Den sickness?

[lissie0113]

So awhile back I bought a cutting of Den 'Comet King' at a festival here in St Petersberg. One of the leaves on the cutting had some funny spots on it but it had a basal keiki that looked healthy. However, before long all of the leaves on the new cane began to have these areas of light yellow around a brown spot on the center, and then the whole cane became rotted and i had to cut it off. Hoping to save the plant, I treated it for bacteria but I dont know if it is a bacterial disease or not?Anyone have any idea of what Im describing? I would post a pic but unfortunately my camera/computer combo is not working properly at the moment. But I did find a pic in the gallery of what the original leaf spotting looked like.

http://www.orchidgeeks.com/gallery/d...p?imageid=3730

Also, I bought another cutting of Den 'oriental smiles' at the same time. It had two keikis on it which i have since cut off and potted up. They are doing great except one of these yellow, sort of see-through, spots have developed on one of these! I have separated them from the other 'chids and treated for bacteria as well, but I need to know if there is anything else I can do!

Thanks guys!

[kmarch]

Hi Melissa.

Before I delve into your dendrobium problem I need to point out that the correct way to express the names of your orchids is: Dendrobium Comet King, and Dendrobium Oriental Smiles. The names should be capitalized and should not have single quotation marks. Single quotation marks indicate cultivar names not hybrid names.

When you say the came became rotted do you mean it quickly became mushy and possibly brown? If so then this was bacterial rot as you suspected. I find the most effective way to deal with bacterial rot is to cut. I have personally not had success with things like cinnamon or Physan stopping this kind of rot once its started but I have saved plants by cutting.

It's important ot treat this kind of rot quickly, at first sign.

Photo's of your plant would help. I'm afraid the photo you posted the link too is a bit blury. The spots in the pic look like a fungal spotting which usually comes from being both wet and cool at the same time. Fungal spotting can be prevented with increased air circulation and making sure the leaves are dry in the cool evenings.

[tansyflower]

Did the original "cutting" have roots or was it completely severed above the place where the roots would be? Orchids don't develop roots from cut off canes as some other plants do. They may have been selling you the keiki attached to a cane. I have bought den keikis this way.

Another possibility is that the "cutting" didn't survive. If it was one cane on it's own, it may not survive. If I was buying a division, I would probably want at least 3 canes. When a den cane dies off, it goes mushy, yellow and wrinkly.

[digitalgate]

sometime it could also due to "dirty" media that pass the bacteria to the plant. It also could come with the plant when you get from the vendor. Would be good for you to put the plant on the dry side to prevent other problem , as a weak plant could suffer from opportunistic fungus attack.

[Dendian]

Hi, I was just looking for information on exactly the same thing.

I have recently purchased a Den. nobile cross and I have the brown spots and yellowing leaves. I was hoping somebody could tell me if it was just damage or might be something more serious. All the canes look good but I have only had it for a day.

It also has odd light spots on the new growth. They are very small circles.

Any help with identifying the spots and their treatment would be appreciated.

I have already doused the plant with Brookn's magic recipie and sprayed all the plants I got with this one. All are in quarantine until I get the all clear...

Thanks
Dian

[solay]

Dian I would cut those black spots immediately and sprinkle cinnamon on the fresh cuts. That looks like it will spread. Good luck.

[Dendian]

Thanks Solay

I removed the whole leaves, as they were starting to look yellow. I will be watching the rest of the plant to see if any other leaves start to get spots.

I have contacted the seller and told them if the other leaves start to get spots I will return the plant. They said they grow these outside and it could be cold spots or fungus. If they get any more spots at my house, it won't be because of cold... 104 yesterday....

[digitalgate]

yes those are fungus problem and it is contagious. So cut it away and apply fungicides. U can use natural sun light's UV ray to kill the fungus. 15 min would sufficie in killing the fungus. But you need to make sure all part of the part is "sunned" increase air movement will also help. This kind of problem appear during wet and cold weather. Once you have sunlight you will have less of this problem.