Leaves turning black on my Paph

[delphiguy]

Our paph. ciliorare's leaves are turning black, what could be causing it? and what to do? this is my first and only paph so i dont want to loose it.

Here's the pic of the front and back of the leaves.

Thanks.

[kmarch]

Is there any black on the new growth?

[delphiguy]

there is non is this normal? or is there something to be concerned with?

[kmarch]

This is a bit of a tough call. On one hand, I see the dying leaf is on an old growth. It is not unusual for an old, flowered, paph growth to eventually die off. These old, dying leaves sometimes get attacked by fungus. This could be that.

On the other hand, a fungal attack on a newer leaf isn't good. But these black areas are not on your new leaves.

I think if this were my plant I would take the more cautious route, cut off the blackened areas of the leaf, and give the plant a spray (both upper and lower leaf surfaces) with fungicide.

Keep an eye on the new growth for the next few weeks to see if any black spots show up on the new growth. If not, you'll probably be ok then.

[delphiguy]

you mean just cut the dead part? or the whole leaf? at first i thought that it could be
fungus but its not yellowing it just turned black.

thanks for advice will do that.

[kmarch]

I'd only cut the black part off, leave the rest of the leaf.

[delphiguy]

thanks will do that.

[kmarch]

I'd also check the air flow around the plant. It is breezy of still? Breezy is better as paphs like nice fresh air. Good aor circulation will help to prevent fungal attacks and other nasties.

[delphiguy]

Air flow is not much of an issue i guess, since its sitting on the window, and the window
is always open, the window does have a screen so that insects could not get in the
room.

Im hoping for the best for this plant, as it have become my favorite, we tend to treat
it like a baby, making the other chids jealous.

[delphiguy]

Just to give an update, I have already cut the half of the darkened leaf, and
have applied some cinnamon paste to the cut, but the darkening of the leaf
has now moved to the other half.

The other leaf from that growth is so far fine, and there is no signs of it on
the new growth. There is even a new growth coming, i think.

I will be doing some repotting tomorrow and im itching to repot this one, as i've
peaked at the roots and what i saw are dark roots, quite alarming for me, but i
read somewhere that paphs roots are dark. i've also heard that coco chips and perlite
is a good media for paphs. However I am short of supplies at the moment, will
coco peat+perlite+charcoal will do? as these are the only ones i've got at the moment.

So here is the pic, the brown thing is the cinnamon.

thanks.

[delphiguy]

This morning when I was about to repot the paph I noticed that the flower
has fallen to the table, and that there seems to be something on the spike
which to me seems to be a pod.

This is a surprise to me because aside from this being the first time for
me I have no idea how it happened. No insects inside the house to pollinate
it.

So long story short, I've decided not to repot, as I am not really sure what
has happened. Hopefully someone could give more light, could this also be
why the leaves are turning black?


Attached are the pics.

Thanks.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by delphiguy

...the darkening of the leaf
has now moved to the other half. ... The other leaf from that growth is so far fine, and there is no signs of it on the new growth.

If the black is not spreading to other leaves, then it's probably just that one leaf dying off. Go ahead and remove the rest fo the leaf if it is black. Your paph will probably be fine if none of the other leaves or more importantly the new growth remains clean.

Originally Posted by delphiguy

...will coco peat+perlite+charcoal will do? as these are the only ones i've got at the moment.

The mix is not as important as the culture. Paphs like to be kept gently and evenly moist. If you use a dryer mix you'll just have to water more often. If you use a moisture retentive mix you'll water less often. If peat, perlite, and charcoal is all you have go ahead and use it and carefully watch how fast or slow it dries out after watering.

Originally Posted by delphiguy

the flower has fallen ... No insects inside the house to pollinate it.

I dont' think your paph has been polinated. Usually when a flower is polinated they immediately start to disintigrate, do so very quickly and often stay stuck to the pod. Seeing the flower still looking somewhat fresh when it falls off suggests to me it has not been polinated.

Now it the time you should repot. Keep in mind that Paph roots are different that other orchid roots. They will be brown and furry. But theywill still be firm if fresh. If you find some mushy ones, remove them. They're dead. A little bit of mix will stick to the roots. Leave it. Pulling off all the mix can damage the roots.

Originally Posted by delphiguy

Hopefully someone could give more light, could this also be why the leaves are turning black?

Could what also be the reason the leaves are turning black?

[delphiguy]

Originally Posted by kmarch

If the black is not spreading to other leaves, then it's probably just that one leaf dying off. Go ahead and remove the rest fo the leaf if it is black. Your paph will probably be fine if none of the other leaves or more importantly the new growth remains clean.



The mix is not as important as the culture. Paphs like to be kept gently and evenly moist. If you use a dryer mix you'll just have to water more often. If you use a moisture retentive mix you'll water less often. If peat, perlite, and charcoal is all you have go ahead and use it and carefully watch how fast or slow it dries out after watering.



I dont' think your paph has been polinated. Usually when a flower is polinated they immediately start to disintigrate, do so very quickly and often stay stuck to the pod. Seeing the flower still looking somewhat fresh when it falls off suggests to me it has not been polinated.

Now it the time you should repot. Keep in mind that Paph roots are different that other orchid roots. They will be brown and furry. But theywill still be firm if fresh. If you find some mushy ones, remove them. They're dead. A little bit of mix will stick to the roots. Leave it. Pulling off all the mix can damage the roots.



Could what also be the reason the leaves are turning black?

Thanks for the reply, since you have brought light to my concern I will go ahead and repot it. I have just repotted a few plants this morning and
i still have some leftover media that I can use for this, the charcoal i have is quite large so what i did is that I've hammered it a bit to have
some smaller bits of the charcoal. The mix is mostly perlite and charcoal and just a handfull of coco peat. I will definitely look at how the mix
dries for this plant.

So you think that the flower just fell off? and not pollinated? can i cut the spike now or let it be till it withers? Thanks for the heads up on the
roots, I have taken a peak at it and really I was worried because all i saw was black roots, but since you've already told me about it and have also
read some, i am more at ease.

its because I taught that the plant is forming a bud that i thought that could be the reason why the leaf is turning black as it takes too much energy
from the plant. But since you've mentioned that its not a pod, then maybe you're right, that is just dying off.

thanks for the reply, and will update this thread later of any developments.

[kmarch]

I never cut anything off unless it is either diseased or unquestionably dead, dried, up, and brown. I owuld leave the inflorescence until it is clearly dead and dried up, just in case it did turn out ot be polinated. You should know in a little while, maybe a week or so. If it was polinated the pod will swell a bit. If not it will discolor and die.

[delphiguy]

thanks, i've just done repotting the paph, fortunately the roots are ok, but still manage
to snip out a few.