Brownish spots on phalaenopsis

[kaneamea]

Hi everyone!

First time poster here, but an occasional lurker

My otherwise beautiful Phalaenopsis is in full bloom right now, but I noticed these (on the photos) brown spots - on the back of the blossoms and some on the leaves.

Any ideas to what caused them, are they dangerous for the plant and how to get rid of them?

Thanks!

[Wynn Dee13]

It looks like you have scales which are sucking insects. They suck the juices from the plant. You need to get rid of them ASAP. They are not good for the plant. If they get bad enough they can kill the plant. You need to quarantine the plant so the scales don't get to other plants. I would check your other plants for them too. I use rubbing alcohol with a Q-tip and rub them off. The alcohol will kill the bug which hides under the dome like shell. So you have to dislodge the shell to kill the bug. I have never had them on flowers but I think the alcohol might ruin the flowers. I usually rinse the alcohol off after I'm done. You will have to keep an eye on the plant for quite sometime to make sure they are gone. Their eggs will keep hatching so you probably will see more in a week or so after you get the ones on the plant now. They can hide really well so look on every part of the plant (even the spike) and in the nooks and crannies. Good luck and other members probably have other methods they use.

Welcome by the way!

[james mickelso]

If these spots are raised then they are scale. Bayer Insecticide spray from HOME Cheapo will eradicate them. If they are not raised then this could be the fungal infection botrytis. If this is so then you should cut off the flowers as this can spread o other plants. It is usually caused by cool weather along with water on the flowers and leaves. But for my situation (lots of diseases running around my collection), if the infection is slight, I let the flowers alone. If the spots get more numerous, I cut off the flower spike and spray a fungicide on the whole plant outside where the spray won't harm anything else. If there is sufficient air movement then this infection usually doesn't appear. Cool, damp, still air conditions are the major precipitator of this infection.

[Wynn Dee13]

James- They look exactly like brown scale. The leaf picture shows the raised dome. I can even see one on the spike.

Kaneamea- I recently had these on my Paph and they look exactly the same. Brown scale can be soft too and I could easily squash them with my finger but still use the alcohol or insecticide. If it is a fungal infection you won't be able to remove them. After removing the scales you probably will see lighter spots on the leaves where the scales were. It is from the scale sucking on the leaf. These spots won't go away. They are unsightly but won't continue to hurt the plant once the scales are gone.

You can use the stuff James mentioned from Home Depot but I got rid of them just fine with rubbing alcohol. Of course you can use what you would like. I just like to stay away from chemicals if I can. But if you can't get rid of them with alcohol I would then get something stronger like an insecticide. Remember though it takes a few rounds of treatments to get rid of them whether you use alcohol or an insecticide. I usually check the plant every time I water just to make sure they are gone and haven't come back.

[kaneamea]

Thank you Wynn Dee and James!

I followed your advises and removed the scales. It broke my heart treating the blossoms with a Q-tip soaked in alcohol. I hope I will get rid of these.

I attach pictures again.

On the first pictures, I would like to ask if the sap on the blossom (and leaves and stem) is because of these bugs?

The second picture is to show you what the scales are after removal.

I will keep an eye on it during the week.

[james mickelso]

good eye wynn dee. i didn't see them as raised on my screen. treat the joints along the flower spike with soap and alcohol. they like to lay their eggs in tight spaces. a good insecticide with a couple drops of soap works well right off the bat.

[Wynn Dee13]

The sap can be from the bugs but orchids also make so called Happy Sap too so it's hard to say. But yes scales do make sap. I'm not sure if the bugs actually make the sap or if the sap is from the bugs sucking on the plant. Make sure you get all of them and look in every area of the plant. They like tight spaces and look on the spike joints like James said. Good luck!