Blc Taiwan Queen Golden Monkey - Orchid Board

CableGirl · #1 04-07-2008, 01:22 PM

I'm fairly new to orchid care. I have had good luck so far with my vandas and Phals.

About a month or so ago I was given this beautiful Taiwan queen as a gift from my mother when we went to an Orchid show. It is now showing signs of distress and I'd love some help.

While the leaves are still firm and a good emerald color on top, the undersides have a decided purple hue, in fact, the purple seems to be running in veins. The tip of one of the leaves showed signs of black rot, so with a sterile blade I cut it back. Now, however, the p-bulb (is that the right terminology) is also showing a bit of black on it. I'm very concerned for this new little treasure of mine.

I can post pictures if anyone thinks that might help.

It is an outdoor plant (I'm in So Fla so all of my plants are outdoors) receives a good bit of morning sun and is brightly shaded in the afternoon. We're entering the rainy season here so the daily humidity is rather high, but whenever I go out there to check on my orchids (every morning at around 11am) the medium (bark and spaghnum with some cork edging in a wooden basket) feel very dry. I've taken to misting.

I'm now thinking that since the medium is dry nearly every morning that what I saw on the leaf wasn't black rot but something else entirely, but I'm at a loss as to what to do.

isurus79 · #2 04-07-2008, 03:48 PM

Post pics!! Thats the best way to get answers. Purple or red coloration on Cattleyas is a good thing, as it means they are getting adequate amounts of sunshine. The black spots you mention may have been rot (if they were mushy) or they may have been sunburn (if they were not mushy). If it was rot, then cutting the affected part off was the correct thing to do. If it was sunburn, well I usually just leave it on. Pics would certainly help though.

CableGirl · #3 04-07-2008, 05:18 PM

Ok, here goes. This is my first attempt at plant photography as well as playing with the board software, so pardon if the photos aren't any good and the script is a mess.

Here is the section of the bulb I'm worried about. It looks black and sort of chewed.

top down view of the leaves and the medium.

Here you can see the tip of the leaf I had to cut because of the rot (and yes, it was watery and spreading) as well as the underside of the leaf that is turning purple.

Thanks in advance for any advice. This is my first Catt.

isurus79 · #4 04-07-2008, 05:55 PM

Hmmm...

After looking at your pics, my first thought was that it could use more water!! The p-bulbs are shriveled and the new growth looks pretty skinny as well. I would also remove the dried sheaths from around the bulbs. My guess is that you got rot because of water sitting over night on parts of your plant during cold conditions (maytbe at night during the winter?). I dont know if you can contol the amount of water your plants get (mine are all outside, so I can only add more water, not less!), but if you were able to water your plants in the morning, they would be able to dry out by night time. Also, during cold weather, you could cut back on watering as well. Unfortunately, I could not see your first

very well (fuzzy pic), so I can not say what it is. However, the "mushy test" is a good one and should be a guidline for future black spots. If its mushy cut it off!! If not, dont worry about it and watch for sunburn. Basically, I would water more often to fatten the bulbs (I water every day here in Hawaii during the late spring, summer and early fall), but do so in the morning. When the weather turns cold and the plant is not growing, cut back on watering significantely, to the point where you see some shriveling of the p-bulbs.

CableGirl · #5 04-07-2008, 07:13 PM

Thanks for the advice Steve. All of mine are outside (baby and cats would wreak havoc on the otherwise) so I can only add more water not less. We don't really have a winter or cold season here in Miami... I think the coldest it's been since I got this little one was maybe 70 F. lol It has been raining at night more frequently but the average temp at night is in the 80s F these days. Would water on the leaves in warm temps have the same effect as cold?

So instead of daily misting and weekly drenching you think I should go for more frequent drenching? I'll try to get a better pic of the trouble area. It's not liquidy, it's more of a crust, if that makes sense.

I will peel back the dried sheaths, at your suggestion for sure. Out of curiosity, what does that do?

Would you recommend any specific fertilizer?

isurus79 · #6 04-07-2008, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CableGirl

Would water on the leaves in warm temps have the same effect as cold?

So instead of daily misting and weekly drenching you think I should go for more frequent drenching? I'll try to get a better pic of the trouble area. It's not liquidy, it's more of a crust, if that makes sense.

I will peel back the dried sheaths, at your suggestion for sure. Out of curiosity, what does that do?

Would you recommend any specific fertilizer?

If there is consistently water on the leaves at night, it might work to promote rot, though this threat is made worse in colder weather. If there was a wound on the plant (for whatever reason) and water was consistently sitting on the affected region, that might cause rot as well. Hopefully your black spot on the bulb is just sunburn. Ill wait for more

though.
I think more water than once a week would work for you in FLA because of the warmth and because of the fact that you are growing your Catt in an open basket. There's lots of "porosity" in the media and basket to allow quick drying of the roots. Like I said, I give a good water everyday for my guys in Hawaii during warm weather (probably 9 months of the year!!). Of course if its raining then theres no need for my water!!
As for the dried sheaths, I peel them back because they have the annoying habit of retaining moisture around the plants. During dry weather this is not that bad, but during wet weather I worry about rot. The sheaths can also provide a home for bugs, in addition to rot. They also dont look all that nice either

I use a 20-20-20 fertilizer for orchids 2x per month and Ive just started throwing in a dose of fish meal fertilizer once a month. Basically, I fertilize every Monday. First week its fish fert, second week its regular fert, third week no fert, then fourth week regular fert. Ive seen a lot of discussion about "the perfect fertilizer" on this board and other sites, but I dont think you need to worry too much about it. In the wild these guys get almost nothing in the way of nutrients and they seem to survive just fine without!! Anyway, this was a really long winded response

, so I think Ill make my exit now!!