we should go before suggesting ny further cultural changes.

What if the plant is a Phal, Paph, Masdevallia, Phrag or some other moisture-loving orchid? Repotting it into a fast drying medium and letting it dry out is a recipe for stressing the plant.

Because different orchids require slightly different care, it's best not to make any cultural recommendations until we know exactly what kind of orchid we're dealing with.

[jbigio]

good point

[viper]

it starts like this: I got a new orchid from a store. it was a phalaenopsis. i mounted it on a log with some moss an kept it outside like all my other orchids. after about 2 weeks it started getting small purple spots on the leaves. it died 2 weeks later. i now have another orchid from the same store. a Dendrobium. and it is getting the same spots.
What is this and how can i save my plant?

[brookn]

Hi, it kinda sounds like water on the leaves magnified by sunlight, that burned the leaves. I could be wrong, but purple is kind of a strange color for fungus. It could also be bacterial rot, in which case you would want to cut the bad spots out and treat with peroxide and cinnamon. Are the spots mushy, and can you get a pic?

[fred]

viper
As I had asked in my opening post it would also help us with giving you advice it you can go into your user setting and update your Profile with your Geographical Location.

thank you

[tom499]

Leaves can get a purplish/reddy colour from being in good light. This looks like some kind of fungi or virus. It doesnt do anything to the texture or shape of the leaf, and is really a sign that the plant is getting good light. It does happen when indoor grown plants are put outside where there is of course alot more light

Is that all that happened to your dead phal? Did the leaves go droopy? did the roots rot?

[viper]

the orchid looked very healthy. the leaves were a healthy colour and they were very firm and strong. its roots were healthy. this is the same case for my new plant.

Note. the phala also had petal blight.

[tom499]

im kind of confused. You say the plant is perfectly healthy?

Did you mean die by the fact that the flowers fell off?

[viper]

I said the plant looked healthy (apart from the dots). this is before the phala died.

[looked] is refering to the past.



I dont think my other orchid has long to live. please help

[tom499]

can we have som photos?

[viper]

it wouldent help if i gave u some photos because i cut off all the spots to help stop it spreading. i will describe them to u. when i cut off the infected areas i disected one of the spots. i peeled of the layer skin of the leaf and i investigated inside the spot. it was a sick brown colour and very mushy. this means that whatever it is it is probably some type of fungus.

[viper]

was that the right thing to do? cuting off all the spots?

[kmarch]

Not being able to see the plant or the spots makes it impossible to diagnose the problem. Blind guesses about the problem or what to do won't help you very much. Also, I don't mean to be blunt, but your descriptions are somewhat confusing. First you say the spots were red but the leaves healthy then later you say they were brown and mushy. In one place you say the plant looked healthy and yet 3 weeks later it died? What happened between those times?

[kmarch]

Further to my last post....

Originally Posted by viper

... it was a phalaenopsis. i ... kept it outside ...after about 2 weeks ...purple spots on the leaves. it died 2 weeks later

So you bought this Phal at least a month ago and you put it outside in Melbourne ..... in winter

Before buying any more orchids of any kind I strongly recommend you go to www.aos.org and download orchid care sheets for the genera you're interested in.

If you had read a Phal culture sheet before buying your Phal you would have seen that Phals require intermediate temperatures. A Melbourne winter is far to cold for a Phal.

[viper]

where did i say i got it at least a month ago?

[viper]

the spots are mushy and brown inside the leaf not on the serface

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by viper

where did i say i got it at least a month ago?

In a previous post (which I conveniently quoted for you above - consider reading more thoroughly )

Originally Posted by viper

I got a new orchid...mounted it ...after about 2 weeks it started getting small purple spots...it died 2 weeks later

4 weeks...that's about a month so you got the plant at least a month ago.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by viper

the spots are mushy and brown inside the leaf not on the serface

Spots that are red unless you cut the leaf open then they're brown.....

I'm afraid we can't do any more until you post the pics.

Sorry.