tips for Pleurothallis cardiothallis (edema/watering isues)?

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Hello, i got this Pleurothallis cardiothallis like 3 weeks ago.

It's in a hanging pot with a mix of spaghum moss (10%), some small bark bits (like 10%) and coconut fiber (mostly coconut fiber, like 80%).

So i read online this orchid doesnt like to go dry and ive been spraying the roots daily (dry season in my region), but i do try to do it only when the medium feels almost dry and i have fan running nearby.

A week and a half ago i noticed some white-ish texture in the leaves which i think is edema looking at pictures of edema in the internet. So i reduced the spraying but then one of the leaves started to look dry

I would like to know if someone with a similar orchid has watering tips to prevent edema. am i watering too much? or is it too frequent? is my medium not adequate? Should i water less frequently instead of frequent spraying?

The orchid seems to be growing good despite that i think. It has a new leaf that has grown well and looks healthy.

Hope i can get some help.

[estación seca]

¡Bienvenido al Orchid Board!

What are your growing conditions? Temperatures, relative humidity, light? This information is always useful to provide when asking growing questions.

I think most Pleurothallis would prefer to have constantly moist roots. Many do experience drier conditions during the dry season, but most grow at higher elevations where there is more dew at night. Misting roots during dry weather is probably not enough watering. Your mixture is very moisture retentive, so when you water, don't completely soak the medium. Give enough water that it will diffuse throughout the medium, leaving it moist but not soaking wet.

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Originally Posted by estación seca

¡Bienvenido al Orchid Board!

What are your growing conditions? Temperatures, relative humidity, light? This information is always useful to provide when asking growing questions.

I think most Pleurothallis would prefer to have constantly moist roots. Many do experience drier conditions during the dry season, but most grow at higher elevations where there is more dew at night. Misting roots during dry weather is probably not enough watering. Your mixture is very moisture retentive, so when you water, don't completely soak the medium. Give enough water that it will diffuse throughout the medium, leaving it moist but not soaking wet.

We are having 80F days with 20-30% humidity. I keep it with grow lights (10W bulbs, but i try to give it less exposure than my heavy light orchid). I kept it near a north facing window a couple of days but it would get too dry too fast.

[estación seca]

I think the problem is lack of water. Most Pleurothallids are cloud forest orchids. During summer they are wet all the time. During the dry season they are never dry for long.

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Originally Posted by estación seca

I think the problem is lack of water. Most Pleurothallids are cloud forest orchids. During summer they are wet all the time. During the dry season they are never dry for long.

Im considering maybe putting more spaghum moss in the mix? but im a bit afraid of root rot cause when i got the orchid it had leaves with many black spots that i removed.

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I don't think you need to worry about root rot. These tend to rot when temperatures are too high or when the medium is too wet for too long. Instead of repotting I would stop spraying the roots and water more frequently. It's not a good idea to repot orchids frequently. There is always some root damage, and they grow slowly compared to other plants. I would not have removed the leaves with black spots. Those spots are not likely to be disease during a cool, dry season.

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Originally Posted by estación seca

I don't think you need to worry about root rot. These tend to rot when temperatures are too high or when the medium is too wet for too long. Instead of repotting I would stop spraying the roots and water more frequently. It's not a good idea to repot orchids frequently. There is always some root damage, and they grow slowly compared to other plants. I would not have removed the leaves with black spots. Those spots are not likely to be disease during a cool, dry season.

alright, ill change the watering method

[Roberta]

What are your lowest temperaure? As long as they stay above freezing, the plant might be happier outside. I agree with ES, you really can't overwater this one. I grow it outside on my patio (coastal southern California USA, winter nights typically around 4 deg C, sometimes a bit lower for a few hours with winter highs around 18-20 deg C, occasionallly a bit higher or lower) It gets a good overhead watering every 2 days (or every day in summer) and grows rapidly, blooms profusely this time of year. Especially if you have low humidity, don't hesitate to water.

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Originally Posted by Roberta

What are your lowest temperaure? As long as they stay above freezing, the plant might be happier outside. I agree with ES, you really can't overwater this one. I grow it outside on my patio (coastal southern California USA, winter nights typically around 4 deg C, sometimes a bit lower for a few hours with winter highs around 18-20 deg C, occasionallly a bit higher or lower) It gets a good overhead watering every 2 days (or every day in summer) and grows rapidly, blooms profusely this time of year. Especially if you have low humidity, don't hesitate to water.

we get around 50F at night outside, but I doubt it gets that cold indoors. I'm gonna try watering every other day and ill check if edema stops happening. Thank you so much. Some leaves are showing small ovoid formations where the flowers should be, so I'm so excited to what color the flowers will be. I'm fertilizing weekly, but I read they don't like being fertilized that much?

[estación seca]

They need fertilizer, but cloud forest orchids do best with lower concentrations than some other orchids. What are the numbers on your fertilizer?