Sick vanda orchid

[skeenski]

I have a Vanda Orchid that the leaves are dying. One totally dead and another about 2 inches dead. Leaves are yellow.

I have it hanging in a south window right against it.
I put it in temped water every day for 15 mins in the morning and about 2 pm I put it in the sink and squirt water just over the roots.
I have fertilized it once since I got it on 2 Oct. I measured water and put the fertilizer in according to instructions.

Nothing is helping it. I posted 4 pix in the Gallery under Skeenski.

Can anyone help me figure out what is wrong with this poor beautiful plant. The fertilizer box says yellowing leaves and they are doing that is too much light. Thoughts on that too? Thanks in advance


Linda

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Not enough info.

What is the brand of fertilizer?

What is the N-P-K ratio?

What is the nitrogen source? Is it ammonia? Is it nitrate? Is it urea?

What are the temperatures? Day? Night? Seasonal?

What is the humidity?


Do you have access to a very large clear plastic pot?

Do you have large grade bark?


When you say that you water using "temped water", do you mean to say you water using "tepid water"?

tepid: lukewarm

[dounoharm]

hi linda....you are probably sunburning the leaves closest to the window, back off a little so the leaves are not touching the glass....also, what sort of fert are you using? npk please? orchids like a weak fert solution, so you should use about half strength what the box says....vandas like to hang in the shower some every day you can do it....but it sounds like you are doing ok with the water....you arent leaving the plant wet at nite are you?....and vandas like warmth, they are sun loving tropicals....hope this helps, gl

[skeenski]

Phillip: The fertilizer is Miracle Gro Water Soluble Orchid Food. I went to a million places and only 1 nursery carried this one. Not sure what NPK is but the nrs on the box say 30-10-10. Box say to use 1/4 tsp to gallon of water.
Nitrogen is 3% Ammoniacal Nitrogen and 27% Urea nitrogen.

Leaves were turning yellow before I used fertilizer.

It is 65 in the room when we get up in the mornings and 72 or close during the day. 9pm now it is 70.

The window it hangs in is on the south and leaves touch the window. I thought it might be getting sunburnt but not sure.

We live in northern Utah so not much humidity but I have it hanging over the kitchen sink so it should get some humidity. I take it upstairs when we shower so it gets humidity from the shower as well.
Yes i have a large plastic tub and large bark.
Tepid water yes lukewarm.

I fill the sink at night to let it sit for the cholorine to leave. I also fill a large pan at night for the same reason. I heat the pan of water in the mornings and pour it into the sink to heat the warm before putting in the orchid.
As you can see I am trying hard to save it.

Tell me what else I can do to help it survive.

Thanks Linda

[skeenski]

No I water about 10am and put it in the sink about 2pm and spray the roots only. Fertilizer is Miracle Gro Orchid Food 30 10 10. I will move it to another south window where it isn't so close to the window itself.

Any tips will be appreciated. Thanks Linda

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

30-10-10 is the N-P-K ratio.

N = nitrogen
P = phosphorous
K = potassium

So your fertilizer is:

30 - Nitrogen
10 - Phosphorous
10 - Potassium (the K is the elemental symbol)

The percentages of nitrogen ratio for your fertilizer breaks down to:

3% ammonical nitrogen
27% urea nitrogen

Urea is virtually useless for epiphytical orchids. Urea is such a stable form of nitrogen that it needs microbes in the soil to break it down to either ammoniacal or nitrate nitrogen for the plants to use.

Epiphytes generally don't grow in soil or they'd be considered terrestrials.

If you consider the two fore mentioned statements together, urea cannot be used effectively for epiphytes.

Nitrogen in the form of ammonia or nitrate are the ones that are of any use to epiphytical orchids.

Long term use of fertilizers containing such a high concentration of urea on epiphytical plants can be fatal to them due to excessive build up.

Fertilizer burn can not only be the result of a high concentration of the fertilizer itself, but can be a result of the build up of unused nutrients as well.

Signs of fertilizer burn is root tip die back or leaf tip die back.


For now the temperature appears to be fine.

Since humidity is very low where you live, I don't recommend growing the plant using baskets without media.

They are fully capable of being grown in pots with plenty of drainage holes and/or slots.

Large grade bark can offer the plant something to attach to and can retain enough moisture for the roots to absorb before the water evaporates.

Yellowing leaves are not always a sign that there's too much light involved. It can also be a result of dehydration, which your plant looks like it is experiencing to some degree.

I recommended a clear plastic pot because most epiphytical orchid roots have the capability to photosynthesize to some degree or another.

This should be a good starting point.

Any further questions feel free to ask.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Btw, I highly recommend you shop around for the proper fertilizer for use with epiphytical orchids.

Such a high nitrogen ratio is also not necessary.

You don't have to toss the fertilizer you have now, just use it for terrestrial plants.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'll add this too...

Be aware of what is in your tap water. Everybody's tap water is not the same. Chlorine, chloramine, and flouride are just a few things that may be present in tap water as additives. However, there may be other minerals involved such as calcium carbonate or calcium bicarbonate. Heavy metals and volatile organic or inorganic compounds may also be present in your tap water.

If you can find out what's in your tap, it might be helpful.

Of course, if you have access to filtered or RO/DI water to use when watering the orchid, it might do some good too.

[skeenski]

Phillip tell me what fertilizer to get. I shopped and shopped to find this one. What N P K do you suggest.

I know we have cholorine and floride for sure. I had secondary water that has none of this but it is now turned off.

Do I just put in the large bark into a clear container and sit the orchid on top of the bark? Then how do I water it? Just keep water in the bottom of the container? As you can see I am way new to orchids.
We are leaving Friday for a long weekend. How do I keep this alive while we are gone?
Thanks for your help Linda

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

When I recommend this N-P-K ratio, it is meant as a guideline. Strict adherence to it is not necessary.

The recommended N-P-K ratio is somewhere along the lines of 20-20-20. Ideally no higher than this.

So for example, there are formulations with exactly 20-20-20 ratios.

There are also 20-10-20 ratios.

There are also ratios for 13-3-15.

These are pretty much acceptable ranges of N-P-K ratios for orchid/bromeliad fertilizers.

It should contain absolutely no urea based nitrogen sources. Nitrogen sources have got to be from ammonia and nitrate.

Brand doesn't really matter. A couple brands I can recommend are Grow More or MSU. There's also another one, but I can't read the label on the bottle, it's faded. Really, there's just a good number of brands that do the job.