Is my orchid sick? (pitted leaves)

[19moashl]

Hi guys! I'm a newbie here so allow me to introduce myself. I'm currently a freshman at Northern Arizona University and moved here over the summer from Iowa. I'm perusing a degree in secondary math education and mathematics because I love helping kids grow and thrive just like my plants! My expertise in plants doesn't extend to orchids unfortunately.

I used to have an Orchid back home in Iowa that I took care of all of high school and never had any issues with. I even got it to bloom a couple times! Exciting stuff I know, especially for someone that doesn't normally deal with flowering plants. Anyways, I had to give my girl away to a new home when I moved. So when I got home from break and went to the nursery with my dad I saw some orchids and had to get one. However, silly me didn't think to check the leaves, I was more concerned with finding one that didn't have that many buds blossomed yet. Oops.

So here's my issue. I noticed today that my orchid, which I have named Stella, has some pitted leaves. They aren't yellow or black. So I don't think it is a fungus or bacteria and I should lose all hope. However I did notice there is some white "fuzz" for a lack of a better word under the leaves. This makes me think the culprit might be spider mites. Once again, I'm not sure and I don't know any orchid appropriate solutions. I do have the orchid in quarantine away from my other plants just in case. It is in bright indirect light that's what worked for me in Iowa and I'm following the same watering routine I did back home. I've attempted to upload some photos as well. So hopefully that worked.

I apologize if this was just a ramble. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[SouthPark]

Are those regions soft/mushy? If hard and dry, then that's definitely better than soft and mushy.

If soft and mushy, then this is when I would spray on some orchid-recommended fungicide onto the leaves - top and bottom.

If you suspect mites, then spray all the leaves with an orchid-recommended soap solution to drown the mites.

Maintain good comfortable temperature for the orchid to grow, and good lighting conditions, and also ----- ensure good air-movement around the plant. Avoid still-air environment.

In Australia, I'd be spraying with a product we have here locally - like 'Yates anti-rot phosacid systematic fungicide'.

In your region, maybe you have other treatments, like mancozeb, or thiomyl. Just a a precaution.

Anyway - if the regions on the leaf are hard and dry, then chances are the orchid is ok - provided that you watch the plant like a hawk over the next few days, and there are no signs of spreading.

[19moashl]

Ah thank you SouthPark!
The spots are hard and dry so that's good. I just have a couple questions.

1) Should I be spraying the under parts of the leaves or just the tops? and do I need to worry about only the leaves or should I spray to soil too?
2) Last one! Are there any more preventative measures I should take on top of having air flow?

Again thank you so so much!

[Ray]

The damage on the upper side of the leaves is possibly mesophyll collapse, often caused by exposure to excessively cold air or water. It's done, so nothing more to worry about.

The under-leaf damage looks more like it was caused by a pest to me.

Personally, I see no need for a fungicide treatment, but as a general comment, whenever you treat for anything, wet all plant surfaces.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by 19moashl

Ah thank you SouthPark!
The spots are hard and dry so that's good.

You're most welcome moashl.

Hard and dry is just fine. All under control. Your plant should be ok without you needing to do anything. Just maintain good temperature, good lighting and good air-movement around the plant and its roots and its media.

1) Should I be spraying the under parts of the leaves or just the tops? and do I need to worry about only the leaves or should I spray to soil too?

For real-deal situations where time is of the essence, a systematic fungicide would be applied to every part of the plant that you can easily get at - every leaf (upper and lower) and stem too. If any liquid gets lodged in any pockets of the plant, then the plant should be tipped over and trapped liquid be drained out as much as possible.

In general, an orchid like a phalaenopsis is not grown in soil. So we wouldn't consider spraying the soil, as that's irrelevant. But - for me, just to be on the safe side - unpotting the orchid to check roots is ok. And spraying the roots with systematic fungicide could be beneficial too. Just take the usual precautions with handling fungicides - regardless of what that fungicide is.

2) Last one! Are there any more preventative measures I should take on top of having air flow?

Just general practices applied for plant hygiene. And golden rules of orchid growing - comfortable temperature range, suitable lighting levels and duration of lighting through the day, and maintaining good aeration around the whole plant - including leaves, roots and media.

[19moashl]

Thank you so much guys! This has been a huge help!