Something horrid on my maudie paph

[leslieann79]

I received this plant with like two roots. I thought it was making a great recovery it had a two or three new growths. Now there is this stuff on the leaves. Should I toss it or cut off the affected parts?

[Dante1709]

Looks similar to leaf burn ; if it is, I would leave the burns to dry out and cut it off when it's, for a lack of a better word, "crispier". If it's some type of fungus or virus, then I'd give it a chance but probably just toss it. I'm not a fan of tossing, and your plant seems to have enough non-affected leaves to survive, but if it spreads, then the odds are not in your favour.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Have you checked the roots?

Maybe the roots are damaged pretty badly, idk.

[Bulbofett]

It looks like black rot to me. I'm no expert, but it looks serious. This particular fungi thrives in standing water. I know some people like to set their Paphs or Phrags in water dishes, not sure how you're growing this one but if there is standing water you need to get rid of it.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Standing Paphs in water dishes is not the best idea to keep them watered. Paphs in general don't usually like this.

Phrags on the other hand, generally love it. Some of them grow along running water.

[james mickelso]

It's gone. Toss it. Pseudomonas.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It is gone, but I still say check the roots anyways. It is still at the point where it is barely alive, so the source of the damage can still be seen.

It is most likely from extensive root damage.

I think that she needs to see this in order to learn from this experience.

Growing orchids is not a "one size fits all" thing. Most of the times, orchids will not conform to our needs, we must conform to theirs. Orchids are not keeping us as pets, we are the ones growing orchids in environments that they are not always readily adapted to.

Hypothetically speaking, if an orchid really was able to keep us as pets, I'd hope that the orchid that houses me is able to provide for my needs. It'd be absolutely miserable if the orchid pretty much forced the issue by having the "my way or the highway" mentality.

I'm not accusing anyone of thinking, "it's my way or the highway", but my point is more, if we desire to be good at growing orchids, we need to be sensitive to what it is that makes them thrive. If one thing doesn't work, it might be necessary to change it up to fit their needs.

[Bulbofett]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Standing Paphs in water dishes is not the best idea to keep them watered. Paphs in general don't usually like this.

Phrags on the other hand, generally love it. Some of them grow along running water.

Running water is the key though. Standing water, unless it is changed frequently, is just asking for bacteria and fungi to grow in it. Do whatever works for your particular environment, but my humid climate would grow all sorts of monsters with no help at all.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

With Phrags, it is generally more ideal to grow some of the more water demanding types in a situation where they get running water.

The next best thing is standing water, but, yes, it does need to be changed out often.

Just as a side note, some Marsh Orchids, (aka Dactylorhiza), like to be grown super wet in standing water, like in a bog or marsh. So there are certain orchids that grow in standing water just fine. They like cool weather, btw. They suffer if they're grown too warm. 90 F tops.

[leslieann79]

I'm growing it in semi-hydro. I think I will toss it. I don't know if this counts as my way or the highway, but I've had really good luck with semi-hydro in the plants that I most want to grow. So I think I will stick with the plants that seem to like the way I like to grow. After I bought the paph I realized I wasn't really into them anyway. Thank you all for your help!