Oncidium leaf spots--

[orchidaddict789]

Here's a pic of my miltassia plant. The pale areas are sort of "sunken in," and on some leaves, brown spots started to appear. I checked everywhere for mites but haven't seen any (the plant is also near other plants and none of the others have these symptoms). The only other problem with this plant is the lack of a healthy root system, thanks to a certain box store (where I'm never going to buy orchids from again).



Also, for some reason, this photo makes the leaves appear better-looking than they really are.

Any ideas what this is?

[dounoharm]

i have the spots on all my oncidiums....it seems inherant to the plant...they came with spots from carmela's so i guess they just tend to be that way....my sharry baby is the worst, but i hear that they tend to be that way.....i would be interested to hear what others have to say about spots on onc...

[rschluss]

Oncidiums spot. Light spotting is usually a good indicator that it is getting the right amount of light for good blooming. No spotting usually means the plant isn't getting enough light.

[dillon935]

My sharry baby is full of spots too; it bloomed well this year and the roots are good. Like duonoharm I think it's just how they are.

[mehitabel]

I agree with rschluss and everyone else. Oncidia get brown frecklish brown spots when they are getting good light. It's just what they do.

[Olive Cook]

hm... now I want to look over my Onc.s!

[-k-]

It is a bit difficult to determine from the photo's and although I do agree with the others that spotting is common I would keep an eye on it. The spots seem a little too sunken which could be a more formidable problem. Again this could just appear this way due to the photo.

[orchidaddict789]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Hopefully it's no problem. I guess I got a bit worried at first since the spots look a bit different from the regular Sharry Baby spots. Still, I'll keep an eye on it.

[PocoGigio]

I heard somewhere along the line that Sharry Baby, in almost all plants in cultivation, has the CymMV and/or ORSV strains of virus! It causes these 'normal' spots on Sharry Baby. I tested my first one because it didn't look right and it did have both viruses. I panicked and dumped it along with 13 others that tested positive. But, couldn't resist Sharry and had to buy another. It has the same spots but I won't test it ($5 a test). I keep it away from my other 'chids and sterilize, sterilize, sterilize. If you want to test yours I believe the company that has the kits is Agdia or something like that (its been awhile since the test).

[sunshine]

I have several of these crosses and I just love the combinations. The colors are just gorgeous and most of them have a nice fragrance. They are water hogs. I have noticed these brown spots on mine and haven't been too concerned. I haven't seen the spots spread to my other chids. So it's got to be their culture. Evidently these spots on these particular chids means their happy with the amount of light and care they are getting. Every plant has a happy sign when it's getting the right care.

I'm sorry about your experience with a big box store. I have bought a few chids from big box stores. The first thing I do after I get done is inspect, inspect, inspect I check the root system and look for others signs of stress such as water/light issues which can be adjusted and check very carefully for bugs. If the plant doesn't look right I won't buy it. If I can't provide the right culture I won't buy it. I love vandas. I donot have the right culture nor the time for the heavy watering etc. So I don't have one. When the plant gets stressed I get stressed and frustrated.So usually what happens is the plant ends up in File 13

Here is a little info on your Miltassia.
They include Brassidium "Brsdm." (Brassia & Oncidium); Oncidium "Onc."; Wilsonara "Wils." (Cochlioda x Odontoglossum x Oncidium); Odontocidium "Odcdm." (Odontoglossum x Oncidium); Odontonia "Odtna." (Odontoglossum x Miltonia); Miltassia "Mtssa." (Miltonia x Brassia); Colmanara "Colm." (Miltonia x Oncidium x Odontoglossum); Vuylstekeara "Vuyl." (Cochlioda x Miltonia x Odontoglossum); Miltonidium "Mtdm." (Miltonia x Oncidium); Burrageara "Burr." (Cochlioda x Miltonia x Odontoglossum x Oncidium)


Oncidium & Odontoglossum Orchid Care - Carter and Holmes Orchids Culture

[orchidaddict789]

Thanks, interesting to hear! When I first bought my Sharry Baby, it had tons of spots, but now the number of spots have decreased dramatically. Maybe because it's not getting enough light. I have moved it further away from the windowsill because it's so huge it's taking up all the space.

Yeah, big box stores can have some nice orchids! I guess the most important thing is to inspect thoroughly. I probably shouldn't have bought it in such a rush just because it had a 2 spikes and 5 pbulbs (after I unpotted it I found out there were actually 3 plants--two 2-bulb divisions with a spike each, and a lonely 1-bulb plant). Now they're still fit in one pot since they barely got roots. Yes the flowers are nice! It's a noid but I believe it's Miltassia Charles M. Fitch.

Here's another pic. Ok, I'll not worry about brown spots anymore! But I don't know why the leaves are getting more pale spots...


I'll be careful with it and isolate it (in case it's a virus).