Help with my orchid

[dimagama]

Hi,i'm Diana, i'm Colombian but I live in Brazil. My bf gave an orchid 2 months ago, and i have kept it the same pot as when she came, in my bedroom, watering it once a week, and taking it to a window or balcony to receive some sunlight almost every day.

Since the begining I noticed some marks in one of the flowers but i always thought that it was hurted or something, or that it was normal:


Also i noticed like 1 month ago, that one of the leaves had a strange texture in one side and later i fell off, and now there's another one:


yesterday one of the flower was looking a little bit sad, so i watered it , thinking it was needing water, but today is worse i think:


I have kept the pot where it came, never moved it, and i put inside of a bigger one that is nicer, but whem i water it or put in the sun i take it out. So, this morning i took it out of th ebigger pot and noticed a white worm in one of the roots, and I got scared, and noticed that there were more in the big pot.


I really don't know what to do, is the first time i have an orchid and don't want it to die...please help

[silken]

Welcome to Orchid Board! It looks like sunburn on the leaves. Are you putting it in fairly bright light when you put it out? Phals aren't real bright light orchids and they need to be slowly introduced to brighter light if it isn't used to it.

It looks like something has invaded the potting media. You could re-pot, or try flushing the pot really well and flush them out. If that doesn't work I would likely soak my pot in a solution of water and Malathion for 20 mins to kill them. Lots of Phals come potted in moss and its a good idea to re-pot them soon anyways, but since yours appears to be in coconut chunks, it is likely not in dire need of re-potting other than the worms.

try not to over-water your plant as that is how they are most often killed. water just before it goes completely dry. The roots need air as well as water. I like to put a bamboo kebab skewer down into the pot and leave it there. I pull it out and see how wet it is before I water. If it is quite damp, wait until it is almost dry. Then water the plant well.

[dimagama]

Hi, thank you for your answer. In the beginning i was putting the plant directly in the sunlight, then i stopped doing it and it doesnt receive the sunlight that bright.

About the flushing, i don't get it quite well. Should i take out the roots and separate them from the wood chunks? Am i supossed to flush the roots too?

And did you see the flower that is all sad? Is it beacuase of the worms, or maybe could be that lately the weather hs been colder than usual (went from 26°C to 17 °C)?

[silken]

To flush, I hold the pot under the tap at a good high pressure or you could even soak the pot in a pail of water and the worms would likely drown. There might be more eggs tho. But if you have new orchid potting media, then go ahead and re-pot. They like an open chunky bark or coconut chunks or something similar to how it is potted now. New bark doesn't hold moisture well at first and should be soaked overnight. I add a bit of sphagnum moss with mine and they seem to like it but everyone's conditions are different. You would carefully remove all the old chunks from the roots and remove any rotten mushy and dead roots. Then re-pot into a well draining pot that just nicely fits the remaining roots. If you use too large of a pot, they get root rot easily as the media doesn't dry out quickly enough. In the wild, these orchids grow on trees with their roots exposed so they like to get wet and then dry quickly and have air also. Never leave them sitting in water in the decorative pot.

The sunburned leaves won't heal, but you will eventually get new leaves to replace these. The flowers may have been getting too much sun as well, and a sudden drop to 17C may have cause them to wilt also. They may also just be finished and time to drop off. Hard to say how long it was in bloom before you got it.

[WhiteRabbit]

If the "worms" are tiny, silver or almost clear, they may be gnat larvae.

[HighSeas]

The White Rabbit is right. The worms are the larval stage of something you don't want in there. I think the leaves are burned but your plant will still give you beautiful flowers. The flowers were there when you brought it home? They have probably been there awhile already and this is just their exit. I'd repot. Flush the roots really good and then apply a good systemic insecticide.