Dried spots at the base of the middle leaf and a strange spot on a phalaenopsis

[cyclone125]

Hi.

I am new to this forum. I have a question for knowledgeable people. I bought several phalaenopsis about 2 months ago. And there are problems with two of them.

1. This phalaenopsis (Phalaenopsis Liu's Cute Angel) is young, apparently an import from Taiwan. It was received in a disposable plastic pot in moss. Replanted in bark mixture after purchase. It has started to grow, new roots and a new leaf are growing (about a month).

However, a few days ago I noticed that one leaf (in the middle, not the bottom one and not the top one) began to turn yellow at the base (just at the base). When I examined it in more detail, I discovered that the leaf near the stem had areas that looked like sunburn (a completely dried out dead yellow spot with black edges). There are two or three separate spots, and it seems to me that they gradually increase around the circumference of the stem (see images attached). I guess, this leaf will be lost. Otherwise the plant looks normal.

This plant actually stood for some time in such a place that the sun shone on it in the morning for one - a couple of hours. However, it seems strange to me that if this is a burn, then why it is at the base of the leave, and only on one leaf in the middle - the leaves above it and below it look normal.

Should I worry about this? Could this be some kind of dangerous disease, like some kind of fungus or something like that?

[cyclone125]

2. Second Phalaenopsis Bronze Age. Received in a pot with bark, was not replanted. About a week ago I noticed a strange stain on the bottom leaf (see attached images).
This yellow spot is about half an inch in diameter, at first it looked wet with swelling, with some black area inside. Around it, at some distance (about inch), the leaf also has some yellowish tint (maybe invisible on photo). This spot is also visible on the underside of the leaf and looks almost the same. This phalaenopsis was not exposed to direct sun.

This spot appeared very quickly (literally 2-3 days before I noticed it, it was not there), had swelling, yellowing of the leaf at some distance from it, and looked "unusual" to me. I even thought about removing the entire leaf just in case, although I didn't want to do that.
I still decided to hold off on this and see what happens next. The spot has not grown in a week. I would say that the yellowed part is drying out and the black spot inside has expanded slightly onto the yellow part.

Same question - could it be something dangerous, fungus etc. and is it worth removing the entire leaf or at least cut this area?

Thanks in advance!

[estación seca]

Welcome. The first leaf does not look like a problem. That happens sometimes. If growing conditions are good it should do fine.

The second leaf probably had an injury and there is a zone of dying leaf around it. I doubt that is fungus. If it doesn't enlarge much, don't worry. It could be an injury from a scratch or an insect bite.

Fungus is highly unlikely in plants growing in most homes. Fungus happens when humidity is very high, and/or when temperatures are too high or low. Most leaf problems in a home are cultural problems, not infections.

Have a look at a thread here. From the left yellow menu choose Forums, then Phalaenopsis Alliance - Hybrids. Look at the top thread about growing Phals.

[cyclone125]

Hi again!

Still, that first spot is not normal. A spot with black edges appears on the base of the leaf, about 5 mm in size with black edges, then the spot dries up, but the black edges remain. Then the next spot appears nearby, and thus the dried spots spread to the entire base of the leaf. It's spreading slowly, but it's spreading.
What looks very weird is that the leaves, which have a completely dried base, remain green, do not turn yellow and do not lose turgor for many days. But after I broke off this leaf, I see that the base of the leaf is completely dead.
Now two leaves are completely lost (the first one, where it started, and the one above it. It also partially spread to the leaf below the first one, I broke it off too. It seems that the same spots are appearing at the base of the next leaf up (there are only three left at the top, so it is not really possible to remove it).
I think it is some kind of fungal disease.
It seems to me that this orchid is lost, but I am afraid that it will not spread to the others.

What could it be?
Any suggestions or advice?

[Dimples]

Not having seen the plant in person, it looks completely normal and I suspect you removed two healthy and functional leaves. Sometimes the connection point along the stem can look a bit rough, especially if leaves hang around a long time, but it doesn’t require that much tissue to maintain a functional connection between leaf and stem. Unless the leaves pull away from the stem *very* easily, don’t take them off.

[cyclone125]

Originally Posted by Dimples

Not having seen the plant in person, it looks completely normal and I suspect you removed two healthy and functional leaves. Sometimes the connection point along the stem can look a bit rough, especially if leaves hang around a long time, but it doesn’t require that much tissue to maintain a functional connection between leaf and stem. Unless the leaves pull away from the stem *very* easily, don’t take them off.

You may not understand, but the base of the leaf with these spots is completely dry. When I pulled this one leaf off, there was no sap or any liquid. Why the leaf itself looks healthy is also a mystery to me, but it definitely does not exchange any fluids with the stem.
Have you ever torn off dried leaves of a phalaenopsis? Here is the base exactly the same: dry, thin and papery in feel. The green leaf blade is thick and dense, and this spot is flat and dry. Dry leaves don't always fall off on their own either.
I tore off the second, smaller, leaf (it was below the first one) because such a spot appeared on it too (about 40% of the base of the leaf). The rest 60% of the base was green and thick, and there was sap.
It's local, It appeared in one place on one leaf in the middle of the stem and began to spread around, and up and down. It only spreads where the green tissue of other leaves touches these dry spots.
You see, the plant was not like this originally. It's strange that you assures me that this is healthy leaf. I've had about 20 phalaenopsis in my life over the years, and I've never seen such dry spreading spots on them. It's somewhat similar to sunburn, but the thing is that the sun never shines on this phalaenopsis.
The problem is that these spots are growing and spreading to the bases of neighboring leaves that touch this spot, up and down.
The previous responder also said, like you, that this is absolutely normal, and I did nothing, and these spots spread to two other leaves.
But wait what, until these spots spread to all the leaves?

[Canadienne]

---------- Post added at 10:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 PM ----------

[/COLOR]OHRA= phrag

---------- Post added at 10:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 PM ----------

Hi there, I’ve got a very unconventional way to deal with black spots that move. I had some on a dendrobium, and brown areas on a phrag’s leaf that were spreading quickly,
I had read on an old threat someone put polysporin on the spots and it stopped the ‘ infection’. . Having polysporin ( or neospirin on hand) I decided I had nothing to loose and rubbed the salve on all said orchid spots on the leaves. Worked like a charm. Stopped the spread instantly. Plants carried on making new leaves and flowers, although the leaves that were treated stayed unsightly, they didn’t die. Hopefully in your country you can buy polysporin at the drugstore. It’s worth a try.

---------- Post added at 10:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 PM ----------

The active ingredients in polysporin are polymycin sulfate,bacitracin ad gramicidin which are all antibiotics. Its use is for humans, small cuts ect but it works for me on orchids too. If I have to cut a leaf tip for some reason I also use polysporin on that cut to seal it and no infection enters. Have used it for 2 years now with great results on different leaf issues from spots to brown pitted lesions, to soft watery areas and even an oncidium bulb with a hole in it.[COLOR="Silver"]

[estación seca]

I agree that is not sunburn.

Most of the time fungal or bacterial diseases will cause soft, wet areas on leaves, and they don't dry to light brown.

Sometimes Phals. that were grown in humid greenhouses will drop one or more leaves when moved into a lower-humidity home. But usually when this happens, the leaf gradually turns yellow and dies from the tip in.

I don't know what is happening to your plant. If you are near a university with a botany department they might be able to look at it under a microscope and see whether there are any fungi present.