NOID Phal "What do I have? Am I contagious?"

[Phyrex]

As the title suggests; I'm a NOID phal and I'm not sure what is making marks on my leaves. Can anyone help me find out what it is? Should I separate myself from my other orchid friends before they catch it too?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Don't know what it is, but I'd separate it.

What happened? Did you buy the plant and was not aware that the damage was there? Was it shipped to you like this? Or, did this just happen to an otherwise "healthy" plant that has been in your collection for a while?

Are you able to get a viral test kit?

Were there any insects?

Did you purchase the plant from a place that could've had snails or slugs crawling about?

[Phyrex]

It was given to me out of bloom and it's just reblooming for me for the first time. I just saw the spots today. I checked other plants in my collection and there are some that have similar spots but none have this many. All the others are not sitting next to this one on the shelves. As far as I know I don't have any insects on any plants except for springtails.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Phyrex

It was given to me out of bloom and it's just reblooming for me for the first time. I just saw the spots today. I checked other plants in my collection and there are some that have similar spots but none have this many. All the others are not sitting next to this one on the shelves. As far as I know I don't have any insects on any plants except for springtails.

Judging from what you're saying, I'm assuming that the plants you had already prior to receiving this one, were all free of these blemishes. Am I correct?

It wasn't until after you received this plant that you started seeing blemishes not only on the newly arrived plant, but the others you've had for quite a while, right?

How long have you had this new plant (the one you're asking about)? Was it during the Christmas holidays?

Some snails are micro-mini. You gotta use a magnifier to see them properly. I'm by no means narrowing it down to snails. Just knocking out possibilities.

If you're part of an orchid society up in Canada, I believe I remember someone saying that the local orchid society had some viral test kits available.

[flyfishdoc]

I am not an expert on orchid diseases, but those marks are well demarcated. Most infections have borders that are NOT sharp. All of these look pretty sharply separated from the green of the leaves. I have had some burns (on the underside of the leaves) probably compounded by drying that give spots that looked terrible but have not changed in 6 months.
Separate the plant, and look for changes in the spots over time

[Shirley]

Phals are also subject to cold damage if they have a period where the temperature is dropping too low. I've had this problem in the past and now I try to maintain a minimum of 60 deg. Things are definitely looking better but those marks are permanent -- just have to outgrow them.