Super new and really wanting to do it right

[Blondie]

Yes, please don't worry about asking questions. I'm learning so much from your questions and how people are replying. It's preparing me for any future problems.

[sapphireeyes27]

Man.... I just can't catch a break with this orchid.

I have a new problem. The very bottom leaf (there are three) is getting mushy and is even a little see-through on one side. On the bottom, the leaf is a little redish-brown. The other two leaves look fine for the moment. I don't know if this is a reaction to all the trauma from the repotting or if there is something else that is going on that I don't know about.

Here are two pictures of the one leaf and then a picture of the two healthy leaves.

[slipperfreak]

It's hard to tell from the pics, but it's possible that the lowest leaf is being shed to spare the plant some energy from the trauma. If it is shed, it should make more leaves in time.

[Rane84]

I'm new to orchids, so bare with me. This may be a stupid quetion.

How would a slotted pot help air circulation? Wouldn't the soil fill the slots so air wouldn't get in, and wouldn't valuabe water be lost that would normally be soaked up by the soil? Please explain.

[quiltergal]

Hi Rane, not a stupid question at all. Most orchids are epiphytic which basically means they live above ground up in the trees. Their roots aren't designed to be in soil, most are bare rooted in nature and draw moisture & nutrients from the air and rain. Orchid growers have had to get creative and simulate how they would grow in nature or something close. That said, orchids in pots are usually in some type of coarse bark or coco husk chucks or some type of LECA which is the clay balls used in hydroponics. The object is to have something to anchor your orchid that will retain a little but not too much moisture. Orchids like lots of air around their roots so the slotted pots combined with coarse bark works great. The pot drains better, and there is air moving in and out of all sides of the pot not just the top and bottom. The bark is coarse enough that it won't block the slots in the pot. I'm currently using one of these pots on a small Potinara and it's responding very well to being repotted. In fact (hope I don't jinx myself) I think it's developing a flower sheath on it's new growth. Another pot worth trying out is the Air Cone pot. The underside has an inverted cone with lots of slots that goes up into the pot interior. If someone would just combine those two (cone and slotted exterior) now that would be a pot! HTH

[sapphireeyes27]

Hey guys,

I repotted and cut the dying spike of my phal about three weeks ago, but I still see no new growth at all. The phal shed the bottom leaf, but the other two look just fine. I've been trying to keep the humidity up high enough, I keep the ceiling fan running so that the air wil circulate, and I fertilize weekly weakly. Should I be worried about this?? What could be the problem? I have the phals in a southern window with blinds.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Rachel

[Candice]

Hi Rachel, take your plastic pot out of the decorative planter to allow more air circulation around the roots. What type of fertilizer do you use? I have a fertilizer I like to use for faster and more quality of growth in leaves that is high in nitrate for example 30-15-10. I use less nitrate when I want my 'chids to bloom, 17-23-10. The first number is usually the nitrate in fertilizer, just look in the ingredients. You may not have enough light or humidty. try gradually increasing your light source, though if your plant starts turning a little red underneath its leaves, its the most light it can stand, and take it back from there. Use a plastic tray filled with pebbles or decorative rocks and have a few centimeters of water in it so the pot sits on top of the rocks, AND NOT THE WATER! This will increase your humidity level easily, or try getting a humidifier if you like. Hope this helps you!

[justatypn]

If it has only been three weeks, its not uncommon for these guys to pout a bit longer depending on their stress level at the time of repotting. If I read this correctly your plant lost it's leaves from bottom to top, which is usually a bit backwards from mine (loosing from top to bottom) and I think Ray was right on.

I would not worry to much a this point, give it a few more weeks and am sure you should see some sort of growth goin' on.

From the very first of this thread the showed discolortion on the lower leaf and seeing the same leaf above; has this area (yellowing) stayed the same or has it been spreading? It appears to be a type of mosaic virus, I could be wrong and hopefully someone will chime in.

I also feel that your phal is at it's max on lighting. The tinge of purple/red on the leaves is showing this. It's all good you just want to make sure you don't go any brighter or more direct sun.

[Lagoon]

It's not uncommen for orchids to shed out the lowers leaves, these tend to be old and many times weak, I would have pulled it off anyways, looks like there was some bacteria or fungus related issue.

Some orchids may pout after being repotted. Your orchid maybe doing this or it simply maybe going thru a small rest period, again not uncommen, my phals will do this right after blooming aswell.

Phal leaves will come in different colors depening on the parentage. Red/ purple leaves is perfectly normal for many, so it doesn't always meen very high lighting.

Some phals remain very dark in green color while others are lime green no matter how much light you give them.
It depends on the orchid. Some of my phals are red/purple with spots thru out the entire leaf, not just the underside.

[sapphireeyes27]

As far as the leaf shedding goes, it was only the one leaf, and it just turned yellow. It didn't do any more of the red mess that was going on with the bottom leaf.

When you guys talk about fertilizer, where do you find that type of stuff. I have just regular "Orchid fertilizer." Is there some place special (other than Home Depot, I mean) that I can purchase this fertilizer.

I have been using the pebbles and water humidity trick. Hopefully that will be fine for the humidity level. My husband likes to keep the AC on and it definitely dries out the house!!

I'll close my blinds a little more and see if the phal (now two!... I couldn't help but purchase another!) is happier that way. It's just so hard to tell if she is happy or not when she's not doing anything!!

I guess I'll just wait longer and see what happens from here!

Thanks!