leaves turning white on paph. and phal.

[oceanwithin]

Hi All,

I caught orchid fever about a year ago so I'm pretty new to the quirks of these plants. Recently, two of my orchids have slowly started to show a white tinge and/or very small white spots on their leaves. The leaves on the plants in general are starting to look and feel very "floppy" and a bit sickly. I have inspected them closely and I don't see any bugs or scale, or at least not that I can identify. Does anyone know what this might be, and how I can remedy the situation?

There are other orchids on the same window sill that are flourishing. Typical watering/feeding schedule is once per week (distilled water) and diluted orchid food every few weeks. I used to mist the leaves every day (distilled water as well) because it is dry here in AZ but I have kind of tapered off with that.

Photos can be found here:
Index of /photos/orchid

Thank you in advance for your help with this!!

Kelli Bricker
Chandler, AZ

[Lagoon]

Good morning Kelli, Welcome to the the forum

Looks like mite damage to me, Not all mites web and their not easy to see roaming up & down the leaves.
I would spray them down.

Regards,
Gloria

[Ray]

I agree with Gloria on the mites, and want to add that it looks like you're growing both plants way too dry, as the leaves are desiccated and withdrawn. Both types of plants like fairly constant moisture, but plenty of air to the root system.

As far as getting rid of mites, try mixing a tablespoon each of liquid dishwashing detergent (Joy or the like) and cooking oil, in that order, into a quart of water and spray the entire surface of the plant. Only spray when the plants are cool to the touch (mornings). Repeat every three days for 3 or 4 treatments, and they should be gone.

Humidity is the key to avoiding mites.

[oceanwithin]

Mites!! I didn't even think of that! I found spider mites on a separate plant a few weeks ago but did not recognize the signs on the orchids (i.e. no visible webbing). I will spray my orchids down immediately - and water them more frequently. Thank you SO MUCH for your input, me (and my orchids) appreciate it very much!