New to phalaenopsis, too much sun or humidity? - Orchid Board

ianmh · #1 07-10-2012, 10:07 PM

Hi everyone, I'm new to Orchids and the Orchid Board. I received my first phalaenopsis 2 months ago and have have bought 5 more phalaenopsis plants since. I live in Toronto and face east in a condo and have a few questions and problems.

First I read that east was one of the best directions to face, I'm still a bit worried about the sun over heating my plants. I have blinds and I open them half way around 9:30 and the plants get about 2 and a half hours of morning sun broken a bit by the blinds. They seem to be doing okay, but is this too much sun? I should also add that it is extremely humid right now.

The first plant I over watered and all the leaves went mushy, I quickly transplanted it into wood chips and cut all the leaves off except one and cut most of the roots. This week I have noticed a new leaf finally coming out and a new root coming out of the side, so I was quite pleased at the possibility of saving it. That said the last remaining big leaf is looking rough. It has tiny sticky blobs (shiny slim) on the bottom of the leaf and some black spots now. I'm wondering if I should chop this leave off too?

The apartment is very humid this time of year and I'm wondering if I need to water the Orchids at all? Can the orchids get enough water from the air? Could these sticky spots be from the humidly or still too much water or are they a pest of some kind

One last question, when a flower dies how long do you usually wait to pull it off, I have a plant with a lot of healthy flowers, but one is shrivelled, but it's still very firmly attached to the spike? Should I wait longer and let it fall off?

Lots of questions, thanks for any help, this board has been a great resource.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #2 07-10-2012, 10:25 PM

1. Please post pics of your plant(s). It is often very difficult to tell what the problem is with a written description as most problems sound alike when read verbally, when in fact they are very different problems visually. Plus, (I don't mean to sound rude, but...), some newbies don't know the proper "lingo" or jargon for orchids and often describe things using the words they know, and can sometimes guess incorrectly at which words to use to describe things with an orchid, which can be somewhat problematic in determining what the issues can be. One such example of newbies using verbiage they know to describe orchids with, is the word "stem". Orchids do have stems, but some newbies often describe an orchid's inflorescence using the word "stem", thinking that that's the actual stem of the plant - that's incorrect! So, as you can start to see, that's where the problems of just using verbally written descriptions to convey a problem comes in.

2. Please read the sticky, http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html It is on the top of the Beginner's Forum. It has some info that can answer your questions right off the bat. If there are more questions, don't hesitate to ask again.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #3 07-10-2012, 11:06 PM

You may also be interested in this link:

Sarawak Lens: Search results for phalaenopsis

ianmh · #4 07-10-2012, 11:28 PM

Thanks for the second link, will check it over. I meant to say the spike, I have done some research, but I'm not down with the lingo yet. There's also some conflicting views on the web too. I watched a video that said even a few minutes of sunlight could burn orchids, so I've been paranoid now even though mine have been getting sun every morning.

As for the one with the weird leaf, here are some photos. As you can see a new leaf is coming out of the top, and it has a new root in the base too. The second photo shows the residue which looks whiter in the photo than it actually is. It's more like tiny droplets. The unhealthy leaf is still firm though. The original ones I cut off were mushy, and I read on here that it's a bacteria I believe, but this seems different than the leaves I cut off.

They are attached, I tried to put them on my own site, but I can't post links yet.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #5 07-10-2012, 11:34 PM

I wouldn't be too concerned about the spotting you showed/described.

I would be more concerned about how large that pot seems to be for the plant.

If there is a bunch of space in the pot for the roots, I would greatly reduce the size of the pot to have the roots just barely fit into it. You will often find, the vegetation is often much larger than the root mass upon initial purchase. It will only be several years afterwards under proper care where the root mass may eventually catch up to the size of the vegetation.

ianmh · #6 07-10-2012, 11:44 PM

Maybe I'll transplant it this weekend. Before I cut all the roots off it was pretty big, thus the big pot. I've transplanted this one twice now, because I found the moss was holding too much water. Since I removed all the moss the plant immediately started doing better. I might hold off on another transplant though as I've put this poor plant through a lot. That said, my other 5 phals are doing fantastic. I even bought a discounted dying one and managed to bring it back to life, but I'm still worried I'll do something wrong, plus in a few months this room with be dry and cool, so we'll see how they hold up. Thanks for the info.

Wynn Dee13 · #7 07-11-2012, 12:31 AM

Orchids need quite a bit of light some more than others. If your worried about burning them feel the leaves and if they are warm or hot to the touch they are getting too much light. To me two and a half hours of morning sun isn't very much and I don't think they will bloom without more light. You can gradually increase the light so they can get used to it. They should be fine in an east window with the blinds all the way open. Just make sure they are not getting direct sunlight during the middle of the day. During the winter months and when there isn't the summer sun you will need to put them in a brighter location like a south facing window. If it is too bright you can move them farther from the window or put a shear curtain up. It isn't the end of the world if a plant gets a burn. If it happens you will only learn that the light it was getting was too strong. I have burnt a few leaves and besides being kind of ugly it has never killed any of my orchids. Remember Phals are tropical plants and live where the light is way stronger than in Canada.

Phals like a lot of humidity but it won't make up for watering. You still need to water them when the medium is dry or almost dry.

Good luck and remember orchids are very strong plants. They are not so fragile like a lot of people think they are. You would be surprised on how tough they can be. If you have anymore questions don't hesitate to ask!

Oh yeah and I agree with Philip that your Phal is way over potted. It is a root rot problem waiting to happen. You want to always pick a pot that just fits the healthy roots snugly. Match the pot to the healthy roots not the top growth.

james mickelso · #8 07-11-2012, 12:31 AM

Phals grow in high humidity places. Warm, humid environments. My concern isn't so much the size of the pot as it will be....how often will this orchid be watered? With this size pot, the course bark, and the humidity, I would expect this phal to need water maybe once every 10-15 days until it gets more roots and leaves. That new growing leaf looks to be pretty heathy and I would just leave the plant alone for now. Give it good filtered light, a little water with a very dilute fertilizer in it, warmth, a good breeze nd let it do what it wants for now. Misting the leaves especially the undersides of the leaves daily with good distilled or drinking water, will do a lot for this now.

ezil · #9 07-11-2012, 03:59 PM

If you are worried about too cool and dry conditions later in the fall, you may look into buying a heat mat for your phals, and have them sit on that. I grow my phals. under lights in winter, not only for the light levels, but also for the temps. When it's -30C, the windowsill is not the place for phals. to be! Members here have found all kinds of ways to accommodate their plants, often with stunning results. You will very quickly learn to "read" the micro environments around you and adapt. You're off to a good start, and keep the questions (and pictures) coming.

ianmh · #10 07-12-2012, 10:33 PM

Thanks for all the tips everyone. The big leave is probably going to die soon, but the new leave is growing fast, and the root in the side is growing really fast. I cut all the roots off this one, so I'm really happy to see it growing so fast. The 2.5 hours of sun is direct morning sun, they still get a lot of light through the rest of the day. Maybe I'll try opening the blinds all the way. The leaves do get hot, but there is no signs of them being burned.

I'll be looking for more tips in the winter. I live in a small apartment, so there's not a lot I can do other than move them away from the window. Luckily they are actually on right next to the heater, so if I get a tray of water maybe I can keep the humidity up in this room. Right now humidity is not an issues as we have crazy humidity int he summer.

I've attached a picture of the new root coming out.