Leaf tips on Encyclia turning brown. What does this signify? - Orchid Board

cythaenopsis · #1 08-16-2011, 12:28 PM

I have a rather small Encyclia Dickensoniana that is overall very healthy, except for two smaller leaves that have developed brown withered tips.

As you can see, the one on the left is rather prominent. The other one to the right and back had a much smaller portion of brown that I snipped off about a week ago--it hasn't continued browning since. However, the left one is untouched and the browning has progressed a little more. No other leaves on the plant have this problem. Yet. So, I'm just wondering if this is a sign of things to come. I'd like to understand why this browning occurred and if there's anything I can do to stop it. The plant has been watered regularly and is exposed to diffuse sunlight (never direct).

Any ideas?

RobS · #2 08-16-2011, 03:36 PM

A good question in some other plants this is an indication of lack of water or cell degredation of some form. This could be caused by: high salinity, low humidity, lack of evaporation or infrequent watering. I'd assume that for orchids it is something similar.

Repotting could be a solution in some cases (salt build up). In general when the browning of a leaf keeps progressing I cut the brown part of a few mm's in the healthy green part (Beyond the yellowing).

cythaenopsis · #3 08-16-2011, 03:42 PM

Thanks Rob. The plant did get a little dehydrated in the beginning. I initially kept it in the very small 2" plastic pot it arrived in, but the potting mix dried out fairly quickly between watering. Because the plant was so small, I repotted it in a 3" plastic pot (as seen) that one of the other orchids I bought came in. If I remember right, those two leaves had already shown a little brown by that point. I'll go ahead and trim it as you suggest. I appreciate your advice!

cythaenopsis · #4 08-23-2011, 11:28 AM

OK... this situation has gotten worse.

Two of the very smallest of leaves (they almost look like pine needles) have turned completely yellow, with one of them pulling off fairly easily. Now I'm really worried that I'm doing something wrong. What is this a sign of? This plant is just a seedling, so you'd think it needs all of its leaves. Why would any of them die off so young?

Am I not watering enough or too much? I do let the potting mix dry out a bit between watering and of course I have sufficient drainage (it is after all in a pot with many holes/slits specifically for orchids). Is it getting enough light or too little? I understand that most orchids do not like direct sunlight, so I've been keeping this bathed in ambient light.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'd be devastated if I started to lose the larger leaves, as that would not bode well for the plant. Thanks!!

RobS · #5 08-23-2011, 11:38 AM

It could be normal I see many that plants that loose a few leaves after changing conditions.

cythaenopsis · #6 08-23-2011, 11:47 AM

Hi Rob,
The only thing that really changed was moving it from a smaller pot to a larger one and adding a little more moss to fill the larger space. I didn't pull off any of the existing moss either, so I'd say that virtually the situation shouldn't have felt any differently for the plant. The other thing is that I repotted it quite a while ago and so it seems to me like this behavior may not be related. I could be wrong... maybe there's a delayed effect involved? Would such a very subtle change affect the plant? If it hadn't been repotted, what other factors might explain the yellowing?

Wjs2nd · #7 08-23-2011, 01:07 PM

Has the plant grown any new growth? This my just be the plants growth cycle. Leaves will naturally yellow from the tips, very important it's the tips not the crown, and move down the leave till it is falling off. If it's coming from the crown out to the tips that usually means crown rot. Your plant mighty also want a little more humidity. I have a phal that gets mad at me about humidity. You can put your orchid in a big bag for just a little bit to raise it's humidity. Depending on how long you have owned the orchid, it will also have to learn it new environment, sometimes this means dropping old leaves and growing new ones.

glengary54 · #8 08-23-2011, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cythaenopsis

Any ideas?

cythaenopsis - I'm assuming that you got your plant from a grower who grows in a greenhouse, I'm also assuming that being that you live in NYC, you air condition your apt/house. Given those assumptions, I would think two things, 1 - your plant is stressed by the change in environments and 2- you are not providing enough humidity for it. I also feel that the yellowing and dropping of the small older leaves is due to the environment change.

As far as the watering situation goes, Encyclias in general like to dry out between waterings, so I don't think that is an issue. The repotting that you described should not enter into the equation either. Personally I think that putting an Encyclia that small into a 3 inch pot with sphagnum is asking for trouble down the road. I would have used a very open, well draining bark mix instead.

All in all, I would say that you really don't have much to worry about if you can improve the growing environment.

Leafmite · #9 08-23-2011, 02:03 PM

Encyclias prefer a large, chunky mix. I would unpot and check the roots. If roots are fine, it could too much fertilizer/salt build-up, watering problems, light problems, or sitting too close to the air-conditioning vent. If you rule out the first two catagories, it might be a fungus or bacterial issue. Good luck!
Leafmite

cythaenopsis · #10 08-23-2011, 02:34 PM

Excellent, thanks for all the tips folks! This is very helpful.

Wjs2nd: Fortunately it is as you said, the tips getting yellow first and working back, not starting from the crown. There is reasonable humidity, as the other orchids seem OK with it, but I'm looking at investing in some humidity trays to help promote more of it (especially once the fall season comes around and the windows are closed).

glengary54, Leafmite: Yes, humidity is pretty good but could probably be a little better. I am pretty tolerant of the heat, so I don't run the A/C until the room gets into the low/mid 80's. I try to keep it around 79-80F when I'm there or 85F when I'm away for the day. The good thing is that the rest of the plant seems healthy. When I repotted it nearly 4 weeks ago, the roots appeared very healthy. I have not let it dry out too much between waterings, so I'll try to pull back on that. But I had no idea about the potting mix... I will definitely get some bark potting material and give it a go!

I'm also getting the sense that although moss is great for young plants that need more moisture, it's not the best potting material for a lot of others. I was thinking about doing a bark/moss mix for some of my phals (bark on the bottom, moss on the top) to help keep a reasonable amount of moisture present. But I take it that it's probably better to just increase the humidity, closer to the natural environmental conditions.