Any ideas what this could be?

[Danelady]

This is my Pot Burana 'Burana Beauty'. These spots have come up over the summer. The plant was outside in mostly shade. There were spots of sunlight getting through. Could it be sunburn? Any ideas? I haven't found any obvious pests. I know the plant is past due for repotting. Some of the leaves are dried up. The brown and black spots are all sunken. Some of the leaves are untouched and look fine.



Here's the whole plant. Sadly the kitties chewed off some of the leaf tips when it was inside last winter. This year I have a new shelf where they can't get to it, but it will get less light there.

[Filb]

Wow kitties really went to town! I hope mine doesn't develop a taste for orchids, though she likes to play with them...

Regarding the sunken bits, I would suggest maybe a sucking insect got to it OR sunburn then bacteria took over. I don't claim to be an expert though.

[jpyerry]

Could be mites of some sort, no webbing so maybe Phalaenopsis mites. I would check it under a microscope or any magnifier capable of a 20x magnification factor. Tough to tell without seeing it in person.

[rcb]

It looks like cell collapse due to I dont know what. But it doesn't look like any sunburn that I've ever seen.

Is it spreading? I'd probably be getting out the razors.

[Danelady]

It seems to be on several leaves. I cut 2 of them off last night and gave them to a friend. She's a plant pathologist for UGA and she's going to have a look at them for me!!

[NancyH]

Hi Danelady.
Thanks for the post. It's always good to see photos of compromised plants. We can all relate to the mysteries of "pests and deseases". Please post when you find out what is happening. Thanks, Nancy

[jpyerry]

Cool, a plant pathologist would be a handy person to know. I look forward to hearing what the diagnosis is.

Justin

[syndywindy]

Some type of cell collapse but from what I don't know but I don't think sunburn. Not how I've seen it anyway. Please let us know what your friend has to say. will be curious to see what she thinks.

[Danelady]

So, my plant pathologist friend got back with me on what they did not find on the leaves I gave her. She found no evidence of bacteria, fungus or insects!! She even had her boss take a look. Their conclusion, environment. So, good news and bad news! I have nothing bad on my plant, but not knowing what caused the leaves to look this way, I don't know how to fix it!! I did divide and repot the plant. So, we will see how that helps.