Phalaenopsis white pits brown spots purple spike

[Mercurianmad]

Hi there! I live it Northern California, zone 8. My house is heated to about 72 degrees. I’ve been nursing this phaelanopsis orchid back to life for a year now. It was growing so well up till last fall, and hit a slump in the winter.

When I got it most of its roots were rotten. It’s leaves we’re limp. This was last February: I changed the potting medium to mostly orchid bark with some spagnum moss and perlite. I put it over a tray of water. I let it dry out and then soak it for 15 minutes, drain throughly, then repeat about a week later.

Ok. It’s got a healthy root system now. It grew a leaf, and a spike last fall.

I just bought a new cold mist ultrasonic humidifier to run over it to increase the humidity. It’s had that for about a month. Twice the humidifier has made droplets on the leaves which have evaporated at night.

I suspected it was not getting enough sun in the northeast window I’ve had it in since I got it since fall, so I moved it to the south facing window in my daughters room. I believe it got burnt there. The leaves were hot. So I moved it now to the east, south facing window in our living room and put cheesecloth curtains in from of it to block out the light. It has been watered with a probiotic every 14 days, two times so far, and fertilized with FEED ME for three weeks the day after watering.

White pits have formed on the surface of the leaves. Is this sunburn? Or cold water damage maybe from the humidifier? Black lines have formed underneath one of the leaves. You can kind of see it in the fourth picture, next to the lines on the underside of the leaf. Too much water condensation from the humidifier maybe? I put my digital thermometer up to it and the potting medium hits 64degrees at night. The ambient temp around it at night is 62 and the water from the humidifier is 72 degrees based on that.

The spike is going purple, mYbe from the day in the sun in my daughters bedroom? The leaves are doing this strange mottled thing. I will attach pictures. Should I repot it? Please help!!! If I kill it now I’d be so so upset.

[SouthPark]

Do those white things rub off? Just get some orchid-safe insecticidal soap solution (or even water) on a soft wipe cloth, and see if the white things come off the leaf.

Assuming it's not insect activity, then maybe fungal activity. Hard to say right now. You could spray some mancozeb on the leaves and stem - just in case.

And, one general recommendation is to provide good air-flow (natural gentle breeze, or from a fan) - not only for the leaves and stem, but for getting air flow through the drainage holes of the pot and through the media.

[rbarata]

I can't see nothing wrong with your plant.
I'm sure the flowers are pink/purple.

[Mercurianmad]

The white spots don’t come off, they’re pits into the leaf. Neither does the mottled pattern. I’ll t try turning on the overhead fan and see if that helps. Thank you for the quick reply

[Dollythehun]

I agree with rbarata. I don't see anything wrong.

[Mercurianmad]

Well fantastic thank you very much! I’m glad the white spots aren’t concerning anyone😊 Thank you so much for checking it out😁 Hopefully it blooms soon

[Dollythehun]

Looking at your original post. I wouldn't let it get any colder than that.

[Mercurianmad]

Hmmm...I think I’ll turn the heat up in the house until summer hits just to be sure it’s ok

[aliceinwl]

I think I can make out some mild sunburn. I had something similar happen when come fall the sun started directly hitting one of the south facing windowsills I had some Phalaenopsis on. The damage may progress a bit if there was tissue death from the initial burn. The purple color is likely related to current light levels and indicates that the plant is likely near its tolerance.

I have more hybrid Phalaenopsis than I want to think about. They all weather low 60s fine at night. I’d just make sure the leaves stay dry. I don’t offer any supplemental humidity although the sheer number of plants I have crammed in together probably ups it a bit ;-)

I can’t see the black lines. My guess was that there was some sap leakage (natural) and the moisture from the humidifier moved it around and it mildewed. If this is what happened, it should just wipe off with a damp towel.

[camille1585]

Those white marks look like mechanical damage so nothing to worry about. The purple color on the spike can be normal depending on what color this plant will flower. Many Phals with pink/purple flowers will have some purple coloring on the underside of the leaves and on the spikes.

Overall that looks like a happy Phal, nice save!!