Help my suffering Dtps.

[Tindomul]

I have this Doritonaeopsis Luchia Roseherz x Dtps. Sogo Toshiba since April. I bought it in bloom, and it was quick to loose all its blooms. Its also been slow to grow. Its got thinner roots than all my other phals, and now this!

I take a look at it today and find its 2nd newest leaf is turning yellow!

And the underside looks bad too.


And the oldest leaf is also turning yellow. I wouldn't be worried about this one normally, but having two yellowing leaves is worrying.


The newest leaf has been growing slowly, and has an uneven surface. Am I giving it too much light???


OK, thanks for all and any advice!

[Gin]

Hi , Have you checked for mites the second picture looks a little like what follows a mite attack, run a wet tissue over it and see what comes off on it . If nothing I would slip it out of the pot and check the roots for rot, if they are ok then hit it with a fungacide . Also what are you fertlising it with ?It does not look like to much light to me . If all of the above checks out (hate to say this )I would get rid of it, be sure to keep it seperate from others in the event it is a virus . I don't have to warn you about cross contamination . Gin PS# you might try 1 TBS. of Epsom Salts to a gal of water ,it is Magnesium Sulfate too see if it greens up .

[ScottMcC]

I'm certainly no expert, but it doesn't look like normal aging at all, and it doesn't look like sunburn either. sunburn is typically well-demarcated, and will affect whatever patch was over-exposed (such as if you have a bright spot hitting the end of one leaf).

follow gin's advice and let me know what turns up, I'm intrigued.

[Oscarman]

The 2nd newest leaf looks like a bug attack - I would suspect mite damage also and the tissue test is a good method to confirm it. Wipe the underside of the leaf an look for an orangy smear (squashed mite corpses).

The disfigurement on the new growth looks like mites also.

If so, I would follow up with a permethrin type insecticide or neem oil.

[Tindomul]

MITES!!! How small are these mites. I haven't seen any. Oh no!!
Where do I get these mitecides?
Thanks!

Will the mites be living in Sphagnum moss that I use as a substrate (been meaning to switch over to S/H)? Should I switch asap?

[Gin]

Hi , not a good time to switch it when it is under stress . First check to see if it is mites then unpot it and treat the he** out of it , then repot it in fresh Spag. if it recovers... then move it to s/h
Mites are so small they can be missed without a magnifier, and do a lot of damage before they are found . Safers insect soap or as Dave mentioned Neem will kill them but has to be used about every 3 days ( Wal Mart or Lowes or Home Depot probably have both )there are better sprays like Keltane but not safe to use indoors .You have to stay after them . Hope this helps Gin

[Oscarman]

There is some really great information on spider mites at this link:

http://nathist.sdstate.edu/orchids/Pests/mites.htm

You may have figured out that I am not a great fan of any of the toxic products, and the pest articles at South Dakota State offer a number of options to replace human deadly chemicals.

I vote no to the repotting - only repot when the plant is happy, the bugs are stressing it out enough. Water well before pest treatment also.

[Ray]

Just one caveat on the "don't repot a stressed plant" advice: if the medium is such that it alone might rot the roots, repot anyway.

That sphagnum looks way too compact and soppy to me, but instead of repotting (which I'd do if it was in a bark-based medium in that condition), simply pull a few strands out of the pot to loosen it up and aerate it. I usually unpot the plant, let what falls off do so, helping it a bit, then stick it back in the pot.

[Tindomul]

Thanks everyone! I will take some sphag out. Lets hope its gets cured. It cost me $35!!!!

[Tindomul]

I took some sphag out, the roots still look healthy though. I also cut the affected leaf off and placed it under a dissecting microscope (essentially a really really powerful magnifing glass, though not as powerful as a regular microscope). I saw the nasty critters, little, tiny, teeny, ity bity orangy 8 legged mites!!! And their shedded exoskeletons(skins) all over the leaf!! I only saw 4 or 5 adult mites, but tons sheddings, and I saw tons of orangy eggs!! Could this mean I cought it in time? Or did they all go for better pickings? I better look for more on the other leaves.
Another bit of bad news, the newest leaf split down the center. So I guess this one is gonna look all botched up for a couple years huh (with any luck)? Frankenopsis!