New Orchid owner unsure if my plant has a problem

[misslexie_marie]

Hi my names Alexis.
I am new to this - Here's my story.
I always wanted an orchid, it is one of my favorite flowers to look at. This valentines day my boyfriend bought me one! I am really interested in keeping this guy but iv come across some things on the plant that I feel may be a problem.

1st there's a few light green, and one dark spot on some of the flower petals that seem to be in a pattern or alone. These spots are hard and are showing on both the front and back of the flower.

2nd Why is the leafs edges turning brown. Also one has a white hole indented in it.

3rd What is this stub and should I cut it ?

BTW I was told to water and feed my plant every two weeks I haven't watered it yet also I picked up Miracle Gro Orchid Food for when I do. How much water would you recommend?

[Optimist]

The minor flaws of a living organism. You need to remember that the plant is several years old. You should see some of mine! To me, orchids have pretty ugly ratty leaves after awhile. Especially oncidiums. Anyway. What you are not showing is how it is potted. That, not superficial warts and zits says more about its health and longitivity. So take some pictures of its roots, and what is in the pot. No one can answer how you should water unless they know what is in the pot.

A non urea fertilizer is best, not MG. Also, use at about one fourth the recommended amount, and I would say fertilize onlt once a month. It is debateable. If it was a Cattleya I would say once a year.

[shushu45]

The brown edges on the leaves could be from the lack of humidity in the environment. Idk much on spots on flowers. Maybe bruising

As for watering. I water mine when the medium is dry in the middle of the pot. Which in my climate right now about every week or so.

[My Green Pets]

See if you can slide it out of the pot gently without disturbing the potting medium too much and photograph the roots. They are the key.

Beautiful flower by the way. Good job, boyfriend!

[Lani]

Hey Optimist, why only once a year fert on catts? My lot (catts, phals, random cyms and dens) all get a weak dose about once a month. Would appreciate some more info, I like happy catts

[Orchid Whisperer]

Lani, I don't always follow his example, but one of the best Cattleya growers in my orchid society says he almost never fertilizes, but when he does, it is about once a year.

I did the weakly-weekly (1/4 recommended strength/gallon) for a long time. In the winter, it is now weakly once a month. In summer outdoors, I am thinking of changing that to VERY weakly (literally, a pinch/gallon) once a week, maybe twice a week if it has rained a lot.

[FSUOrchids]

I'm not seeing anything that looks like an issue. A lot of that is just wear.

[Optimist]

Originally Posted by Lani

Hey Optimist, why only once a year fert on catts? My lot (catts, phals, random cyms and dens) all get a weak dose about once a month. Would appreciate some more info, I like happy catts

People overdo fertilizer. In nature the would get none. I guess I like a more natural approach to my plant growing.

Catts need very little fert. Some say none.

The AOS care sheet specificly states that Catts can go several years without fertilizer, and that too much leads to root death blind sheaths and too much vegetative growth.

It also says that the could do with a 10-10-10 or 13-13-13 during growth phase or in bright weather, and I guess most people interpret that as "all the time". I interpret it as only once or twice a year.

Go read that and see what you think?

---------- Post added at 08:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:05 AM ----------

Cyms are heavy feeders. More for them.

[Lani]

Cheers for the advice. I've always agreed that only a little fertilizer is needed due to the nature of epiphytes but after reading this & that on the web I felt I may have been skimping a bit. Now I can fall back to my lazy ways, shame free!

[MrHappyRotter]

I admit, I didn't read through all the posts, so I apologize in advance if this has been covered.

Your plant looks okay, but I have some major concerns that I'd like to point out. First, and most importantly, it looks like it's potted in a cup/glass that doesn't have drainage. As soon as it is finished blooming, get it out of there. Put it into a pot with drainage holes.

Second, it looks like some of the potting mix has gotten into the crown of the plant. That's also a recipe for disaster. Get the mix out of there ASAP.

The brown spots and streaks on the flowers aren't a major concern. There are a multitude of reasons that can happen, none of which are a reason to worry. It could be caused from the change in growing conditions. It might be due to mechanical damage while the buds were forming. Next time the plant blooms, it should be better.