Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?
Login
User Name
Password   


Registration is FREE. Click to become a member of OrchidBoard community
(You're NOT logged in)

menu menu

Sponsor
Donate Now
and become
Forum Supporter.

Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?
Many perks!
<...more...>


Sponsor
 

Google


Fauna Top Sites
Register Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Members Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Today's PostsCattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?
LOG IN/REGISTER TO CLOSE THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Go Back   Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web ! > >
Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 06-17-2016, 05:32 PM
Lady Oscar's Avatar
Lady Oscar Lady Oscar is offline
Member
 

Join Date: May 2016
Zone: 11
Location: Honolulu
Posts: 81
Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Female
Default Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?

I bought this orchid in December at Lowe's. I haven't repotted it at all, so I'm not sure what the media is, besides that there is gravel at the top. I've been watering approximately once a week.

Recently, I noticed the end of this leaf turning yellow, and then black/brown. Is this the normal way leaves die off from the pseudobulb, or is it a sign of a problem? Also, do the pseudobulbs seem excessively shriveled? I've been wondering if I should water more, or repot to see if the roots are OK. The plant does have two new growths forming, one of which you can see in the picture in front of the damaged leaf.

Thank you for your help!
Attached Thumbnails
Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?-catt1-jpg   Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?-catt2-jpg  
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 06-17-2016, 07:10 PM
silken silken is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2009
Zone: 2b
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 9,667
Default

It looks like it could be sunburn. But the pseudo bulb also looks a bit yellow so it may just be dying off. I would want to re-pot and know the condition of the roots. With new growths developing it might be a good time to do it now. I prefer to wait till new roots have just started but with a new plant in un-known media and root condition, I do it sooner rather than later. It could also be the reason the large pseudo bulb is dying off. Catts like to dry out in between watering and to have good drainage and open airy medium for the roots. If it doesn't have all of these, then root rot could be happening.
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 2 Likes
Likes Lady Oscar, Orchid Whisperer liked this post
  #3  
Old 06-17-2016, 10:10 PM
Lady Oscar's Avatar
Lady Oscar Lady Oscar is offline
Member
 

Join Date: May 2016
Zone: 11
Location: Honolulu
Posts: 81
Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Female
Default

It's indoors in my living room and if anything it's been less sunny recently, so I'm worried it could be some sort of fungus?

I'll repot it and see what the roots are doing.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 06-18-2016, 02:10 AM
estación seca's Avatar
estación seca estación seca is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jun 2015
Zone: 9b
Location: Phoenix AZ - Lower Sonoran Desert
Posts: 18,654
Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Male
Default

I would think it would do better outside in Honolulu, so long as it doesn't get too much sun and overheat. Do you have a balcony or a patio?

That's a very large pot for that size plant, especially if you don't know what it's growing in. I would worry it's staying too wet. I would unpot it now and be sure the roots are OK. Then I would repot into a pot just large enough to accommodate the current growths plus one or two more.
__________________
May the bridges I've burned light my way.

Weather forecast for my neighborhood
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 3 Likes
Likes silken, Lady Oscar, Orchid Whisperer liked this post
  #5  
Old 06-19-2016, 02:30 AM
Lady Oscar's Avatar
Lady Oscar Lady Oscar is offline
Member
 

Join Date: May 2016
Zone: 11
Location: Honolulu
Posts: 81
Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Female
Default

I guess freaking out was entirely correct...in retrospect, I should have repotted as soon as I got it, but I didn't know about such things then, and was scared to repot or otherwise mess with anything. :-(

There was a bunch of gravel in the pot, but the roots were around a lot of damp and degraded bark, and they were pretty much all dead or rotten. I cleaned away the old media and cut away a huge amount of roots, but I'm not sure if I was aggressive enough. There were only really two aerial roots that looked happy, but I removed anything squishy and/or black and left stuff that was just brown.

I repotted into "Better-Gro Special Orchid Potting Mix", which seems to be fir bark (large chunks), charcoal, and coarse perlite. I cleaned off some of the gravel and put it in the bottom of the new pot to take up space. I also watered under the sink to moisten the new bark.

Should I have any hope? Is there something else I should do? Does the repotting look OK? I would have tried "sphag-and-bag", but I didn't have any sphag, so I figured getting it out of the old media would at least be better than nothing.
Attached Thumbnails
Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?-rootball-jpg   Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?-orchidcarnage-jpg   Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?-bareroots-jpg   Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?-repotted-jpg  
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 06-19-2016, 02:57 AM
stonedragonfarms's Avatar
stonedragonfarms stonedragonfarms is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Aug 2007
Zone: 9b
Location: Gleneden Beach, OR
Age: 48
Posts: 1,309
Default

Looks good; given the size of the plant, if you keep the culture good (i.e. Let the roots dry down before watering, good air flow & moderate light) you shouldn't have anything to worry about.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________
I've never met an orchid I couldn't kill...
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 2 Likes
Likes Lady Oscar, Orchid Whisperer liked this post
  #7  
Old 06-19-2016, 03:38 AM
estación seca's Avatar
estación seca estación seca is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jun 2015
Zone: 9b
Location: Phoenix AZ - Lower Sonoran Desert
Posts: 18,654
Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Male
Default

The plant has very few roots. It will be unable to take up much water until it grows more roots. Make sure the bark is completely dry before watering again. You can use a wooden cooking skewer for this:

Using skewers to determine when to water

Root growth is promoted by high humidity. Treating the plant with a kelp solution weekly can also help form new roots.
__________________
May the bridges I've burned light my way.

Weather forecast for my neighborhood
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 4 Likes
  #8  
Old 06-19-2016, 11:55 AM
silken silken is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2009
Zone: 2b
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 9,667
Default

The new growths will likely generate some roots soon, especially if you find some kelp (seaweed) for plants and use that in your water for a while. If you used the same pot after losing all those roots, I am afraid it will be too big and not dry out fast enough. You will need to carefully monitor. I would have gone with a smaller plastic pot with lots of holes and some medium bark. But the skewer method recommended by estacion seca works well, to tell when it is dry right thru. I use them a lot and it saved me killing orchids from root rot.
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 2 Likes
Likes Lady Oscar, Orchid Whisperer liked this post
  #9  
Old 06-19-2016, 03:57 PM
bil bil is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,393
Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out?
Default

Everything is down to balance. If you MUST use moss or a dense medium, then you need to be on top of the watering 100%, and be sure that the system dries out before the roots suffocate. You need a small pot, etc etc etc.
OOr, you could plant it in a large pot in coarse bark, with no fine materials to block the air cavities. It is then impossible to over water or over pot. However it is possible to underwater, so it needs to be watered possibly more often.
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 2 Likes
Likes Lady Oscar, Orchid Whisperer liked this post
  #10  
Old 06-19-2016, 04:12 PM
Lady Oscar's Avatar
Lady Oscar Lady Oscar is offline
Member
 

Join Date: May 2016
Zone: 11
Location: Honolulu
Posts: 81
Cattleya leaf turning black/brown - normal, or should I freak out? Female
Default

It was originally in a larger plastic pot - I would have put it in something smaller than the new ceramic one, but didn't have anything handy, so I put stones in the bottom to try to reduce the volume. Hopefully with the coarser medium and the holes in the sides it will dry out OK, but I will definitely monitor with a skewer.

I'm a bit nervous about putting any of my plants outside because it tends to be very windy, unless I put them down in the back yard where I am afraid I will forget them. My living room ends in what used to be the lanai enclosed with jalousie windows (kept open) so it's quite light/breezy.
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likes
Likes Orchid Whisperer liked this post
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
leaf, normal, black/brown, repot, roots, excessively, sign, pseudobulbs, wondering, shriveled, water, front, picture, damaged, plant, pseudobulb, forming, growths, media, repotted, bought, freak, orchid, december, lowes


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Cattleya leaf problem possible virus ? tarajane Pests & Diseases 8 12-19-2014 06:56 AM
Phals last leaf turning yellow - HELP!! angel415 Beginner Discussion 12 04-04-2012 09:48 AM
Is my paph okay-a leaf is turning yellow? orchidelirium Beginner Discussion 11 11-01-2008 09:52 AM
New leaf on Cattleya? Lezerlie Beginner Discussion 3 08-02-2008 03:45 PM
phal amabilis - lower leaf turning yellow ladyslipper Hybrids 5 05-22-2007 11:07 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:50 AM.

© 2007 OrchidBoard.com
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.37 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Clubs vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.