Leaf problems and dying flower on orchid

[orchnewbie]

Hi All,

I was at my local nursery a few weeks back and fell in love with an orchid and decided to buy one.

I'm very new to orchid ownership and of course I have tried to do some research on how to care for an orchid. Keeping temperatures warm and humid, fertilise once a week and water when the roots look silvery. I also read that repotting when blooming isn't advised. The orchid has since bloomed 3 new flowers and been healthy up until now.

In the last couple of days my orchid has changed:

The leaves seem to have some rough "scrapings" with a difference in colour:




One leaf is starting to look really yellow!






One of the flowers has drooped and that flower stem has turned yellow.



I'm wondering what I have done wrong. He's an absolutely gorgeous plant I would really like to save him if possible. I really would appreciate some help and advice.

Thanks very much

[aliceinwl]

Is there any chance it got exposed to cold temperatures? One of my Phals got some cold damage that looks a like the damage on your leaves.

[Lacie]

I would also suspect cold damage for those patches on the leaves, is it possible it is sitting in a drafty spot? As for the lower leaf yellowing, this is pretty normal and nothing to worry about - just tug or cut the leaf off once it's dry. For the flower dropping, its likely its just at the end of its bloom cycle and the flowers will slowly shrivel and drop - once all the blooms drop the whole spike will start to turn brown, just cut it off and wait for a new leaf to grow, and it should spike again next year. I think you don't have too much to worry about besides checking for potential drafts, otherwise your plant looks healthy to me.

[orchnewbie]

Hi Aliceinwl and Lacie,

Thankyou very much for the reply, I do appreciate it.

Should I do anything for the leaves with suspected cold damage or will they heal provided there is no further exposure?

So happy to hear my orchid is ok otherwise

Thanks again..

[Lacie]

I'm honestly not sure since I've never dealt with it myself. My suspicion is they won't heal, but that if you protect them from cold/drafts they shouldn't get worse (they aren't turning brown or rotting which is a good sign). I would monitor them closely and if the damaged areas seem to be spreading or starting to rot check in here with more experience people.

[Edew]

Really cute Phal you got there! And welcome to the orchid hobby I agree with aliceinwl and Lacie that it looks like some type of temperature damage. I got a clearance/rescue Phal awhile back and on its way to recovery, I stupidly sunburned it (I got too excited about putting my plants outside). Plant is fine, but the leaves that were damaged still look damaged (see attached pic).

My advice, try to keep your orchid away from touching cold windows or any place with cold air drafts. And also out of direct sun. If you're doing this already, great! The flowers do fade away eventually. Sometimes they fall quicker after taking them home (different environment from grower's nursery to store to your home) but I'm sure it'll be up and blooming again in no time. Sometimes one flower falls but the others will stay for months. Ya just never know what to expect with orchids

[estación seca]

Phals need warm temperatures and shade. Direct sun on the leaves can also damage them like this. A lot of hybrids tolerate brief and rare excursions below 16-18C, but most would prefer being warmer than 20C - much warmer.

[orchnewbie]

Hi All,

Thank you to all very much for your time and expertise

You have all helped me immensely and it's great to know that if one flower falls off, the whole plant is not going to fall off / turn brown and die. This was definitely one of my fears!

I will continue to try and do the things you have all suggested. Someone in the house just confessed they turned the air conditioning on, forgot to move him and hence he got a little cold. So this may definitely be it.

I can clearly see how this could become a hobby and how one could amass a collection of orchids. I was at the nursery today and saw a mini phal orchid. Absolutely cute. Resisting until I get this one right! Maybe next season

Thanks again everyone for your help and hopefully all is smooth sailing from here onwards.

[aliceinwl]

If this is a really new acquisition it's also possible the damage didn't happen on your watch. It can take a few days post exposure to show up.