Think this is sunburn, what to do next in my climate

[SeekOrchids]

First off, hi! Very excited to be here and learn how to properly grow orchids.

This orchid here has been thriving great on my windowsill (I live in hawaii, just for a climate fyi). It has a healthy root system, and had good green colour to it's leaves. It's about a year old give or take.

However, as of today it looks like it is suddenly heading downhill fast. The only thing I did different was set it outside for a couple of days next to the rest of my orchids. I looked at some other posts on these forums and concluded my plant must have gotten sunburned. (Do you think so?)

Since I almost killed it by trying to be nice and put it outside, I don't trust my "What do I do next" decision making and wanted to run that by more experienced people and see what you all think.

I moved it into my bathroom that doesn't really get much sun (I'm aware of the whole light leaves = need less sun and vice versa) but im concerned about lack of airflow in there. It's pretty humid where I live. I am desperate to save my orchid, is the shady bathroom a safe place? And/Or what further steps shall I take?

I read that sun burn can cause rot and there are some mushy looking spots on the leaves that I see.. Should I be removing these leaves?

Also, just for the sake of this not happening again- I own a bunch more adults that thrive out on my porch, did this one get burnt because it had been raised indoors?

I'd be absolutely devastated if I lost this one (Its a keiki from the first orchid I ever owned and also the first keiki i ever transplanted). Hope someone can chime in. thanks for reading!

[Paul Mc]

It is quite possible that your orchid did get burned because it did not have time to get used to the outdoors. When moving orchids outside, you need to give them time to adapt to the change and slowly move them to where they will finally be resting. This means keeping them in full shade for a bit, especially when it's late in the year like this.

I would remove the leaves and get rid of the "mushy" stuff to the best of your ability. Other than the yellow leaves, the rest look relatively healthy.

IMHO, I would put your orchid back where it originally was inside as opposed to the bathroom. The rest of your leaves appear to be fine for the time being. If you see issues progressing, then you should move it to a more shaded position for a few weeks to allow it to focus on healing itself as opposed to processing light.

Sorry to hear you are having issues, but welcome to the OB all the same! I'm sure others will have thoughts as well.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Yeah, it looks like sunburn.

Yup, put it back where it was before.

Sunburn doesn't cause rot, it causes tissue damage, which may make certain areas feel soft to the touch.

If there is rot, then you got a whole other set of problems as well. Any rotting areas should be excised with a sterilized blade or a pair of sterilized cutters.

What kind of orchid is it? I'm having a bit of a difficulty trying to tell from the angles the shots were taken.

I'm assuming it's an Oncidium intergeneric or some sort of Paph. Maybe a Dendrobium?

When you put the orchid outside, was it under direct sun? How bright was the light it was receiving outdoors? What kind of orchids were you growing it next to outdoors - were they Vandas?

[keithrs]

I agree with others.... sunburnt. We all have sunburnt a plant or two!!!!! To me it looks like a Dendrobium. I have yet to get rot from sunburns. Not to say it cant happen! Usually, If the sunburn is bad the leave will fall off in a week or so. Other wise it will dry up where it was burnt.I wouldn't go cutting it intel you see signs of rot progressing. To try to avoid rot, move to a breezy location.... rot will happen very fast in humid environment with little air movement.

To avoid this next time.... Keep the plant in bright but out of direct light or full sun. If you could give it dapple light through a tree or shade cloth, that would be best. Its the heat from the amount of light that kills the tissue. Also the hotter out the faster the leaves will burn.