Newbie from New England - Hi Folks

[mebegreen]

Hello from frigid New England. Now it is 6 degrees outside.(brrrr) I am new to the orchid obsession

I had about 10 Phals I purchases winter/spring of 2015. I would purchase a new one when one would drop its flowers. Now I have numerous orchids that don't look so good.

I repotted them Sept. 2015 and found lots of root rot. I purchased a humidity tray and reduced watering. They did not look very perky. I read they needed light to re-bloom. So, I moved them to an east facing window and they thrived. Til now.

Then at the end of Oct 2015 I started to take them seriously and researched proper care. I joined the Massachusetts Orchid Society and went to their annual show and added a couple more varieties to my collection in the beginning of Nov. 2015. I was learning so much and loving it.

Then, Boom! I was diagnosed the day after the orchid show with a benign brain tumor which required surgery ASAP. Fortunately I made it out of surgery alive, with no long term effects! So life is wonderful!

As part of my recovery I ordered many more orchids, varying varieties, since I couldn't do much else. I read info on each variety. Well, orchids are still coming in. 5+ arriving tomorrow.

Now I am in a pickle with approximately 25-30 orchids. I have noticed potential bug/disease problems via the leaves. So, I joined this fabulous site, where I found info before I was a member via google searches. So, I am hoping to learn more about each variety of orchid and get advice from experienced orchid enthusiasts.

I would like to show each orchid that has a problem and ask for advice. I have read quite a bit and have my own conclusions. But, then I read here that Dendrobiums don't like copper, which was recommended on 1 site as an acceptable fungicide for orchids. So, I knew, I needed experience to guide me.

So here I am! And happy to say so!

Where do I post the pics and the question, What is wrong with these orchids?

Looking forward to meeting some great people!

Thank you for allowing me to join OB!

[MattWoelfsen]

Welcome to the Orchid Board! Orchids make great therapy. If I did not have orchids to come home to from a very high stress job, I'd probably be a drunk!

You need to have five posts before you can post pictures. You can get around that restriction if you use Flickr or Photobucket or other online photo hosting site. Copy and paste a bbcode from those sites into a thread.

The Saint Augustine Orchid Society has an incredible website as reference to bugs and orchid disease. But you can always ask here.

Welcome to the OB!

[estación seca]

It's great you have recovered so well! Welcome to the Orchid Board! There is a thread on posting photos here:

Tips for posting Photos

To get to the 5-message minimum for posting photos, you can reply to other people's messages with something like Great! or Beautiful! and that counts as 1 of the 5.

[mebegreen]

Thank you MattWoelfsen and estacion seca!

I tried to like your posts but I was unable to. All forums are different.

Yes, MattWoefsen, I have had the St. Augustine site up since yesterday. It is a wealth of knowledge, but so much I am overwhelmed. Reason being various plants show various signs of pests/disease. I need to focus on one at a time. I was on overload!

And all I have read regarding the reddish color on the edge/back of new Phal leaves leads me to believe fungus. Meaning new leaves on old plant. Or is it normal because blooms are purple or dark? HMMMM so many possible problems. They just recently received more sunlight when I moved them. Is it too much sun? I try to reason out each potential culprit, then I read another site, which further confuses me.

So, I will continue to peruse OB to meet my 5 posts. If I have learned something this week. Isolate new plants from your collection.......and still so much more to learn.

[wintergirl]

Welcome to OrchidBoard

[camille1585]

Welcome to OB!!

Glad to hear that you made it out ok from your health issues, and yes, orchids are always wonderful therapy for just about any problem!

Usually the reddish color on the underside or edges of new leaves is either related to bloom color (pink/dark flowers) or it's a sign that the plant is at the high end of the light intensity it can receive before burning. So it's not a sign of too much sun, just a sign that it's getting a lot of sun, but at an acceptable/safe level.

I've never heard of the red color being due to fungus, though I have heard that in some cases (older leaves being afflicted too) it can be the sign of a nutrient deficiency, which is often rare.

[terracotta7]

Welcome to OB!!!! Glad to hear that you are doing well, and YES! orchids are great therapy! I am sure that you will be able to resolve your orchid issues with the help of the experienced growers here.

I am fairly new to the hobby myself and I enjoy the challenge of learning every day! Hope to "see" you around OB!

[WhiteRabbit]

[mebegreen]

I tried to thank folks for their recent kind notes and advice, but I could only find this reply button on the last post.

Thank you to everyone for your kindness.

[RosieC]

Welcome to Orchid Board

Glad you made a great recovery and are now enjoying your orchids again.

I can't comment much on the problem you are having but if you haven't found it already, the Pests & Diseases section is a good place to ask. Hopefully you can post photos now

You have clicked like on some of the posts above. It's showing up to me. I have noticed that if you use the like option on tapatalk it doesn't seem to work. I think our forum tapatalk plugin is and old one that doesn't quite work with the like option.