wimpy leaves

[stitches201]

New to orchids. Several of my plants the bottom leaves are really wimpy. Getting beautiful thick roots but what is happening to them. ??

[jay]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

To be able to help we really need to know what kind of orchid you have. Some orchids are deciduous and lose their leaves. Some do not.

[stitches201]

the ones that are mostly getting wimpy are the Dendrobium and Phalaenopsis.
thank you for any help...They are on a screen in patio facing the north and I have trelis covering the screen. It is anywhere from high 80's into the low 90's and at night 75/80 Humidity (ugh) high.

[mayres]

In regards to the Phalaenopsis - this time of year they commonly loose a bottom leaf or two as new ones grow and take their place(s). Another reason the bottom leaves could be "wimpy" is a compromised root system - underwatering and overwatering both can show this effect - underwatering is easiest (start watering more often). Overwatering usually results in rotted/disentegrated roots - requiring you to depot and examine your roots - remove all mushy/soft, black, stringy and otherwise rotted/wasted roots and after cleaned up repot in fresh media. If you are not sure of the condition of your roots I would take a peek - hopefully you are just noting the natural process leaf life.

[Rocinante]

Welcome to the forum stitches! North is not really a great direction for an orchid to face if you can avoid it; if you've got an East, West or South exposure, you should try that . North does not produce enough light, even for low light requiring Phals. and Dens require Med to High light for the most part. Oh, and by the way, your orchids love humidity!
Being only a year into orchids myself, I have found that the biggest killer of orchids is overwatering! Which could be the cause of your wimpy leaves. Don't be afraid to check on the condition of your root systems.

[yonpli]

Wimpy leaves can mean a lot of things. I would first check your roots and make sure they are firm and have growing ends.

If watering does not seem to be the problem, check that your fertilizer (weakly, weekly) has a good variety of micro-nutrients. If it does not, find a supplemental treatment for your orchids. I had an orchid with wimpy bottom leaves but a very healthy root system. I was using a fertilizer with some micro-nutrients, but apparently not enough for that orchid - although the others were fine. Within 24 hours of using a micro-nutrient supplement as part of a normal watering one of the leaves ceased to be wimpy.