black spots on back of leaves and white on front

[Sawdust]

I am fairly new with orchids, I have several that have a white or silver on the front of the leaves and black on the back, it doesn't rub off, I will try and put the picutres up, I am planning on moving some of the orchid to my now clean aquarium and I don't want to put and plants that might cause problems. thanks

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

I can't see those too well on my phone, but you might have scale or mealybug insect infestation. Look up photos of those online and compare to your plant.

[Roberta]

The markings on the backs of the leaves make me think "spidermites" ... Hopefully, some of our experts will jump in - for sure don't put it in an enclosed area with other plants until you can figure out what it is and knock it down.

[rbarata]

Close up photos would be better.

[SouthPark]

True! What started off as mite or mealybug or even boisduval scale attack (and still being attacked by them) can even turn into fungal and/or bacterial activity.

Provide nice growing temperature and gentle air-flow ....... and maybe give the leaves a nice wipe-down with a soft damp cloth (with say a bit of dish-washing liquid mixed into the water for wetting the cloth). And maybe spray some orchid-safe copper solution all around ---- on all parts of leaves and stem, then allow gentle air movement to dry.

Then monitor the orchid.

And also check out this site.

[Sawdust]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

True! What started off as mite or mealybug or even boisduval scale attack (and still being attacked by them) can even turn into fungal and/or bacterial activity.

Provide nice growing temperature and gentle air-flow ....... and maybe give the leaves a nice wipe-down with a soft damp cloth (with say a bit of dish-washing liquid mixed into the water for wetting the cloth). And maybe spray some orchid-safe copper solution all around ---- on all parts of leaves and stem, then allow gentle air movement to dry.

Then monitor the orchid.

And also check out this site.

thanks I will give the soap and water a try, where do I get the copper solution, I am in Kingston ontario Canada

[SouthPark]

Most welcome SD. In lots of cases, an orchid-safe insecticidal soap solution spray onto leaves will handle insects that don't have a hard scale covering (that protects the scale insects).

Other methods include systematic applications - that get into the plant - which doesn't harm the plant - but handles insects like scale, mealybugs etc. Systematic insecticides include imidacloprid - which isn't sold in some parts of the world or some regions, due to their deadly effect on bees.

The copper solution can deal with some sorts of fungal activity and even some sorts of bacterial activity. But when sprayed onto leaves and stem etc ..... the water can help drown mites. But usually, the mites etc can be treated separately ----- where a soap solution helps the water stick to leaves and mites better than just plain water. And good air-movement in the growing area helps to dry the leaves again - which cuts down on chances of leaves developing bacterial issues.

[WaterWitchin]

Even with poor pictures, it looks like spider mites, mealy bugs or scale. imidacloprid is available in Canada via Amazon. Just type imidacloprid into your Amazon search bar, and you'll get various products. That's what I'd do. And I'm told treat once a week for at least three weeks. I'd keep it isolated for probably double that amount of time. You might want to check your other plants closely. All three of those above-mentioned insects usually don't confine themselves to one plant by the time it's as advanced as it is on that one.

---------- Post added at 08:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 AM ----------

PS Some sprays with imidacloprid also treat for various fungus and bacterial problems. You'll get triple action from the product you choose if you get one of those.