Are these black spots bad?

[Stefus_Prime]

A few months back I got an Oncidium for $5 on a clearance rack, the flowers looked great but the leaves were soggy and the soil was drenched. I nursed it back to health and new roots grew, but lately I've noticed these black spots on my plant. I read that certain black spots on these plants are fine while others can be deadly. I never had an Onc. so take a look and let me know you you think. My leaves have also gotten some of those stress cracks as you can see.

[tucker85]

Oncidiums are very susceptible to leaf spotting fungus. It won't kill the orchid but it does look unsightly. Are the pseudobulbs of your oncidium buried under that sphagnum? That's generally not recommended. Only the roots and not the pseudobulbs should be in the medium.

[Stefus_Prime]

I know very little about them so I just buried them the way I got them. I'll repot them as soon as possible then so I can raise them a bit. Is there any way to get rid of the fungus short of culling all of my leaves off? Does this fungus grow?

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by Stefus_Prime

I know very little about them so I just buried them the way I got them. I'll repot them as soon as possible then so I can raise them a bit. Is there any way to get rid of the fungus short of culling all of my leaves off? Does this fungus grow?

The black spots won't go away but don't cut off the leaves. The plant needs it's leaves and leaf spotting fungus won't kill the orchid. The fungus probably will spread. You could spray once a month with a fungicide but if you don't want to do that, try to keep water off the leaves. Don't mist oncidium leaves. The leaves are very thin a prone to fungus damage. If there's any way to increase air movement, that will help. Do you have a balcony or some way of putting it outside some of the time?

[Stefus_Prime]

I wasn't planning on cutting them off so no worries there haha. So pretty much all I can do is preventative maintenance at this point? I can put them outside on my porch but there would be alot of direct sunlight

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by Stefus_Prime

I wasn't planning on cutting them off so no worries there haha. So pretty much all I can do is preventative maintenance at this point? I can put them outside on my porch but there would be alot of direct sunlight

Direct sun in the morning and evening in fine but it would be best if you could protect it from the noon day sun. Although as far north as you are, it might be able to handle full sun, but watch it carefully for a few days.

[Stefus_Prime]

So I moved it up so the bulbs are exposed and put it in a pot with a bunch of drilled holes so that should help with aeration. Disappointing that I can't fix this but I'll be sure to buy some fungicide, is there a brand you reccomend that I can easily find?

[WhiteRabbit]

Onc alliance are prone to spots

I have a couple (one Onc. one intergeneric) that due to size and one will not bloom when grown indoors, are left outside in winter. Being too cool and damp, they become heavily spotted over winter. Good news is that in my case, at least, it doesn't spread.

[Stefus_Prime]

Do you know if I should let them dry out prior to watering? Like I said I repotted in a drilled up plastic pot to improve air circulation since all I have on hand in Spagnum, so it probably holds too much moisture