Black Spots on New Masdevallia

[ikaika1]

Hi All,

I am sad that my first post has to be a plea for help!
I've had a NOID phal that I've taken care of for about a year which has done well so recently I decided read up and pick up some new orchids.

I just received a Masdevallia from Andy's Orchids and here is the scenario. Upon taking the plant from the box I noticed several of the leaves are covered in small (pinhead to slightly larger) black spots. After unwrapping the bubble wrap from the pot, I felt that it was covered in slimy green (algae/moss/mold?). The whole thing was very very moist, which I guess is understandable as Masdevallia is a moist growing plant.

I read up on the forum about bacteria and fungus and quickly rubbed the leaves with a very fine coat of cinnamon as it was the only antifungal I had around.

I have 2 multi-part questions, I guess:

1) What is this stuff? Is it a bacteria or fungus from having hung out in a very moist dark space for too long? Should I be buying Phyton 27 (seems crazy to spend $20 on a bottle of something to save a $20 plant that shouldn't have had this problem when I received it)? How long will it take to clear up if I decide to buy some?

2) Should I contact the vendor? I am pretty upset that I basically got a plant that is heavily spotted. One of the leaves is drying out (new growth) and one of the other leaf tips had been clipped on both sides before it got to me, which leads me to believe the plant may have had issues before it was shipped.

I've never ordered orchids before, so I don't know what is acceptable in this sphere. Obviously plants are living things and growers have issues now and then, but I find it really disheartening to get a plant in this state, especially after the good reviews for Andy's I saw in the forum.

Thank you for your help all!

[Paul Mc]

I have limited experience with Andy's Orchids, but this is what happened. I got three mini's from them, and they are all high humidity, water loving and low light mini's. As a result, the clay pots they came in had algae and a bit of slime on them.

As with any plant I get, regardless of vendor's credability, I repotted them immediately. So the conditions of the pot and the potting soil was not an immediate problem for me. This also helps you to look over the roots, clean them up as need be and ensure that the medium is fresh. Big good vendor's have tons of plants in their care and they mean well, but the medium and pot may not be the "freshest" when they arrive. Also, the medium they used may not be suitable for my growing environment.

The plants that I got also had a few leaves that were cut off to make the plant appear more presentable. My personal take on it is that I do this to my own plants from time to time as needed, so it would stand to reason that they would want to clean it up a bit for you.

Likewise, they all had brown spots on them. I did exactly what you did including putting a little cinnamon on the roots and letting it sit for a while before rinsing most of it off.

All three orchids are doing fine currently. I did have problems with one but that was because it is an extremely sensitive plant. They have all begun to make new leaves and one is starting to bloom.

While I cannot attest to Masdie's and if you might have an issue or not, my experience was very similar to yours but it did not end up being an issue for me. I walked away satisified.

[Paul Mc]

BTW, don't feel bad asking any question here. That's part of what the Orchid Board is about, to help others with their issues and to learn.

[DavidCampen]

I have been very happy with all the orchids I have purchased from Andy's. They have all been very healthy and actually I think that your plant looks healthy too. Black spots on orchid leaves seem common and it is not at all unusual for vendors to ship plants with clipped leaves. That said, do give Andy's a call, Harry at Andy's called me just the other day to check and see that some plants I had purchased were doing well. But again, I think that your plant looks healthy.

[Discus]

There was another thread I found recently about black spots on Masdevallia leaves, and there seemed to be a consensus that it was quite a common symptom of plants that have been grown a little too warm for their liking - I have several plants that have this, and did a search, discovered that post, and stopped worrying

[silken]

My 2 masdies have a few spots on the tips of a few leaves. They came that way from Ecuagenera who are very reputable and knowledgeable growers. I think its quite common to have a few spots. Mine are grown quite cool since I got them and haven't got many if any more spots. I think part of it could be lack of air movement. They need very good air movement.

Your plant looks pretty good and will likely be fine, but I would have a look at the roots as mentioned already.

[ikaika1]

Thank you for the advice, everyone, and for making me realize that I am likely overreacting a bit.

I did in fact take a look at the roots, cleaned out about half of them as they were just husks with no substance inside, and then repotted it in new, less densely packed, sphagnum.

Hopefully everything will be well, and I'll make sure to read up on that other thread.

Thank you again!

[RosieC]

My first Masdie (a real cool loving one) had brown spots on the leaves which got a little worse after I got it... but I was keeping it too warm. I did not treat them at all, but once it got into a cool enough enviroment they did not appear on the new leaves. This leads me to believe they were caused by the warmth and that is what folks here told me at the time.

On both of my first two the roots were not in the best condition when I got it, but they both grew new roots quickly in the spring and both seem really healthy.

I think your plant looks fine. The sheath that covers a small new leaf will dry out as the leaf breaks through and grows so don't worry about that.

The only other thing I would say is that I found that if the humidity was too low the new leaves struggled to break from their sheaths as they grew and would crumple inside the sheath. Increasing the humidity seemed to stop that happening.

[silken]

The only other thing I would say is that I found that if the humidity was too low the new leaves struggled to break from their sheaths as they grew and would crumple inside the sheath. Increasing the humidity seemed to stop that happening.[/QUOTE]

The same thing as Rosie mentioned happened to me with the new leaves until I learned what they like (high humidity and not to dry out completely).

[billc]

I just happened to come across this in the Oak Hill Newsletter. They talk about leave issues at the end.
News from Oak Hill Gardens

Bill