Dendrobium spectabile - rapid leaf drop

[Afid]

Last month received a large Dendrobium spectabile, it was in good condition when it arrived, though it had been knocked halfway out of its pot in shipping. I was able to get it back in with minimal disturbance. Since then, it has been dropping leaves rapidly (at a rate of 1-2 every day) and it is now almost entirely bare.







Over the course of a few days the healthy leaves turn a yellow-brown color and drop off. There is spotting on the undersides of many of the leaves, but that was there when I got it and doesn't seem to be related to the issue.





Once all the leaves have dropped the pseudobulbs begin to blacken from the top down, but they do not soften much like I would expect from a bacterial rot.

My growing conditions are admittedly not ideal at the moment, with very low humidity being the main issue, but I have many other orchids (including some high-humidity types like Coelogyne and Bulbophyllum) that have been doing OK (but not great) for years.

Dendrobium spectabile is a species I have wanted for a long time and I likely won't be able to get my hands on a replacement anytime soon so if anyone has advice on how to rescue this plant it would be greatly appreciated!

[Roberta]

What do the roots look like? Those canes that are turning brown don't look good, unless they are green at the bottom, surgery may be in order. Also... if everything else looks normal, if it were my plant I'd be grabbing for a virus test kit to be sure it isn't something more serious.

I doubt that the low humidity is an issue... Dens are a lot tougher than that. I'd definitely worry about some systemic problem.

[Afid]

Originally Posted by Roberta

What do the roots look like? Those canes that are turning brown don't look good, unless they are green at the bottom, surgery may be in order. Also... if everything else looks normal, if it were my plant I'd be grabbing for a virus test kit to be sure it isn't something more serious.

I doubt that the low humidity is an issue... Dens are a lot tougher than that. I'd definitely worry about some systemic problem.

The roots seemed OK when I got it, certainly not the best roots I have seen but they weren't all dead either so I'll count that as a win.

The canes are still green at the bottom currently, but I will definitely be keeping a close eye on them.

I hadn't considered the idea of a virus, but it certainly seems possible, I have a few other plants I'd like to test anyway so I might grab a kit and see what is going on on that front, better safe than sorry when it comes to virus for sure.

[estación seca]

That might be heat damage.

[Afid]

Originally Posted by estación seca

That might be heat damage.

Ah could be, though it hasn't gotten very hot as far as I know, I guess sometime in shipping it might have.