Little leaf on Phal has started to turn black

[Orchid grower]

Hello everyone!

I have an orchid that has grown two new leaves since this past summer. The newest of the leaves never grew very much but I thought that might have been due to the colder weather. Recently the leaf started to turn black and is spreading. I've attached a picture. Does anyone know what might be going on?

I previously thought this Orchid may have a fungus issue because when I purchased it summer 2017 some of the flowers would start to get these see through dark areas, almost like someone was wiping the colour off the flowers. I've attached a picture of that as well.

I really don't want to throw this plant away. It showed very healthy root growth and has the most beautiful orange flowers.

[rbarata]

What are the temps where you grow it?
And what is your watering frequency? And how do you water it? By soaking? from the top?
And what is the medium? Is it only sphagnum?

The marks on the flowers seems to me mechanical damage made when the blower was still a bud.

Let see what others have to say.

[Orchid grower]

Originally Posted by rbarata

What are the temps where you grow it?
And what is your watering frequency? And how do you water it? By soaking? from the top?
And what is the medium? Is it only sphagnum?

The marks on the flowers seems to me mechanical damage made when the blower was still a bud.

Let see what others have to say.

Thank you so much for your reply!

I water biweekly using growmores Orchid fertilizer, I use very little. I water from the top. The medium is mainly bark, 3/4 bark and then shapgnum at the top.

Im not sure how to proceed. If cutting it or leaving it is the best thing. So far nothing else seems to be affected.

[rbarata]

And what's your temp? How cold is it?

I suspect the cause might be the watering from the top together with too low temperature.
Phals should not be watered from the top because the water tends to be trapped in the plant crown. This, together with lower temps causes crown rot.
I also suspect watering twice/week is too much.

I would take the sphagum out of the equation, keep it in bark only, water it once/week, never more, and always in a way to avoid water on the crown and leaves.

Anyway, let's see what more experienced growers say.

[Orchid grower]

Originally Posted by rbarata

And what's your temp? How cold is it?

I live in Vancouver British Columbia. The plant is grown near a window. The temp inside is maybe 15 degrees I'd say but I'm guessing. Outside its 6 during the day and around 0 during the night, sometimes hitting -4. The plant is grown in doors but the insulation is not very good in the house and gets quite cold.

[rbarata]

15º C it's too low. You should also consider that, since the insulation is not good, probably you have drafts of cold air, especially near the windows (and the air near the windows is also colder than the rest of the air in the room).

See my previous post for my sugestions.

Probably not the cause but what type of fertilizer are you using? The brand you've mentioned has at least 3 formulations (6-30-30, 20-10-20 and 20-20-20)?

Do you know the concentration you're using?

[Orchid grower]

Originally Posted by rbarata

15º C it's too low. You should also consider that, since the insulation is not good, probably you have drafts of cold air, especially near the windows (and the air near the windows is also colder than the rest of the air in the room).

See my previous post for my sugestions.

Probably not the cause but what type of fertilizer are you using? The brand you've mentioned has at least 3 formulations (6-30-30, 20-10-20 and 20-20-20)?

Do you know the concentration you're using?

I'm using the 20-10-20 formulation! I also will occasionally use "Alga liquid seaweed" fertlizizer.
I will sometimes mix the grow more and seaweed fertilizer together and then feed. I use a light dilution of both when doing this.

I will keep in mind about the cool temps. I'll move it farther away from the window.


Thank you so much for your reply!!!

[Dollythehun]

Too cold. You can heat seal your window with a hairdryer and a window insulating kit.

[rbarata]

And a heat mat would also be a good idea.

[jcec1]

The only other thing I can add is that the pot looks far too big for the plant - I would doubt that the roots fill the pot and will dry out. I would take the plant from the pot, see how big the roots are and fit in a pot that can barely accommodate them - low temperatures and damp media will quickly cause your plant to decline.