Is treatment possible or should I toss this plant?

[NewBloom]

I sprayed all my orchids with Vermiliquid (a form of worm tea) because I found scale and suspected other insects were present.

I've post edabout this NoID den phal before but I need help. This plant has been exhibiting leaf problems since last year and it's slowly lost leaves. I've quarentined it from the collection.

In the photos you can see how the symptoms evolved from 2-4 days after I sprayed Vermiliquid. I removed that leaf Wednesday and another one seems to be following the same path.

I don't know what's the cause. A friend who grows orchids took a look at the plant and couldn't determine the problem either. There are 2 new canes growing that are currently unaffected.

I have not tried a systemic treatment yet. Should I go that route--and which product to use? Or does it seem to be too late/ dangerous to keep this plant around?

Thank you for your suggestions.

[WhiteRabbit]

Burn ? is there any oil in the product you sprayed?

The pocked areas could be damage from scale or other pests

[Leafmite]

I have an orchid that is exhibiting problems and is in isolation. In my search to find answers, I have found some great sites. Here they are:

Two helpful orchid society sites:

Orchid Pests, Orchid Diseases

http://www.houstonorchidsociety.org/...ySueBottom.pdf

Cloud's orchid's:

Diagnosing Orchid Problems

Two helpful virus sheets, one from Brisbane, the other from Taiwan:

http://www.icogo.org/images/Dr._Chin...id_Viruses.pdf

Orchid Virus

I hope these help!

[camille1585]

Worm tea may not be strong enough at this point to deal with such an infection. I believe it's more useful preventatively, and to a small effect curative in mild disease cases. I think it's time to pull out the big guns if you hope to save it. I don't know if it's a coincidence that it got worse when you sprayed. Did you leave it in the sun after spraying?

[NewBloom]

It's not sunburn. The plant was in a shaded area when it started getting the color fade and the leaf deterioration doesn't follow the sunburn pattern.

The plant has exhibited similar leaf yellowing in the past so what's shown in the picture isn't new to me. Granted, it seems that the spraying sped up the latest episode. It could be that the worm tea disturbed whatever is causing this problem. Bayer has a 3-in-1 disease and insects product that's safe for roses, so I might give it a try.

The current potting mix is 2 years old. I'm wondering if I should repot while I'm treating the plant?

Leafmite, I will check out those websites. I've visited a few sites about orchid insects and disease but I haven't nailed down the suspects.

[Cym Ladye]

I would toss this plant ASAP. If you do not have the heart to do that, totally isolate it from all your other plants. You may have a virus here and risking the remainder of your plants would not be the way to go.

Just my

Cym Ladye

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by NewBloom

It's not sunburn. The plant was in a shaded area when it started getting the color fade and the leaf deterioration doesn't follow the sunburn pattern.

I was thinking that perhaps the spray you used burned the foliage - I've had it happen.

[tucker85]

My first line of defense is usually Safer's insecticide soap. It's not a poison but just a soap high in potassium. I spray all surfaces of the plant, especially underneath all the leaves. Then I use a soft bristle tooth brush to remove any scale and clean the psuedobulbs. It's usually available at Home Depot or Lowe's. If they don't have Safer's they'll have another brand.

[dounoharm]

remove the dead and dying leaves, take it out of the media and scrub with soap solution, safers soap is excellent....then spray with systemic insecticide of some brand.....doesnt matter leave it out of the pot for a day or two till the roots dry out....then repot in clean medium.....spray with the systemic every two weeks for two months then every month....and spray your entire collection, scale is usually spreading when you discover it....gl

[NewBloom]

Thank you all for your responses. I'm keeping the plant separated from the group and will try the treatment option for a month before I decide if I should just toss the plant. I'm leaning towards throwing it out but I want to at least give the products a try.

Yesterday, I picked up a bottle of Bayer 3-in-1 insect, disease and mite mix that is meant to connect to a garden hose. I didn't apply it yet because I wanted to check back here. Is this type of product okay to get on the roots? The instructions don't make mention of it. I searched this site and no one mentioned whether they took steps to avoid the roots. (The hose application would make it difficult to not get some accidental spray at the roots.) If you all think it's a bad product for this situation, I'll return it.

WhiteRabbit, the odd thing is that I sprayed all the orchids and none of them had a sunburn reaction. This Den Phal had similar leaf issues before but I'll keep your observation in mind when I do future sprayings of any kind.

Tucker and Dounoharm, I'll give the Safer's a try asap given you both recommend it. Would you apply both the Safer's and the systemtic product on the same day? Is that too much product exposure for orchids?

Btw, I've read of folks using a dish liquid and cinnamon solution to drench their orchids to combat insects. Is that only effective for mild infestations? I prefer organic treaments since I have pets and I can be klutzy but if they don't work well then chemicals it is...

Thanks again for your advice.