Yellow leaves???? - Orchid Board

musicts · #1 10-02-2011, 11:16 AM

Hello,
I am a fairly new orchid owner, I have three phalaenopsis orchids that I've had for about six months. They've all been doing really well, but now my little one is developing yellow leaves. It just finished flowering, and I did not cut off the flower spikes. There is a new flower spike forming. I noticed it last week when I watered them, it had dropped an older leaf which didn't really concern me, but when I picked it up to water it today a new leaf fell off, and a third is yellowing. I've been using very dilute schultz orchid food (19-31-17) once a week. The plant in question is small, probably 6-8 inches tip to tip. There have been no changes in light or in temperature. The other two do not seem to be infected! Help!!

As a side note, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of potting medium left?

Eyebabe · #2 10-02-2011, 11:28 AM

Pictures can help but it sounds as if your plant has pseudomonas infection or possibly issues with the roots rotting.

There is a thread called http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html which would be worthwhile reviewing.

musicts · #3 10-02-2011, 11:38 AM

Hey,
Here are some pics. Thanks!

silken · #4 10-02-2011, 11:42 AM

It's a little hard to say for sure but it looks like that phal is in very wet moss.

Have you looked at the condition of the roots. As you may have seen from so many discussions on phals and potting media, and the link Eyebabe provided, most phals should be checked as soon as you receive them. They are usually packed in very wet moss which will cause them to die from root rot before they are even done blooming unless you are very stingy with water.

Have a look and let us know what you find. then we can go from there.

another thing to be careful of is crown rot. Make sure when you water or mist to never get water into the crown of the plant.

musicts · #5 10-02-2011, 11:45 AM

Hey, thanks so much for the replies, I'm in a bit of a panic! Love that plant, hope it doesn't die! It is in wet moss, yes. The roots further down are nice and green, but the ones closer to the the top are blackening? Not sure what else to look for?

Mervin · #6 10-02-2011, 11:51 AM

Phal are very hardy, stop all watering for a bout a week or so, that depends how fast the moss drys up.

One never know it may just come back.

Good luck !

silken · #7 10-02-2011, 11:53 AM

Another picture of the roots would help. Have you looked at some other threads on phal care here? In general, phals need air at their roots and should be allowed to nearly or completely dry out in between watering. Most people find straight moss difficult to grow in and as soon as you get the plant, you should slide it from the pot and check the roots. then you will likely find it in tightly packed soaking wet sphagnum, which will likely kill the plant if not dealt with.

For myself, at the very least, I tug out about half of the moss, making sure to remove the tight wad that you will find up against the crown in the centre of the roots. I may set it in its pot again and really hold back on water to let it come close to drying before watering again. But I usually use a mix of half moss and half med. bark and re-pot it into a clear pot with lots of holes. Phals in nature grow on trees in rain forests. their roots are exposed to air and a daily rain shower, and in between, they pretty much dry out. that is what you want to imitate sort of. so a dense soaking wet pot of moss is not what they want.

You should cut off any dead or mushy roots and re-pot in an open mix. Different mixes work for different people and their various situations so you need to figure that out. But some small air spaces are good. Hope that helps.

musicts · #8 10-02-2011, 11:59 AM

Ok, should I plant it in the same sized pot? Or a slightly bigger one?

Eyebabe · #9 10-02-2011, 12:00 PM

The one leaf is yellowing from the center outward.
I would suspect root issues and a concurrent rot issue.

silken · #10 10-02-2011, 12:08 PM

It should be potted in a pot that will just contain the roots and not much more. They like to be almost pot bound and then they dry out quicker and less risk of root rot.

Never leave them standing in water either except if you soak the pot for a few minutes at watering time. also remember if using bark, it should be soaked first for a few hours or it will dry out too fast-especially when it is new. The plant may need a bit of transition going from this soggy media to a much more dry one.