Help! Can I save these abused phalaenopsis?

[Missusk]

Hi everybody! I am from central New Jersey and am a newbie with orchids. As I mentioned in my introductory post I got seven phalaenopsis orchids from somebody who had to move abroad. They seem pretty dehydrated (leaves are very limp) and they have a fair amount of leaf damage – the previous owner said that she had left the orchids outdoors during the summer and they became infested with snails and slugs. So – I am hoping to post photos to get advice on how to salvage some of them – if it’s even possible!

I’ll start with the one that I think needs the most help – it seems to have lost most of its roots and what is left isn't terribly healthy. The leaves are chewed up too.

[Missusk]

Here is phalaenopsis #2 – this one is in a plastic pot that is in another container with no drainage holes. My friend received this from somebody who thought it was a rubber plant! She didn’t want to move the orchid out of the container because she was afraid of damaging the roots. I’m thinking that I may try to separate the two containers? It looks like there must have been some sort of infection on one of the leaves which is why it is cut. Is the black spots on the leaves a fungal or bacterial infection? Should I worry that this will spread to the other orchids?

[estación seca]

Those are not bad and almost certainly salvageable. They could flower next year.

Black spots in post #2 might be spider mite damage.

I forgot - what are your temperatures? What to do next depends on that.

[Missusk]

Really? That is exciting to hear! Thanks for getting back to me!

I'm in central New Jersey so right now the plants are indoors. The house temperature is pretty much 68 degrees during the day, and 65 degrees at night. It doesn't seem like it's going to warm up outside much more than that over the next few weeks. Outside the lows are in the 40's, the highs in the 60's.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Black spots in post #2 might be spider mite damage.

It may well be mite damage. The mites can start gathering underneath the leaf and start doing their damage. I don't mind organisms that might feed a little bit on my orchids - and not kill them. But for mites (especially spider mites) - it will be war time. One of my tactics is using one of those hair-dresser 'atomiser' spray bottles. And I fill it up with a little bit of dish soap and a little bit of pyrethrum liquid, and add water - then shake it up. And then I spray the fine 'mist' with the atomiser spray - and also stock spare atomiser spray-bottles (in case the injector stops working ---- so spares are good).

I also do a similar thing with imidacloprid spray - and not spray when it is breezy. And to wear suitable filter mask etc.

Got to spray under the leaves and on top. All parts. And stem too. And I spray when it's not sunny and not too hot.

[Missusk]

Oh boy. Searching “spider mites” on the board…ugh..

Thank you for all your advice.

I think I will try the more “natural” approach first – mainly because I have the ingredients already plus I have pets. So I am going to try a dish soap, alcohol, and water mixture and will repeat weekly.

I had all my orchids together in a large plastic container. I guess I need to treat all of them?

In particular – I have another orchid (not part of the abused collection) that I think maybe shows signs of spider mite damage?

[estación seca]

Use dish soap or alcohol, not both. Alcohol is ineffective below 70%.

[SouthPark]

With dish soap spray onto phals ------- a warm environment will be good, with nice air-flow to help dry the leaves again - and also try to blow out any water trapped in the crown area - to avoid possible crown rot issues.

With alcohol spray - I have read something in the past about possible chilling effects on the leaves - so just read up on that too. The nice thing about alcohol is relatively quick drying. But keeping in mind that the quick drying also can lead to chilling effects - depending on the environment conditions.

[Roberta]

I never had any issues with chilling when I have used alcohol on Phals. I even use it on flowers with no harm. When I use it I'm generally going after mealybugs rather than other pests, but in any case, plant gets a bath because they hide in the crevices. It is gone in less than a minute. I just stick a sprayer into the original 70% isopropanol bottle.

[SouthPark]

With the alcohol - the mention of chilling is for extra information - in case there are some conditions where it is being used that does something undesirable.

One particular article (here (page 4)) does mention the potential problem, and also does mention 'rare' (which is good).