Cattleya purple pseudobulb and leaf spots?

[JrOrchids]

Hello, I’m trying to help with recovering a relatively large Cattleya that appears to have been very stressed for some time now. The plant had some pest issues and was originally growing in a rotting wooden basket with decaying media.

The plant has been split away from its own decayed growths, mostly cleaned and remounted now, but just noticed on one of its few new-ish growths the midsection of the pseudobulb is turning purple on both sides. There’s also purple spots/rings on its collapsed leaf.

Should I remove this? The pseudobulb is firm to the touch still. Wondering if it's diseased or sun related.

Thank you!

[Roberta]

Welcome!

If the p-bulb is firm it could be sun-related. The little circles could be pest damage (something sucking the plant's juices). It is likely that the flower is dark and the plant has lots of red pigment that shows up if there is loss of chlorophyll (like from an injury).

Considering that this plant has had multiple insults, I'd just keep a watchful eye on it. See what grows and what doesn't, then you will have a much better idea of what is and isn't good. It would also be a good idea to keep it away from other plants for awhile, if it is diseased. If you have access to virus test strips, testing would ba a good idea... plants from old collections can be iffy. If it's not virused, it likely can recover from most other insults. If it is, you'll know not not to waste resources. Sounds harsh, but you do need to be a bit cautious with plants that have had a long hard life and you don't know its history.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Where do you live? What are your growing conditions - temperatures, relative humidity, light? How are you watering and how often? Is this in a greenhouse, or in a home?

[JrOrchids]

@Roberta, thank you! I had no idea viral test strips existed, I'll look into and definitely make use of them. Your suggestion is basically what I've done so far. Split her up into six "healthy" groups and wiped off everything by hand in hopes of getting some new growth to appear and isolated the larger, more questionable ones as far as possible from my personal collection. The plant belongs to my grandmother who really loves the flower from this variety which I can't seem to find for sale online/locally so trying to give it my best shot.

@estación seca, thank you! I'm in south florida (ft lauderdale), currently giving it moderate, indirect sunlight behind a north-facing wall of my house. I have a couple separate pieces from same original bunch under trees and bushes with slightly more filtered sunlight with morning and late evening near-direct exposure (these don't have the purple p-bulbs). Currently trying to keep them more on the dry side as the old media was pretty soaked and had quite a bit of dead/somewhat rotted roots. Not too sure about humidity... I don't have a meter yet, but I'd guess it's relatively moderate-to-high since I have drip irrigation and raised beds in the surrounding area.

[estación seca]

Cattleyas also may turn purple after exposure to cold. Have you had recent cold spells? Would this piece be less protected from cold than the others?

They don't need much water when not actively growing and temperatures are cooler. Your humidity is probably quite high most of the year. There is the possibility of fungus invading after bugs take bites, so it could be useful to draw rings around the spots you see with a marker to see whether they are expanding. My guess is they won't.

You will see lots of online videos scaring people about fusarium, which is supposed to cause purple rings in the rhizome. Fusarium is a disease of high temperatures and high humidity. I doubt your plant has that.