Pot. Free Spirit 'Eric' - with dark spots

[oceans0516]

I got this a few weeks back and it is blooming with more buds coming out of various sheaths. Noticed the tops of the currently blooming pseudobulbs have these black areas on top. Most of the photos i see online have rot from the bottom not the top of pbs. Do i need to worry? They dont feel soft. Bulbs are firm. Is it caused by maybe water getting trapped in the (dont know what to call it) jacket that wraps around the pseudobulbs? I removed them to see if it goes further down and it doesn't.

[silken]

I've had the odd spot like that and can't say for sure what the cause is. It may be calcium deficiency. Catts seem to need a fair bit and a lot of my dark spotting has quit happening since I started adding a Cal/mag. Supplement to my fertilizer water. It likely won't spread but just keep an eye on it. If you have a fungicide like Cleary's or even some Physan you could spray after the blooms are done as a precaution.

[euplusia]

Looks as if it is on the surface and not inside the pbulb tissue. At least not the black rot caused by Pythium or Phytophthora. Like silken I cannot say for sure what causes this.

[oceans0516]

Thanks! I will look to add some cal-mag to my fertilizing routine.