Possible sunburn on leaves??? - Orchid Board

Monkmonk · #1 04-30-2008, 02:12 PM

I am new to the orchid world and it started when I bought a plant at Meijer and I have had it for about three weeks now. Since then I have bought two other plants off of orchids.com and they have done really well until recently. I think that one may be sunburnt or maybe the water quality is bad(?). The one I'm refering to is the Dendrobium which i will show you now:

This is the full size of the plant itself:

These are the possible sunburn spots that I was refering to. Also as you can see some of the leaf tips are starting to turn brown and there is this white, chalky type of something that is on the leaves had has been ever since they have arrived in the mail:

This is what the potting material looks like. It is in a very small plastic pot and I'm not sure if it needs to be repotted or not:

I'm not sure if it's because of too much water, too much sun, or just bad water quality. I have not yet fertilized this plant in any way since I recieved it. I had it on a humidity tray but took it off as soon as I noticed this spot. I also noticed this spot on another leaf earlier. The entire leaf ended up turning yellow and I just pulled it off very easily. What can I do? Thank you in advance for any help that you can provide.

Ross · #2 04-30-2008, 02:37 PM

It looks like a small Dendrobium. Those spots are fairly normal. While it could be sunburn, I think not. Leaf tips do turn brown from time to time. The white deposit looks like calcium from hard water. It definitely could use a repotting before you lose the roots. The plants in stores like Meijer almost always need repotting when you get them home, but they usually are pretty high quality (a little expensive perhaps.) By the way welcome and hope to see you around the board. When you get a chance why not fill in some of the info on your control page profile so we can tell where you are located. It helps with answers.

MothLover · #3 04-30-2008, 02:37 PM

I can tell you that the chalky white build up on the leave is more than likely hard water build up (from the calcium and other stuff in the water) and it can easily be removed with leaf cleaner. I just wipe my leaves off with a damp paper towel and that takes off most of it.

I don't have any experience with dends, so that's all the info I can give. I'm sure someone will help you out more.

Monkmonk · #4 04-30-2008, 03:06 PM

Thank you Ross. So you think that I should repot this? This is the plant I bought and recieved through the mail. The plant that I bought at Mijer is another one. Is there anything I can do about the brown spot? Am I watering it too much? I only water it once a week but then I put the humidity tray underneath and I'm paranoid. Thanks again.

Monkmonk · #5 04-30-2008, 03:07 PM

Thank you Moth Lover. I will wipe them off with some distilled water and see if that helps. I really appreciate your advice.

Ross · #6 04-30-2008, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkmonk

Thank you Ross. So you think that I should repot this? This is the plant I bought and recieved through the mail. The plant that I bought at Mijer is another one. Is there anything I can do about the brown spot? Am I watering it too much? I only water it once a week but then I put the humidity tray underneath and I'm paranoid. Thanks again.

Don't be paranoid! It's just a plant. No there's nothing that will cure the end of leaf syndrome (that I have found). I routinely clip off leaf ends because I personally like my collection to look perfect. I personally do not like looking at half dead leaves, etc. I groom the plants every time I water.

Yes I definitely feel you should repot as I described above. And don't be tempted to go to a really big pot. Once you trim the old dead roots out (there will be some) then judge the size of pot by what will fit. Dendros (well, most anyways) like to be kinda pot-bound. You might very well be able to use the same pot, just use a coarse material like fir bark. I have found that the same pot works for me quite often. Scrub it out with hot soapy water and rinse well before reuse.

quiltergal · #7 04-30-2008, 05:31 PM

The leaves yellowing and dropping off is a typical Den. response to a new environment. I had one that dropped 8 leaves in about 3 days. It completely freaked me out. Once it got used to my home it quit dropping leaves and started growing again. Repotting will often get you the same response, but I agree with Ross. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do it. I repotted one last summer with great trepidation (same one that dropped 8 leaves), and it never missed a beat. In fact it got real happy and started growing like crazy. Ya just never know.

Monkmonk · #8 05-01-2008, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quiltergal

The leaves yellowing and dropping off is a typical Den. response to a new environment. I had one that dropped 8 leaves in about 3 days. It completely freaked me out. Once it got used to my home it quit dropping leaves and started growing again. Repotting will often get you the same response, but I agree with Ross. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do it. I repotted one last summer with great trepidation (same one that dropped 8 leaves), and it never missed a beat. In fact it got real happy and started growing like crazy. Ya just never know.

Thank you. I have potting material on the way. I have since put it back in the same spot that I had it in the house with the humidity tray underneath. We shall see