Phalaenopsis Orchid Leaves not Smooth

[Korimako]

One of my orchids leaves are going bumpy instead of being smooth. Any ideas please what could be causing this. I can't see any bugs on it.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board.

What are your growing conditions? Light, natural or artificial? Temperatures dag/night? Relative humidity? How are you watering?

It looks like it is chronically underwatered.

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!
It looks dehydrated. That can be caused by underwatering, or by a bad root system that can't take up water. What are your conditions? (Temperature, light)? How often do you water? Have you repotted the plant?

[Korimako]

Thank you for the reply.
The orchid is with my others in bright light but no sun.
They get a good water once a week.
Th3 roots now are not in good order although some good ones are starting grow.
I don’t understand why one of the leaves is half smooth and half rough almost like a line has been drawn across.
My main concern is that it isn’t something which will spread to the others. I have separated it now.
It possibly doesn’t get enough humidity.
When I water I sit them in a small bowl then carefully pour the water around the top letting it run through then drain the orchid well.

[estación seca]

The roots I see look good. The bark is large. Most people need to water Phals. in large bark more than once a week. I still think most of the problem is not enough watering.

[Korimako]

Thank you. I shall start watering it more often. I really don’t want to lose this one.

[Dimples]

Get those good roots under the bark. That’s where the moisture is. Pot the plant deeper, and in large bark like that, you can probably water every day until the bark starts to hold more water.

[Korimako]

Thank you for your help. I will do that. The pot also has holes on the side so understandably now it will be drying out to quickly.

[Mountaineer370]

First, welcome to the Orchid Board! I agree with the others who have already responded that the problem is most likely dehydration, and it's probably not something that happened quickly. It's probably needed more water for a long time.

I also pot my Phals in large bark, but the wintertime humidity in my home has been in the teens and twenties. As a result, I am watering about every other day for the ones in smaller pots because the bark dries out so quickly. The ones in larger pots can go maybe every three days.

An indoor hygrometer is fairly inexpensive, and might go a long way in helping you understand if your plants are getting enough humidity in the air on most days, and you can adjust your watering accordingly as the seasons change.

It's quite possible that those wrinkled leaves will never totally plump up, but hopefully any new growth will look (and stay) normal with a more frequent watering schedule.

[Korimako]

Thank you Cheri. The temperatures in most of my house are always between 20c and 25c (68f and 77f) they go into a cooler room until they spike but I have no idea of the humidity. I think my getting a hygrometer a good idea. Thank you