Noid Phal leaves with reddish patches on leaf edges

[sweta]

Hello Orchid Pals,

One of my phals has leaves that are turning reddish suddenly. I'm not sure of the cause. I repotted it about 3 months ago after it was done blooming. It was doing well initially for the most part but recently its been struggling, leaves turned floppy. I thought it was dehydration and have been watering regularly. But today I noticed the leaves with reddish coloration. Flowers are white with light brownish pink lip. Its potter in bark, fertilized every 1 week in summer and every 2 weeks in winter. House temperatures are 70F daytime and 65F nighttime. It sits on the window sill and outside night temperatures have been close to freezing. Humidity is about 30-40% inside the house..Please have a look at the pictures and let me know what would be the best course.of action.

[dbarron]

It appears to be a bit dry and dehydrated (only slightly). Getting a little cold can sometimes cause a purpling.

[estación seca]

I bet it's much colder than you think next to the window. Put a thermometer on the plant and check it first thing in the morning.

I agree it's underwatered. But it's tricky watering more when kept so cool in the winter. Would you consider a heat mat?

[sweta]

dbarron and Estación hopefully its just the cold that caused purpling. Estación you are right temperatures I'm pretty sure it gets extremely cold on the window sill. The only reason I've kept some of my plants on the window sill is to separate some of them out from plants which I suspect could have pest issues. I really have to invest in heat mats but I have bunch of orchids and its a bit expensive to afford heat mats for all of them. I wonder if there is any other affordable option. I think its time I remove these plants from the window sill and invest in buying heat mats.

[dbarron]

Alternatively, you could just heat up the house in general (though that might cost more than heating pads).

[Clawhammer]

The red patches are not an issue. The wrinkly floppy leaves indicate a potentially severe problem with the roots, which could be related to your recent repotting. Did you change the type of media?

[sweta]

Originally Posted by dbarron

Alternatively, you could just heat up the house in general (though that might cost more than heating pads).

You are right in increasing house temp is an option. But our heat vents are close to the window so increasing the heat too much will cause other issues for the orchids sitting on the window sill. In fact I've almost closed the heating vents to avoid temperature fluctuations for the orchids on the window sill. Maybe thats one of the reasons why the temperature is colder. We used to earlier have carpet flooring which kept the house warm but now we have changed the flooring to wood due to my allergies.

---------- Post added at 02:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:35 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Clawhammer

The red patches are not an issue. The wrinkly floppy leaves indicate a potentially severe problem with the roots, which could be related to your recent repotting. Did you change the type of media?

I havent changed the media type it was always in bark. You are right a lot of roots are probably dead inside after repotting

[estación seca]

Only the Phals would really benefit from heat mats. Many other orchids wouldn't need them. I don't recall what you grow.

[Dimples]

So long as your watering keeps up with the faster drying from the heating vent being on, they’d probably prefer warmer temperatures even if it fluctuated more than it does now. This time of year my phals get daily swings in the 70-80F because I open and close the doors during the day to control the temperature. We also have Santa Ana conditions right now so outside humidity is 8-17% during the day. A few times a day we open up, let the house cool down for 20-30 minutes, then close up and turn on the humidifier. The phals don’t notice.

But, heat mats would be a very easy way to boost the temperature for your phals. I have a couple and use them in January-March.

[rbarata]

And I'm almost sure the blooms are purple or of a similar color.