Vanda with brown spots, yellow/split leaves

[KLD]

Please help me! I am plant-sitting my mom's Vanda (for another week still) and I"m so afraid it's going to be dead upon her return. I have it in a very well lit window (it gets afternoon sun...but this morning I moved it to a lit window with no direct sun, thinking it was getting burned?), and water the roots morning and night. The leaves have started to have brown spots, on...e is completely yellow, and a few even now have slits down the length of them. I asked her to purchase 2 for me (before I knew my greenthumb wasn't prepared for orchids, lol) so she'll be bringing those back from FL, not sure what they are yet. I REALLY love Orchids so I hope you can help me. Plus, I do NOT want to be responsible for a plant not making it! I have several pics but not sure how to upload as it's asking for a url, rather than letting me upload from my hard drive...

[RosieC]

I'm don't know much about Vanda's I'm afraid. Only just had one for just under a month, but if you can post some pics it will really help people here to help you.

There is some help on posting pictures here.
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...chidboard.html
There are multiple ways of doing it and I think the one you have tried is expecting you to have the pictures already on the web on a photo sharing site. You can also load them to OB in a couple of different ways. If you are still having problems after reading the link above send me a PM (Private Message) and I will do what I can to help.

[Angurek]

As far as I know, it is normal for some of the leaves to split down the middle, especially those near the bottom (because the roots push out and the leaves are mangled as a result). The plants may also have been jostled around a lot, so it may just be mechanical damage.

As for the yellowing leaves, I have several questions for you. How is the plant being grown (bare-root in a basket, in a pot, etc)? How is the humidity in the room where the plant is? Lastly, how often are you watering? This question depends on the way the plant is being grown, so I need to know that first. I ask this because Vandaceous plants are whiny about water. They like their water and their humidity. If their water demands are not met adequately, they'll reward you by dropping leaves and shedding roots.

If it's just one leaf yellowing, it could just be senescence (yellowing and dying due to age). I'm not sure about the spots, though. They could just be "freckles" that the plant naturally develops over time, or fungal or even viral. The spots could also be due to overheating, if the room is hot.

I won't ask for pictures because I know it can be tough to post them if you have no means, but if you can post a similar picture to your situation from the internet, or describe it in good detail, someone may be able to determine what the spots are.

Good luck with that plant. Vandas aren't the easiest of orchids to grow, so I feel for you. I struggle with them myself, and am trying a variety of species and hybrids to determine what grows best for me.

[dounoharm]

to upload pics from a hard drive, go to the advanced message setting, look for the paperclip at the top tool bar, click on that and you are in business.....gl

[Angurek]

Originally Posted by dounoharm

to upload pics from a hard drive, go to the advanced message setting, look for the paperclip at the top tool bar, click on that and you are in business.....gl

By "means" I meant if you don't have a camera, or if your camera/photo apparatus doesn't work or cannot be used to upload pics.

Either way, I appreciate that tip.

[nenella]

I agree! please do post a picture or describe in detail as Carl said above. Orchids are tougher than we think & have 'survival instinct'... they just need to be helped along.

[KLD]

Okay, I'm going to try my best to remember to answer all of the quesitons. It was kept in my kitchen window with a lot of other plants that are thriving, but when I saw the yellow leaf (which wasn't yellow 2 weeks ago when I started plant-sitting), and brown spots (which I thought perhaps were due to me not wiping water off of the leaves before the sun hit), I moved it to my front window. The front window does get sunlight, but it's morning sun versus the kitchen window's strong afternoon sun (and much longer duration). Was I correct in doing that?
It's in normal house temperatures, so about 68-70, but with the heat from the sun it would be warmer. In the new location it's actually not getting nearly as much sun, so it wouldn't be all that warm (still about 68) or humid.

This morning I cut off the yellow leaf, as it was down to the base of the plant and I was afraid the damage would spread if I let it go any longer. I used cinnamon (as I saw someone suggest somewhere on this site) on the edges where I trimmed.

The plant is also in a wooden "pot" with cross bars for it to wind its roots, no soil. When watering, I let the water trickel over it for 3-4 min at a time (up until now, I've been doing it twice a day but someone said that might be too much?).
I'm SO glad I found this site! She is bringing me back 2 orchids (a surprise of what they'll be) so I'll need all the resourses I can get!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Vanda doesn't look like it's getting enough light. Leaves are too dark green.

The leaves splitting may be due to insufficient watering or insufficient humidity.

How often do you water?

What's your air circulation like?

What's your humidity (numbers, please ).

If your temperatures are what you say they are, that's not the problem.

I don't think that spotting is due to sunburn, I think it's fungal. Fungal spots are usually dark, almost perfectly circular, with a halo effect, sometimes with bruising around the halo or a yellow "aura" around the halo.

I can't see the roots clearly. What's happening with them?

[KLD]

Oh my! Okay, so I'll put it in the window that gets morning sun then transfer it to the window that gets afternoon sun?

Your description of the fungus sounds "spot" on. (sorry, couldn't resist, lol). What do I do to treat?

Nothing is going on with the roots that I know of, they are just not in soil, looping thru the pot the plant sits in.

I water once a day, in the morning, and (now) dry the leaves each time)

As for humidity, I couldn't begin to guess. My little thermometer w/humidy #s is shot, so I guess I'll get another.

Thanks so much!