Sick Catt

[mfgarris]

Hi! I'm new to this forum and to orchids and I've enjoyed reading all the helpful "newbie" advice found here. Seems like a great community.

I bought this sick little catt. You'll notice blackened spots/indentations on the small leaf and a deteriorating tip on the big leaf. From what I've read, I'm suspecting overfertilization and some kind of fungus...but I'm a beginner and don't really know.

They grow under T5 lights. There's a fan for circulation. I sprayed the leaves with Physan 20, as the directions indicate.

Curious to hear your advice,

Josh

[BunnytheOrchid]

Hi and welcome mfgarris

Perhaps its just my eyes, but I'm having a hard time seeing the black spots. Black spots can be anything from fertilizer to fungus, so hopefully someone else will see these more clearly and give you a proper diagnosis. I see part of the leaf has been sliced off. I assume that's damage that it had when you got it. One of the leaves looks a little yellow. I'm not sure what lighting conditions T5 are , but it might help to ensure its not getting too much. If its been sitting on a shelf for awhile with no light, it needs to be introduced to light slowly.

[kmarch]

Too much fertilizer won't make black spots, it makes leaf tip burn. This usually affects softer-leaved orchids more thanthick-leaved ones like Cattleyas unless the over fertilizing was really, really over. I recognize those black spots and they are fungal. I occasionally get a few but they never seem too detrimental. I believe the fungal spotting is the least of your worries.

How are the roots? Is there a viable lead? It looks like only 2 pseudobulbs? I can't really see them in the pic. Are they shriveled or plump (I'm hoping plump)?

I don't want to be pessimistic, but I do want to be realistic. I dont' think this plant has much of a chance. If it has viable roots, give it excellent cattleya culture (get a culture sheet of you dont' already have one) and hope for the best. It will take time (several growing cycles which could mean as much as a couple of years) before this guy gets back on his feet good. If it does not have roots, then perhaps the sphag-n-bag technique described on this forum night help. Lots of patience and excellent cattleya culture is what you can control. The rest is out of your hands.

[mfgarris]

Thanks. I bought four plants from the local garden store -- they were all small, immature plants and in mesh bags. This is the scrawniest one. Since, I've bought couple of new plant from established growers and these look very healthy. Maybe I bought some rough looking catts...we'll see if they can be nursed back to health. I've followed the AOS culture sheet in setting them up.

[jerrymeola]

The big leaf has been physically broken and cut. The good news is that it is normal to cut a damaged leaf and it will not spread any disease to the plant.

The small leaf does not look too bad. The edges look like they may have a little damage when they were smaller but again it is not something that will spread.

The only really bad feature is that they are so small. It appears to be a division rather than a young plant. It can be a while before it begins to grow.