Please help identify these leaf spots - Brassidium Dr John

[silken]

It does look a tad unhappy or something. You can fertilize weakly every week when it is in growth and every month or so give the pot a good flush of clear water. Once a month if it is weakly applied is possibly not enough. It should be a balanced fertilizer and about 1/4 strength to what is recommended on the package.

I grow a variety of different Oncidiums and I am finding they prefer to be more moist than I used to think. The catch is they need a very good open and fast draining medium and a pot that has good airation. Yours looks to be OK for that. I never let my Oncidiums dry out completely. I do let Catts dry out but their roots are very different from Oncidiums.

According to OrchidWiz, this one is a primary hybrid between 2 species. One takes cool temps, the other warm and it should be fairly adaptable to either. It also requires low to medium light.

I hang some of my Oncidiums in baskets from trees in the summer and they are very happy getting the breezes and rain. I bring them in well before frost. Under the trees, they get dappled light and then most of them bloom in late summer or fall thru winter.

[mrphilips]

thanks for the replies!

ok, estacion - here's more facts:

light, shade, temperature prior to June 2015:
growing area was cool in the winter and quite warm in the summer. i was living in an old century home in toronto, and the windows weren't good, so the winter kept the room about 66F on a winter night, but the light coming through the window would really heat things up during the day... hard to tell how hot it would get daytime winter, but daytime summer was routinely over 80, sometimes as high as 86.
honestly, there isn't much i could do about the temp other than moving it closer or further from a window, which would also affect the light.
where it was there would have been no shadow and it would have felt no heat from the sun.

light, shade, temperature after June 2015 until now:
the window it is in now is a good new window with a tint on it. during the day, i can't see in the window form outside the house more than about 6". this seems to be quite filtering. room temps are as low as 68f at night and have been as warm as 83 during the day, but i would say 71/72 is typical for daytime.
there is a light shadow today, but it is cloudy. there was more yesterday, and yes - my hand feels the sun's warmth, but the sun where he is is dappled by a spider plant.
it seems to be growing more in this new location since the move, but still - teeny little pbulbs.

i water when it feels dry:
twice a week i insert a skewer into the medium and leave it for 8 minutes, then wipe it against my cheeks or lips (which are more sensitive to humidity than my finger tips), and only water if it needs it. i'm not sure how often that is, maybe once to twice a month, depends on the season i would think.
i use water i collect from a small stream that runs down my property from higher up on the escarpment (i live on a cliffside). it is the closest i seem to be able to get to rain water without buying water.

i fertilize lightly:
so every fourth watering is followed by a fertilizing in the summer (after march), and every 8th watering in the winter (after halloween). i use a balanced 20-20-20 at about 1/2 strength for all my paphs, oncs, and brass.

i don't think warmth and light are the issues at the current location, but may have been affecting it the prior year. here, if anything, it may be getting too much light and sun, but it does seem to be doing better now in terms of overall growth, just not the happiest looking growth.

i'm starting to think it isn't getting watered enough, escpecially since it has been receiving all the new light - like it was too cool before, and now that it is warm it is too dry maybe?

and the fertilizer - is it too strong?

---------- Post added at 11:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------

Silken, thanks for your reply!
see the last post about some of the details you have asked regarding fertilizing and watering.

i think you are suggesting i fertilize more frequently, but maybe a weaker solution?
i also think you are suggesting i water more often - allow it to get less dry between watering? yes, i think the medium is quite loose and airy.

i never mix outdoor with indoor plants any more - too many attacks of gnats and other beasties that were very hard to get rid of once they got indoors. i could give it a try next year maybe, i just fear bad things will happen to them - i live at the edge of civilization and who knows what might start nibbling them!

[silken]

I'm not sure if you are saying you only water once or twice a month-depending on season. And only feed every 4th watering. If so that could be only once every few months if watering is only 2 times a month?? Everyone's environment is different and I know Toronto is much more humid than where I am on the prairies. But I think that is not near enough water or fertilizer. There is no set amount of fertilizer because every brand is different. I believe Ray's has a chart or calculation tool on his website (First Ray's) to figure out how much. I simply use about 1/2 to 1/4 the amount that my brand suggests. And I do it pretty much weekly because that is roughly how often my orchids need water. I leave my skewers in place-have one in every pot. Then I just pull out and test and put it back. That way it is in the same environment as the media at the bottom of the pot and the area that is most prone to remain wet the longest. It should be still damp for Oncidiums (my opinion). I have been watering even more lately because I am finding they prefer it. I do have good moving air and pots with side and bottom holes. I like clear pots because I can see what's going on in the pot to some extent.

Your temps should be just fine for your plant.

[mrphilips]

i would say i only water once every two weeks, maybe more often when the air is dry, but only when the skewer is dry.

i do not leave the skewers in as one time i found one had sort of rotted and it concerned me, but that was a while back. perhaps i can start doing that as you have suggested.

and yes, that would mean i only fertilize once every two moths or so if my numbers are correct.

so here's my plan:
a) insert skewers and leave them in
b) water when close-to-dry, but definitly before dry
c) use a weaker solution of fertilizer - half the current strength - but, use it more frequently - twice as often for starters, and since i'll be watering more often that should mean fertilizing every week or two

we'll see how that changes things!
thanks for the input!

i wonder if all my orchids need more regular fertilizing...

[estación seca]

The fertilizer concentrations you mentioned might be too strong for paphs.

The temperatures you mentioned are probably warm enough.

I would guess your main problem with the Brassia is not enough nutrition. I also would water it sooner, and not let it get bone dry. When the plant is healthier it will make more roots and use more water, so your watering frequency will increase.

But unless you're planning on growing under lights this winter, don't increase the fertilizer until next spring. Fertilizer during long, dark days makes for weak growth, easily attacked by microbes.

[mrphilips]

good thoughts! ok, thanks

[silken]

That sounds like a better plan, and yes, all your orchids would like it. But as mentioned by Mr. Dry Heat (), Paphs don't like strong ferts, so very weak and more frequent watering for them. If the plants are growing in winter, a bit of feed is OK. If they are dormant, less water and feed is better. Still shouldn't get bone dry tho.

[mrphilips]

ok guys, it may be a year or so before i see a major change one way or another, but i will get back to you!

thanks for the time!

[judith_arquette]

Good luck!