wierd spot on phal leaf!!! what is it? - Orchid Board

Wrebbitrocks · #1 08-08-2010, 06:30 PM

i was looking over my orchids today and saw that the small spot i saw the other day spread. i dont know what it is. its a depressed area on the leaf with yellow transluscent edges. i was thinking maybe a fungus or mold from water on the leaves but i really have no clue at this point. do you guys know what it is?

camille1585 · #2 08-08-2010, 06:39 PM

I'm thinking it might be Pseudomonas but I'm not sure. The disease usually causes dried out nectrotic lesions like you're seeing. Even if it's not that, you could try treating it with Phyton 27.

Wrebbitrocks · #3 08-08-2010, 06:49 PM

i thought it was that too after someone told me thats what my cymbidium had but those stayes the same. this one is spreading. it was 3 times smaller than that last night and it grew that much in a few hours. its not dry either. its soft and mushy. i dont have phyton 20 for the time being, is there anything else that could be used, something more household?

camille1585 · #4 08-08-2010, 06:55 PM

Could still be Pseudomonas since the necrotic spots start out soft probably. Or it's Erwinia. Both spread very quickly. Normally I would suggest cinnamon, but have only had luck with it on fungal problems. My attempts at curing something like yours with cinnamon went nowhere, and it kept spreading. You could also try putting some hydrogene peroxide on it, on both sides of the leaf, probably repeating daily.

If it's really spreading alarmingly fast after that I would go the radical route (but usually extremely effective) of cutting off the top portion of leaf, cutting well past the infected area, then sealing the cut with cinnamon. Ugly yes, but my phal is alive and thriving even after I mangled 3 of it's beautiful leaves!

Wrebbitrocks · #5 08-08-2010, 07:00 PM

thats probably what i'll resort to. id rather have a live ugly plant than a dead, still ugly plant haha. (i was gonna say pretty but i dont remember the last time dead orchids looked pretty lol) or maybe just excise around the area and the leaf will just have a hole in the center

camille1585 · #6 08-08-2010, 07:06 PM

If you do excise only the affected bit, go well into the healthy normal green issue or else it's going to reappear where you cut. The yellowish bits are certainly already infected.

My plant is very ugly, and it will probably take years before those leaves shed, but right now the phal has 4 spikes, making the cosmetic damage more than worth it.

Wrebbitrocks · #7 08-08-2010, 07:10 PM

very well worth it if you ask me, the most spikes i've ever seen are two at BEST. where would i invest in cost effective phyton27?

camille1585 · #8 08-08-2010, 07:12 PM

I have no idea where you get that stuff. I've only been in the USA 4 months, orchidless so no need for stuff like that, and going back home in a few weeks. Maybe someone else can help or you can search old threads for the info.

My phal didn't grow all 4 (or is it 5?) spikes at once. It puts out 1 or 2 spikes a year, but they keep blooming and blooming and blooming, and then new ones grow and bloom at the same time.... Not many blooms per spike (3-4) but this phal has been in constant bloom since early december 2008. That is not a typo!

Wrebbitrocks · #9 08-08-2010, 07:19 PM

wow, thats still impressive, how could you deal with 4 months away from your plants!!! i cant even saty away 3 days without worrying

Eyebabe · #10 08-08-2010, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wrebbitrocks

i was looking over my orchids today and saw that the small spot i saw the other day spread. i dont know what it is. its a depressed area on the leaf with yellow transluscent edges. i was thinking maybe a fungus or mold from water on the leaves but i really have no clue at this point. do you guys know what it is?

Cut it out/off with a sterile razor blade leaving one inch of healthy tissue between the edge of the lesion and your incision.
It is most likely pseudomonas and if not removed can kill your plant in 2-3 days