Den Micro Chip leaf tips turning white

[jam]

Hi, my name is Annette and I am new to your forum. I am a novice when it comes to growing orchids, but they are my plant of choice. I don't have many, but one of my newest, Den Micro Chip has white, drying leaf tips. I have been told that I am possibly overwatering. Media is pumice, possibly perlite and charcoal. I have to admit that I have been watering every other day because some of the canes seem to be a bit shriveled. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to further damage this wonderfully fragrant, attractive plant.

[WhiteRabbit]

What size pot is this in? Are you having cold weather, and as such, have heat going a lot?

Mine is potted in a combination of pumice and perlite, 4" plastic pot. During summer - hot, dry weather - it can take water every other day.

Warm, dry air from the furnace could make it so yours does need water every other day, and/or the very dry air could be itself causing the drying leaf tips.

Use a bamboo skewer (Skewer Method?) to help determine when to water. These should not dry out completely, but shouldn't be soggy all the time.

You can also try getting a finger tip into the media to see how moist it is.

[jam]

Thank you so much for your reply . It is in 4" plastic pot and yes, running heat each day. I will definitely use the skewer as a gauge for watering. Thank you for the tip. It's wonderful to have the knowledge of a more advanced grower.

[Bloomin_Aussie]

Micro Chip is a hybrid of two species that grow in high humidity mist forests in Papua New Guinea. This plant needs constant humidity and I'm not sure perlite and charcoal will give that without a lot of watering. You may be better off switching it to bark with a little perlite.

[MrHappyRotter]

Dendrobiums and I don't get along very well. I adore and admire many of them, but I fail miserably with them. In fact, I don't even try anymore. So, don't take my advice as gospel when it comes to dendrobiums.

Anyway, not too long ago I saw a Den. Microchip for sale at the local vendor. It was so cute and looked like it would fit happily under the lights. So I picked it up, fully expecting it to quickly show the classic signs of the slow MrHappyRotter dendeath (i.e. dying yellow leaves, black spots, root tip die back, etc). Normally this begins within a matter of days, usually no longer than a month or two after purchase.

Instead, it's actually done well so far. I know I should be knocking on wood right now, I'm probably jinxing it. Dear God what have I done?

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. When I bought this one, it was in a pumice, perlite mix with just a small amount of fir bark. I mentioned my poor success with dends, and the vendor told me that this hybrid appreciates moisture year round, and should be grown wetter than most other dendrobiums. Based on that advice, I water it 3 or 4 times a week. Twice a week I water thoroughly, and then once or twice a week, I give it a bit of a top off of just a sprinkle of water (not enough to drain through).

But obviously, if your plant is struggling a bit, then my instincts would say to hold back a bit on water to avoid damaging the roots. Also keep in mind that your general growing conditions should dictate watering, and while my plant seems to do well with frequent and copious watering, it doesn't mean yours will.

Another possibility that comes to mind, given the symptoms you mentioned is that it's possible that your water is too hard or you might've fed the plant a bit too heavily. Feeding and nutrition is a pretty complex topic in and of itself, but sometimes poor quality water, excessive feeding rates, and nutrient imbalances can lead to various symptoms such as leaf tip die back.

I have decent tap water around here, but even so, I mostly use rain and RO water and I feed very sparingly. Since most of my collection is composed of slippers, this is very important to successful growing, so I apply the weak feeding strategy to all my orchids and other epiphytic plants.

[Bloomin_Aussie]

Sorry, I got distracted before and typed the wrong word... it requires constant moisture (in the roots that is) not humidity.

[plantbuddy]

It seems every second person has a D. microchip! They are be very popular, perhaps due to their ease of culture. I got mine as a bonus plant and I aslo don't usually do well with Dendrobs. This one, however is doing surprisingly well. I water every 3 days.

In your case, pumics, perlite and charcoal are not very moisture-retentive components and should afford good air circulation around the roots. A four inch pot might be a little on the big side though, unless it's a well developed plant. Might not be a watering problem at all.

Is it just one leaf that's turning white, or all of them? White is an unusual colour for a leaf to turn.

Could you post a picture perhaps?

[NYCorchidman]

I have like four of them! lol

All in bloom at the moment. It's amazing how such little plants make so many flowers.

Regarding whitening edge, I have no idea. It could be nutrient related.

None of my dendrobiums exhibit this, but one of my paphiopedilum after staying totally green for years is having a few of its leaves white on their tips.

I do not know what it is and why it is happening for sure.
I know this particular paph is a few years old and I have not been good with fertilizing so I am doing better with that now. The whitening does not seem to progress anymore.

Magnesium deficiency can cause either yellowing or whitening, and the color shows up along the edge or tip or all over the leaf leaving only the vein dark green, depending on the plants.

For my paph, since I have not fertilized it for a looong time, this is definitely a possible cause, although again, I am not sure 100.

[lexusnexus]

Although I am new to orchids, I have some experience with other flowers and plants. If I could make a recommendation, post a photo or two of your plant so others can see what you are looking at and provide a more informed resolution. Just a thought...

[Bloomin_Aussie]

Yeah good point. I'm not sure why nobody suggested that already. Lol