Baby leaf blocked from growing? How to trim and help a new leaf grow

[neworchidlover]

My plant has been through some tough times. First it was almost cut in half, then it grew a deformed leaf, then it got a terrible case of root rot.

The good news is after all that she finally grew a new baby leaf!

The problem is that the deformed leaf was blocking the growth path of the new leaf so I trimmed the deformed leaf off. If you look at the picture the deformed leaf was growing on the right side but curved all the way to the left instead.

I don’t know how much of the leaf/stem to trim to make sure that the new baby leaf grows?

Am I putting the baby leaf in jeporady by trimming??

It’s a miracle she put out this new leaf to begin with so I’m hoping I did not mess it up!!

[fred]

Dorothy as your chid has been through so much and now your starting to win with this one myself I would not trim the deformed leaf off
It may not look pretty but you will soon get used to it
that is just what I would do so lets see what other geeks have to say regarding this one

[kmarch]

I'm with fred on this one. Given the shocks the plant has been through I'd err on the side of caution and let it get back on it's "growing feet" so to speak. It's not uncommon for the first growth to come after a shock to be a little weak or deformed. I think for now at least, I'd just leave it and let it do its thing.

[englandfx]

I would have trimmed off the deformed leaf if it made me feel better.
What matters most is to do what makes you feel good.

If trimming the deformed leaf makes you feel better, then by all means.
Never doubt your actions. That is the past. Put the past behind and move forward.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by englandfx

What matters most is to do what makes you feel good.

Sorry to be blunt, but I dont' think this is very good cultural advice. The plant had been shocked twice by damage. Would it make us feel good to shock our plant a third time and run the risk of having it set back even further or having it die? What matters most is to do what makes the plant recover and begin growing again. In other words, good culture and let it alone.

[lmartiny]

I can't quite see where you cut off the deformed leaf. But the plant looks OK and I would leave it alone and let it grow. I probably would not have cut off the leaf if it was healthy and would have just let nature takes its course.