Stickyness on Cattleya leaves

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Orchidtinkerer

Is that snow behind it?

Snow = cold, Cattleya's like it hot. Coldstress weakens a plant and makes it more attractive for pests to attack it, they have a 6th sense for weak plants and swarm towards them.

Well, "hot" may be a bit of an exaggeration... C. violacea maybe, far more are intermediate or warm/intermediate... I grow a lot of Catts (species and hybrids) outside where night winter temps can get close to freezing though days are typically a bit warmer... because many Cattleya-tribe species (and their hybrids) are fairly cold-tolerant. However, in Michigan that's snow... so the plant is definitely indoors. However, OT, you're very right that plants that are unhealthy/stressed ARE pest magnets. Did the pests weaken the plant, or did the weakness of the plant attract the pests??? Chicken or egg?? At any rate, get rid of the pests... and it's in the house (enclosed area) so what gets into one plant will eventually get into the others.

[Rhonda Svoboda]

well said Roberta. The overall health of my orchids is good. I've been growing plants for a long time- not necessarly orchids but I've developed a keen eye. Anyway, I recently bought 3 orchids and failed to isolate them. And that's whem I started having problems. So I think that's what caused the problem. But who knows- I'll just treat the problem. Also- I didn't know catt's could take those cold night temps so I'll be putting my catt's outside a bit earlier this spring

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Rhonda Svoboda

Also- I didn't know catt's could take those cold night temps so I'll be putting my catt's outside a bit earlier this spring

It depends on which Catts... if they have a lot of C. dowiana or lueddemanniana in their background, they'll need to be kept warmer. C. labiata and Rl. digbyana are more cold-tolerant. Most (but not all) of the SVO mini- and compact Catts are quite cold tolerant. So that's where it's important to look up the parentage of your Catts. The percentages of the various species will give you an idea of the options. To be safe for everything, wait for night temps to get up to 60 deg. or so. But if you do your research, you will learn which ones are more forgiving. (Also, the ones that I grow outside are out as the weather changes, so they acclimate... if they had been warm all winter, some would have issues with sudden cold)

[Rhonda Svoboda]

Roberta,
I always value your feedback- I truly respect your opinions and skill. I follow you on the acclimation process. I'll do my research and hopefully find a few that I can leave outside longer in the fall.