Drooping leaves diagnosis

[asfarley]

Hi,

The leaves on a newly purchased orchid are drooping. First it was just the bottom leaves, now the top leaves. Also, there is a brown patch on one of the lower leaves.

The plant is still blooming, several new buds have opened up.

pictures:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...%20%281%29.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...528_010813.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...528_010825.jpg


I've been watering it every 7-10 days with water left out for 24h. It's in an east-facing window.

Any idea what the problem is?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Please read the first 18 pages:

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ends-here.html

If you have further questions, just ask.

[lexusnexus]

Dumb question (I know, there are none), does the bottom have a drainage hole(s)? It also looks like the bottom of the pot is flush against glass. You might want to put it on some sort of mesh (or put it in another pot that keeps the bottom off the flat surface) to allow for free air movement so moisture doesn't accumulate. Just some thoughts...

[asfarley]

King_of_orchid_growing: Can you be more specific about which part in that thread you're referring to?

I've just read the thread but everything I'm doing sounds like recommended practice.

My questions:
-why are the leaves drooping?
-how can this be recovered?
-what is the brown patch?

lexusnexus: Yes, that is an orchid pot: it has drainage holes and and a large indent on the bottom for air circulation.

Does the plant look like it's too wet, or is this just a background question?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by asfarley

King_of_orchid_growing: Can you be more specific about which part in that thread you're referring to?

I've just read the thread but everything I'm doing sounds like recommended practice.

There were links to websites/photos of Phalaenopsis species growing in the wild.

Did you find them?

Were the links working, (this was done a long time ago, so I don't know if all of them still work or not)?

If not, then:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_F4h2El7hQQo/S8...jpg?imgmax=800

http://www.phals.net/mannii/2013/13ph0404.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3264/3...645fd03506.jpg

Why send you these links?

Well…

If your Phal's leaves are not wrinkled, and they look similar to how the Phals are oriented in the photos in these links, then, there's nothing wrong with your Phal.

If the leaves are wrinkled, (and from what I see, the leaves of your Phal are wrinkied after revisiting the links of the photos you posted). What this means is that you need to water a bit more frequently.

Instead of watering 7 - 10 days between waterings, you may need to water 3 - 4 days between waterings.

Make sure your orchid's roots are healthy.

How can you tell if the orchid's roots look healthy?

Does your Phal have root tips that look like any of the root tips pictured in the following photo while they are in active growth?

http://www.ranwild.org/Phalaenopsis/...age/rootSP.jpg

If so, then the orchid's roots are fine.

Originally Posted by asfarley

My questions:
-why are the leaves drooping?

Under watered. Water every 3 - 4 days.

Originally Posted by asfarley

-how can this be recovered?

Water more.

Originally Posted by asfarley

-what is the brown patch?

Probably sunburn. Nothing you can do to make it look nice. Leave it alone.

[silken]

It has great roots and looks well potted. As King said, It could be under watered. One leaf in the picture looks a bit leathery I thought. Also if it is getting a lot of sun that could be sunburn but it seems to be shaded by the leaf above. It could be that with spring you have more light and warmer temps and it is just dehydrated and in too much sun. They are not real high light plants.

[Kerry78]

My Pink Phal had a drooping leave and abit of red tinge on the tip of the leave I found out it was due to the sunlight I've moved it and it's doing ok

My Mother in laws orchid is in a window without nets like yours and isn't in the best shape the horrible thing is I can only sit and watch It perish as I don't want her to think I'm interfering lol

I don't want you to think I'm also telling you what to do but possibly can you get some net curtains up these really do help orchids from sunburn

[FabianInAustralia]

Hello!

I had big problems with a droopy phal too and had great success by cutting a number of vertical slits into the plastic pot (similar to yours). This helped to greatly increase airflow and drainage, so I was able to water more frequently, but the roots were drying out completely between waterings.

Perhaps once it's finished blooming you should consider re-potting so you can get a good look at the root system (even if you just re-pot into the same pot)

Good luck

[Orchid Whisperer]

How you water is as important as how often you water.

Normally, when watering a Phal., I would take it to the sink and flush lots of water through the pot/bark. This plant seems dehydrated, including roots, so I would suggest giving the pot and bark a short soak when you water (maybe for 10 minutes) each time you water. Don't worry about letting your water stand for 24h, BTW, not needed. Try watering this way, 1 to 2 times per week.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

"Orchid Whisperer" makes a good point. The way the orchid is watered does make a difference.

I agree, when you water the orchid, run the water through the pot under a faucet, and be thorough.

Do not use ice cubes. The water doesn't get to where it needs to get to, (it tends to water only the top 1/2" of the potting medium, which isn't enough), and cold water is really not that good for the Phal, (most Phals are subtropical or tropical orchids - which means it is preferable to use luke warm water).