Phal leaves with gummy substance

[hoary]

The underside of some of phal leaves have a gummy substance at the edge. Not all of the leaves are affected and the plant is in bloom and otherwise appears healthy. Any idea what would cause this?

[mayres]

I cannot say for sure what your cause is, but I have noticed that this typically happens for me when I have a PEST involved - such as mealy bugs. Where they attach the plant is exudes a sticky gooey substance. Check for mealies, scale, mites, etc. Hope I'm wrong. They are such a pain! Scan both surfaces of the leaves very carefully and see if you can find anything. Good luck. Mike

[hoary]

Thanks, I have checked the leaves further and found little brown things about the size of a flea. They crush to a reddish brown substance. I have picked them off. Is there anything else I should be doing?

[mayres]

It the critters are not mites then I would buy a bottle of ready to use Bayer rose and flower systemic insecticide for around $5 and spray all surfaces and then repeat in about three weeks. If mites, then Neem. I have not personally used neem yet, so someone else will probably give you the ins and outs of using it. Good luck! Mike

[prisana]

Hi Hoary , I think to be on the safe side, you should use Mike's advice and get some of that spray on the plant.."shoot first, ask questions later" kind of deal . The longer you wait to identify the bugs the worse the infestation can get once you've sprayed, you can look up about the bug while you wait...I did this too, the first time i had thrips, I waited a few days to find out what they were so I can use the right spray, little too late and my buds on the spike were sucked dry. Bayer Rose and Flower spray will kill anything in my yard except mites, which you don't have , I think ( you can't really see them without mag. glass) There is a lot of help from a lot of masters in this forum , I'm sure they'll be able to guide you through..good luck.

[Lucinda Brown]

Ortho systemic rose and flower spray contains acephate and I read somewhere it was safe for orchids.I have since used it many times on my varied collection of orchids,in my greenhouse and when they are outdoors.Also when an unwanted critter shows up on one in our sunroom.Hasn't hurt any of them yet! You can get it at Home Depot or Lowe's. Hope this helps.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

If you can see these bugs, they are not mites, which helps, as I reserve neem oil for these guys or for the truely unknown (might be mites). For most everything else, I recommend a product containing imidacloprid, like the Bayer Advance Rose and Flower ready mix, or better yet, the Bayer Advaced Tree & Shrub concentrate, where you will have to figure out how much to use to get the same concentration of imidacloprid as in the Rose & Flower ready mix. My calculation came out 2T per Gal, but check me on this. I know several orchid growers with very diverse collections that have zero trouble with this stuff, and it is systemic. It may take a few days to kill the bugs tho. My experience with acephate has not shown it to be very effective, but maybe I got a bad batch.

[hoary]

Thanks to everyone for the advice, I've isolated the infected plant and discovered that it had started on the plant beside it. i will spray everything to be on the safe side. Hopefully everything will be under control shortly.