Orchid leaf edges looking bad

[DJ94]

Please tell me whats happening to my orchids, Since the winter began theyve been losing leaves and the edges of the leaves that are left are not looking great. I attached two pictures.

Im torn between an infection or the cold is killing them or something

[silken]

Give us some details as to where it is located, how it is watered and fertilized, room temps, amount of light. That way someone can try and figure out what is happening.

[DJ94]

located on a windowsill, I have the thing sitting on rocks in the pot so if i end up over watering it the water sits on the rocks to be emptied out and the plant doesnt get over watered, watered once every 3 weeks ish. room temp is probably like 22 but its next to the window so probably a bit colder, it gets some light but its facing the east so not that much light hits it, plus its the winter in canada so probably not high light.

In the summer it was doing fine but now that its colder i have no clue whats happening to it

if the edges werent turning brown then id probably say its the cold but theres really no other place that gets enough light, also since its brown/black im inclined to say its an infection but i have no idea, and what do i do about the browning/blacking do i cut it off? its only got like 3 leaves left and they all look like they have the same issue, if i dont cut the black off will it get infected for sure?
I really dont know what im doing.

[RJSquirrel]

mesophyll cells in the leaves collapsing from exposure to low temperatures. the water your using might be a tad too cold also...this type of cell collapse usually happens after getting too cold. A few hours of exposure can do this.

also make sure the water your using is over 50' (10c). Ideally the plant temp and water temps should be the about the same.

this damage is not reversible.

[DJ94]

thats what i though because you can see the cell walls in the browning/blacking, what should i do about it

[silken]

What is the potting media? It looks like chunky bark?? Every 3 weeks doesn't sound like much water for it in the typical dry Canadian home. I don't know what part of Canada you are in or how cool your windowsills are. It could be the leaves are getting chilled as it doesn't look like sunburn really. The sun can burn Phals tho, even in the winter. It comes in at a lower more direct angle for some people. I would move it back from the window. Monitor if those brown edges spread. Also water it well flushing the water thru over the sink and then place it in its spot over the rocks. Water again when the bottom and centre of the pot is approaching dryness.

How are the roots? That would be another thing I would check.

I see I was typing the same time as RJSquirrel, but I tend to think it could be the cold also.

[DJ94]

well like i said the excess water sits in the rocks and keeps the plant moist so I think it does get enough water. my main concern is will the dead tissue grow fungi or bacteria and what should i do about that, I will move it away from the window to a south facing window so it gets more light and its further from the cold. roots look fine, theres some sections of the roots that are white for some reason tho, like its green and then it looks like theres a divide in the roots and it looks white

[DJ94]

Heres a picture of the roots on the other orchid with the same problem, the roots of the orchid in the pictures I posted above looks perfectly normal, light green and full.
Also i live in Ontario canada.

However the orchid from this root picture has one leaf that looks completely normal which is large are grew out in the fall but only has two leaves
So will the plants die?

[silken]

You can trim the dead edges of the leaf away and apply a bit of cinnamon to the cut edges. But if it is mostly dry and not spreading, I would just leave it.

The roots are white or silvery when dry and green when wet. Those white ones look like fairly new growth. They look fine. If it is in the original pot with all of the moss that it came in as it looks to be, I would be very careful of root rot. many people, including myself, feel it holds too much moisture and is too dense to dry out in the centre and at the root ball. I usually re-pot if blooms are done or at least slide it from the pot and carefully pull out a lot of the moss to allow for a more open breathable pot. Root rot is what most beginner orchid growers lose their Phals from.

They likely will survive. Be careful if putting it in a south window as Phals are low light plants.

[DJ94]

Ok so the general consensus is: watering is fine, take out some of the moss to make it less dense, move it a bit away from the window and it wont die. that sounds pretty doable