does this look like a virus???

[Miss Flower]

my catt finally bloomed...I don't seem to have a lot of luck with these guys they don't bloom for me as I would want...and now this!!!!

Does this look like a virus???

[silken]

I wouldn't think virus necessarily. More like a bit of environmental stress of some sort. But how does the front of the bloom look?

[PaphMadMan]

Possibly just cold water damage or some other environmental stress. If it continues to get worse or spread then possibly bacterial or fungal. I wouldn't worry about it being virus.

[withoutid]

Looks like mesophyll cell collapse to me (Mesophyll Cell Collapse). Not a big deal!

[Miss Flower]

thanks for the ideas....but what about the little circle like indentations on the leaves?

I have also added a pic of the front of the blooms

[silken]

Originally Posted by Miss Flower

thanks for the ideas....but what about the little circle like indentations on the leaves?

That's is the reference to Mesophyll Cell Collapse. did you look at that link provided? It suggests thrips can cause similar damage and that could explain the bloom issues too. You haven't shown us the front of the blooms so a little hard to tell. Was it subject to cold temps or anything environmental??

[Miss Flower]

my leaves don't look like the pic from the cell collapse article...the plant hasn't been moved in a year

[silken]

It still looks like insect or environmental damage to me. But there are lots of viruses out there. The only way you can know for sure is to test it. Did it get water on the buds or petals? Is it sitting in a window that gets cold and drafty?? Has it bloomed before and not looked like this? Have you found any bugs on it? There is lots of history you could give and maybe someone can help who has seen something like it. I get some spots and pits now and then on my orchids and don't know the cause other than I need to grow them rather cool in the greenhouse during our winters. Keeping water off the leaves and buds can help, but mine still do it at times.

[Miss Flower]

The only insects I saw were spiders ( really spiders...not spider mites) and I removed them.

Window stays closed...but it might have cold leaks..although the plastic pot sits in a ceramic pot so I suppose it doesn't have a big impact !?

When I bought it last year it did have normal looking flowers...i mean without these 'burns' on them

I changed the pot from the original into a slightly bigger one, but it did make new leaves and roots. Also it did make flower sheathes ..although they never amounted to anything.

I can't think of anything else to say...

I am out of agdia test strips otherwise I would have tested it directly!

[Leafmite]

It could be virus but it could also be spider mite. Not all spider mite/false spider mite are easily visible. Still, any time you see something suspicious, you should keep it away from all the other orchids/plants. Sometimes the flowering shows the first sign of virus.

Here is some good information:

http://www.phelpsfarm.com/OrchidPestsandDiseases.pdf

http://www.orchidsocietynsw.com.au/D...id_Viruses.pdf