Help my sick orchid

[elilang]

Last week I went to a nursery and purchased my first ever orchid. when I bought it all of the flower buds were closed and over the first week 6 have opened to show amazing flowers.

After a week i started to notice spots on a few leaves and then one leaf turned totally yellow. now there seems to be spots on a few leaves. the spots and yellowing starts at the tip and moves its way down. Also the bulbs are a bit brown, but not mushy. I have watered only 2 time in the last 10 days. it is on my table and gets good light but no direct sun on the leaves.

any thoughts would be great.

Thanks
Eli

ps- its a Miltassia charles m. fitch izumi

[gabi_borza]

That looks like a Miltassia to me (a hybrit between Miltonia and Brassia). Those spots could indicate a fungus infection. There weren.t any on the leaves when you purchased it?

[elilang]

no, there were no spot, but some of the leaves where clipped half way down.

[otis 226]

Being about as far as it is possible to be from an expert, I answer your call for help mostly with moral support. I'm sure more seasoned orchid growers will chime in with help soon.
Welcome to the forum, I'm sure you will learn tons and have a good time doing it here!
That being said, your plant looks to me to be whats called an intergeneric hybrid, which simply means its got several different types of orchids in its lineage. It does have beautiful flowers. I think the major concern is the discoloration at the base of the pseudobulbs, (the swellings at the bottom of the leaves). It looks like it can be some sort of rot starting. I'd stop watering for sure and wait for more info here. If you've only owned this plant for a week, is it possible that these conditions existed when you purchased it? If so, I'd contact the seller. I believe it calls for a spray with some Physan 20 or another type disinfectant/anti-fungal preperation. It doesn't look too advanced yet, so I would say you've caught it before it will be life threatening to your plant. The spots on the leaves are less of a concern, as many Oncidium, Brassia, and other soft leaved varieties seem to develop them from time to time. I wish you good luck with your first orchid and I'm sure you'll be able to get it back on the road to good health with some more help from here soon.
Best,
Tony

[elilang]

Thanks for the welcome,
I think it is a Miltassia charles m. fitch izumi. i found the tag it came with. there are a few psudobulbs that are large with no leaves on them and those are the ones that show the brown areas. should I remove them? are they important to the plant if they have no leaves? the reason I bought it is it had 2 spikes both unopened and each with 9 buds.

[otis 226]

I think a few more pics which include the whole plant might be helpful. Old pbulbs without foilage are called backbulbs. Depending on how long they've been with the plant they may be supplying nutrients to the plant or may be getting ready to die off. They usually start to shrivel before that, not turn brown first. Its hard to say if this is an overwatering problem, so many variables such as type of medium, pot size, ect. Again, if these pbulbs looked like this when you bought the plant, I thhink I'd be getting in touch with the seller.
Tony

[elilang]

ok i posted a few more pictures. thanks for your help.

[tom499]

Are the leaves dying off older or new? ie, from the outside inwards, or vice versa?

[elilang]

from the inside out, older first. but there is a little bit of yellowing on the tips of some of the new ones also.

[Johnny B]

Welcome to the forum. I have several of these exact plants. Oh, before I get rolling with my reply, take into consideration I am by no means a pro. This is just my 2cents. My first question for you is regarding the potting medium it is in. The browning on the pbulbs looks like a form of rot. Your plant looks like it is in a 4" planter right now. I cant say for sure, but it also looks like the potting medium it is in might be a touch on the old side. For $5-6 at Lowe's you can buy a bag of special orchid mix potting medium. There is more than enough in that bag to repot many orchids. When I have recieved orchids that look like they are rotting like that I have found that the vast majority of the root system is completely dead. If this is the case you will want to get a good sharp pair of shears, a metal coat hanger, some rubbing alcohol, an old toothbrush, and some gloves. You can either wait till your plant is done blooming or if you think the plant wont make it past blooming start checking the roots. You can slide the plant out of the plastic conatainer it is in. If it has root sticking out of the bottom, feel them and observe them. If they are white with green tips, they are alive. If they are light brown or dark brown and squishy they are dead. Slide the plant out of the container. Take some pictures and post them here. If the roots are almost completely rotten you definately want to get rid of them and the old potting media. If this is the case post some pictures and respond. Once again, I am not a pro. I do have quite a bit of experience with the Charles M. Fitch 'Izumi' I have 3 of them potted and 1 mounted. Good luck!

-Johnny B

[katrina]

Originally Posted by Johnny B

If this is the case you will want to get a good sharp pair of shears, a metal coat hanger, some rubbing alcohol, an old toothbrush, and some gloves.

I understand what you're doing w/the other items but what's the hanger for?

[elilang]

Originally Posted by Johnny B

Welcome to the forum. I have several of these exact plants. Oh, before I get rolling with my reply, take into consideration I am by no means a pro. This is just my 2cents. My first question for you is regarding the potting medium it is in. The browning on the pbulbs looks like a form of rot. Your plant looks like it is in a 4" planter right now. I cant say for sure, but it also looks like the potting medium it is in might be a touch on the old side. For $5-6 at Lowe's you can buy a bag of special orchid mix potting medium. There is more than enough in that bag to repot many orchids. When I have recieved orchids that look like they are rotting like that I have found that the vast majority of the root system is completely dead. If this is the case you will want to get a good sharp pair of shears, a metal coat hanger, some rubbing alcohol, an old toothbrush, and some gloves. You can either wait till your plant is done blooming or if you think the plant wont make it past blooming start checking the roots. You can slide the plant out of the plastic conatainer it is in. If it has root sticking out of the bottom, feel them and observe them. If they are white with green tips, they are alive. If they are light brown or dark brown and squishy they are dead. Slide the plant out of the container. Take some pictures and post them here. If the roots are almost completely rotten you definately want to get rid of them and the old potting media. If this is the case post some pictures and respond. Once again, I am not a pro. I do have quite a bit of experience with the Charles M. Fitch 'Izumi' I have 3 of them potted and 1 mounted. Good luck!

-Johnny B

Thanks for the info, all the growth on one side of the plant looks really strong and healthy. the other side not so good. I think I will wait until the flowers are gone before repotting. the potting medium seems to be a mix of moss, bark and pieces of pumice or something like that. the more I look at it the more I start to see two distinkt plants in one pot, when I repot is it a bad idea to try and split the plant in half?

[11Orchid126]

You don't say what your location is, but having the plant on a table is like having your plant in the dark. This plant needs a lot more light than you're giving it.