Is my new phal sick??

[riyokotsu]

I just picked up a new white phalaenopsis orchid from my local Home Depot. You could tell just by looking at their selection that they didn't take the greatest care of them, but I picked out a few that I thought looked most viable. However, upon further inspection, I noticed a few defects that I thought might be signs of a virus. I hope that this is not the case, but I want to be sure. The flowers themselves look healthy, but some of the leaves look sickly, as shown below.

The first picture is of the lower-most leaf on one of the sides. Half of it has turned completely yellow.

The second is of the upper-most leaf of the same side. There's a weird growth-type thing on the leaf that is a bit raised from the natural level of the leaf.

The third picture is of the flowers themselves.

If my new flower is sick, I have a guarantee on it for a year so I can return it easily. We seriously lack a good orchid nursery here in the Twin Cities, so Home Depot is my best place. Please help!

[CharliesAngel51]

Picture #1 looks like it could be sunburn. I'm not sure , maybe someone else will give an opinion.

Picture #2 I have no idea.

Picture #3 That is a picture of really pretty blooms!!!!!

[Breezy79]

The first pic looks like sunburn.

The second pic, more than likely damage, or there was a extreme change in its environment when the leaf was developing causing the ridge to form. Also could be caused from not stable watering conditions when the leaf was growing (kind of the same way some of the leaves can end up wavy/accordion like). Not sure though, and I'm sure someone with way more expertise than me will be able to give you a better answer.

I am curious to know the exact answer. A Phal I recently ordered and received from a very reputable nursery came the same way(one reason I highly doubt it is virus).

[mehitabel]

#1 looks like a dying leaf to me. It's wrinkled and the discoloration seems to start at the leaf junction.

#2 Don't know what it is, but I wouldn't give it a second thought.

#3 I agree with CharliesAngel here. That is a very beautiful phal, and unusual, too, white with a white lip is not common.

Your plant may or may not have a virus, but the observed symptoms of virus are often streaked flowers and an unmistakably sick plant.

So I wouldn't worry about that. With that dying leaf, I would worry about the roots and the condition of the medium -- depot it and check out the roots and medium. If they're okay, relax and enjoy your new beauty.

[riyokotsu]

Originally Posted by mehitabel

With that dying root, I would worry about the roots and the condition of the medium -- depot it and check out the roots and medium. If they're okay, relax and enjoy your new beauty.

I've read in books that I shouldn't depot plants until the flowers die, due to the risk of shocking the flowers and killing them. This would be the first time that I would ever depot a plant, so I'm pretty nervous to do it. Could you give me some advice?

[Breezy79]

Phals are the usual exception. They love to be repotted. The worst that will happen is the blooms may prematurely fall off.

[mehitabel]

Well, by "depot", I mean squeeze the plastic pot a few times to loosen the plant, pop it out of the pot, look it over for good roots. See what the medium looks like *down below*. Is it compacted, stinky wet sphag? Is it powdery soggy mushy wet decomposed bark? Feel it and smell it.

If it has good roots filling the pot, they will show on the outside of the rootball and actually hold the medium in the ball. You can actually pop it right back into the pot with no harm done to anything. That's "de-pot".

If the flowers are very fresh, you can *re*pot a phal with no harm to the flowers at all. As Breezy said,phals do love repotting-- it gives them fresh medium and they respond with a growth spurt of several months.

However, I have found that several of the older flowers on a phal sometimes die off after a repot. OTOH, a phal losing its roots in soggy decayed medium will drop all its flowers, too.

The depot is to give you an idea of what's going on and what to do about it. I don't want you to lose your beautiful flowers, but that leaf that's dying seems to me to be dying for a reason. It doesn't look like normal leaf loss in a healthy plant to me. If the plant was kept too dry for a couple of weeks, that might have caused the leaf to wither. OR, and this is what is also likely, the plant has been kept too wet, the medium is old and yucky, and root rot has set it. That will also cause leaves to wither and dry up.

Check out these notes at the Canadian Orchid Congress on the importance of roots, and on depotting, repotting, etc etc

Phalaenopsis Orchid Culture

[riyokotsu]

Should I cut off the dead roots that I find? It's very likely that the medium is too wet. They over-watered the crap out of these poor orchids at Home Depot, that much is clear. What should I do if I have root rot??

[syndywindy]

The few orchids I have bought at home depot are usually potted in moss and I always repot them. I would rather risk losing a couple blooms than lose an entire plant. You may find the outer moss peels away easily and then the actual root ball is just packed with moss. That being said, if you depot it, a healthy phal will have nice fat green or maybe silvery white roots. Anything soft, brown, black and/or mushy you would want to remove. cut them with a sterile blade and you can put cinnamon on the cut area. I usually will put it on the end of a q-tip so I don't get cinnamon on the healthy roots as it may seal off the root and then it can't get water. I personally don't care for moss, I find it more difficult to manage watering. I know others use it with good success, but I can judge when an orchid needs watering better in bark.