spotting trouble with gongora - Orchid Board

bluestones · #1 10-25-2011, 02:19 PM

since I brought my orchids in for the season the gongoras leaves have started to spot and turn brown.
they are in a hanging basket, in bright diffused light SE kitchen window and I water with distilled water. They are right next to the stanhopeas, same conditions, and these are fine. any advice would be helpful. thank you

Paul Mc · #2 10-25-2011, 08:34 PM

Well, first off, I must state that I just got my first Gongora this year, so I'm no expert. I'm just going to throw some ideas out there for you to chew on and hopefully someone far more experienced can answer you.

My first thought was that you are watering with distilled water. Distilled water does not have a lot of nutrients or PPM's in it which plants need - albeit the PPM's for orchids should be low from my limited understanding. Do you mix in a small amount of fertilizer with your waterings? If so, does your fertilizer have trace elements in it? This might be one of the problems.

Another thought I had was how extreme of temperatures was it exposed to, either hot or cold? I have many orchids that do the exact same thing when exposed to excessive heat. One of my newer cooler growing orchids exhibited somewhat similar signs when it went too cold for a few nights. In fact, I almost lost it, lol...

Just some thoughts...

Paul Mc · #3 10-25-2011, 08:36 PM

Oh, also, my thoughts about the Gongora is that I kept it inside when the temps rose about 90 degrees where as the Stanhopea I left out but in a far more shaded area than usual when the temps rose that high. I might be wrong, but could this be part of the issue? Just curious. I'm learning as well...

isurus79 · #4 10-25-2011, 09:24 PM

Looks fine to me. Spotting on Gongora leaves are nothing out of the normal and the fact that one leaf is dying (not 4 or 5) is also fine. The p-bulbs look a little shriveled though. Might need a small bump in the watering schedule.

bluestones · #5 10-28-2011, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isurus79

Looks fine to me. Spotting on Gongora leaves are nothing out of the normal and the fact that one leaf is dying (not 4 or 5) is also fine. The p-bulbs look a little shriveled though. Might need a small bump in the watering schedule.

it is 4 or 5 leaves since the end of summer. i feed with superthrive(not in the winter) is it possible that i am allowing these to over bloom? they bloom prolifically.

isurus79 · #6 10-28-2011, 10:45 PM

Overbloom?

Best 'problem' ever!! Seriously though, plants that grow and bloom are usually happy. Enjoy!