Markings on Onc. and my Mitassia.

[FLaCo]

Hello guys, is it normal for Onc. and Mitassias to have small black/brown spotting on their leaves?

[fred]

Damien can you post some pictures please ?

[jerrymeola]

It is very commmon almost unavoidable.

It is a virus that is harmless to the plant. It is rare for me to see one a large one without spotting on the leaves.

[articuno75]

It's not a virus, but a type of fungus. Do you mist your plants? Oncidiums and the Alliance are common in getting this from the moisture in the leaves not evaporating properly. My Enc. 'Mother's Day' has now started to get the spots pretty much as soon as I started the "dunking" method for watering. I was just spraying the moss.

The spots won't go away, but to keep new ones from forming on the new leaves, increase your airflow.

[FLaCo]

I am confused, is it a virus or a fungus? Is the virus contagious to other orchids that are not in the same alliance ?

I have had a Mitasia for a while...and it has been the only one with that type of spotting. Every nursery I have been to has had these spots on Onc. type plants.

[sandra]

Originally Posted by FLaCo

I am confused, is it a virus or a fungus? Is the virus contagious to other orchids that are not in the same alliance ?

I have had a Mitasia for a while...and it has been the only one with that type of spotting. Every nursery I have been to has had these spots on Onc. type plants.

I see this all the time on strapped leafed Oncidiums and alliances. Are they towards the ends of the leaves? Round and brownish black? They're very sensitive to sun and when exposed to too much of it, will cause this.

Highly doubtful it's fungus which you would probably notice it spreading, turning the leaves yellow and weakening the bulbs.

It wouldn't hurt to spray the plant with Physan20 solution, in fact, probably a good idea to do this Damien....just in case! It's a good practice this time of year, here in Fla. to stay on top of it and stopping potential problems with this kind of maintenance.

[FLaCo]

Originally Posted by sandra

I see this all the time on strapped leafed Oncidiums and alliances. Are they towards the ends of the leaves? Round and brownish black? They're very sensitive to sun and when exposed to too much of it, will cause this.

Highly doubtful it's fungus which you would probably notice it spreading, turning the leaves yellow and weakening the bulbs.

It wouldn't hurt to spray the plant with Physan20 solution, in fact, probably a good idea to do this Damien....just in case! It's a good practice this time of year, here in Fla. to stay on top of it and stopping potential problems with this kind of maintenance.

It is sandra...towards the end of the leaves. Thanks!

[kmarch]

It's fungal spotting wheich sometimes occurs if the leaves are damp and it is cool. It's not unavoidable (I respectfully disagree with Jerry on this point as well) and can be controled by increasing air movement around the plant (fans, etc), making sure the nights are neither too cool or too damp.