Epicattleya Rene Marques 'Tyler' with curling purplish leaves

[turock]

I recently got a great shipment of orchids from an online dealer. I mentioned to them that I don't mind damaged or unsightly plants that I can rehabilitate. This is the only such plant in the otherwise beautiful bunch of orchids they sent me. It's a special plant they normally wouldn't send out in a deal like this so I'd really like to do my best to help it.

This plant has several plump canes but most of the leaves are rolling inwards, even pinching inwards in some places. Several leaves are a dark purplish color and many have a raise v-shaped deformity on the underside. Please see the pix I've attached.

Any suggestions about what this could be and how I can treat it? I prefer home remedies if possible, but will purchase stronger products if necessary.

Thanks!!


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[MrHappyRotter]

Those things are pretty prone to blemishes if I recall correctly, especially grown indoors. If I had to guess, this is water related.

What's your humidity like? If you've recently purchased it, it's very possible it was accustomed to warm and humid greenhouse conditions, so it may be having a hard time adapting to household humidity levels. You could get a small humidifier if this is your only plant. You can try to set it over a pebble tray with a bit of water, but with a tall plant like this, I'm not convinced a pebble tray would be sufficient.

It could also be that you just need to adjust your watering routine. How much/often do you water it? What do you use to determine when to water, like do you check the bark to make sure it's dried out or do you pick it up to feel its weight?

If you overwater regularly, it can rot the roots and stress them out, then the plant is physically unable to get enough water because its roots become non-functional.

If you underwater regularly, the roots will dry out and die off, and obviously even before that the plant will suffer from stress and start exhibiting symptoms like wrinkled leaves, color changes, dullness, and curling.

[turock]

Thanks, HappyRotter. So, curled leaves like this can happen when the plant gets too dehydrated? If so, I can deal with that. I just hope it's not a fungus or disease of some sort.

The plant just came to me a week ago, and it was in this condition as soon as I opened the package. I've never owned a cattleya of any sort before, so I'm definitely learning as I go.

Generally, as with most of my orchids, I can tell it needs water by the pot weight, and I also try to feel inside the medium. I let it soak inside a container for 10 minutes or so, then flush more water through the pot a few minutes later. I've watered it twice since I got it.

It's currently growing in my new office environment, where I plan to measure the humidity soon. For now, it's grouped in with several other plants on a gravel tray.

I also plan to repot it as soon as I see new roots growing. It's planted in a dark pot, so I have no idea how old its medium is, or what the root structure is like. I'm anxious to find out!

[silken]

Some of the leaves look like they are a bit dehydrated. But watering twice in a week for a Cattleya type sounds like a lot. Of course if it was completely dried in between it should be fine. They need to dry in between watering or roots will rot. They also need good drainage and aeration. The skewer method is a great way to make sure the pot is dry thru.

Those leaves may not plump back up. Use the newest growths to gauge how they are doing.