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04-14-2016, 08:45 AM
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Jr. Member
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Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 20
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Purplish spots and bark-like spots?
So I purchased an orchid yesterday at my local Lowes, Im pretty sure its a cattleya but it doesn't say it on the tag and, when I got home and unwrapped it, I noticed these little purplish spots on the under side of the leaf. Further inspection and I noticed that the edges of the leaf are a bit discolored and also there are these bark-textured type "scab" almost, running along the crease of the underside of the leaf, and on the top side of the leaf you can see a little hole of the bark-ness type thing. There are also these brown spots on an old sheath. The orchid has not been watered in a long time, the pseudobulbs are shriveled and some of the leaves are wrinkly as well. I would have noticed it when i was looking at it but, it was packaged pretty well to where i couldnt really get a good look at it. I believe it has only bloomed once (its pretty young and not in bloom at the moment) and that spike has since been cut by the growers. That too, (around where the spike was cut) has the brown barkish type texture around it on the edges of the leaf. I dont know if this is just from a little too much exposure or because it hasnt been watered in a while but if you have any ideas on what it is or how i can avoid/treat it please share! Here are some photos to help diagnose my orchid:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/141838351@N04/K66373
(one leaf pictured fell off during the ride home)
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04-14-2016, 11:11 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Zone: 2b
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Posts: 9,667
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It does look like a Cattleya. The brown scabby stuff is likely just mechanical damage. The leaf was injured and sort of formed a protective scab. Nothing to worry about. And it looks like a damaged old small leaf that fell off. The purple spots are also fine. Just pigment from a good amount of light. I see you have a new growth on it too. Water it well, but then let it dry before watering again. Since it is done blooming and there is a new growth. I would be tempted to un-pot and inspect roots. I normally don't re-pot until new root growth is started but on new purchases, that may be too late if there is a problem. Re-pot into some well soaked medium bark chunks or similar in a pot that isn't much larger than the root ball and has lots of air and drain holes. I like clear pots, but others will do as well.
Oh, and Welcome to Orchid Board!!
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04-14-2016, 11:47 AM
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Jr. Member
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Join Date: Apr 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silken
It does look like a Cattleya. The brown scabby stuff is likely just mechanical damage. The leaf was injured and sort of formed a protective scab. Nothing to worry about. And it looks like a damaged old small leaf that fell off. The purple spots are also fine. Just pigment from a good amount of light. I see you have a new growth on it too. Water it well, but then let it dry before watering again. Since it is done blooming and there is a new growth. I would be tempted to un-pot and inspect roots. I normally don't re-pot until new root growth is started but on new purchases, that may be too late if there is a problem. Re-pot into some well soaked medium bark chunks or similar in a pot that isn't much larger than the root ball and has lots of air and drain holes. I like clear pots, but others will do as well.
Oh, and Welcome to Orchid Board!!
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Thanks for the reply and the welcome! So far it doesn't seem to be deteriorating in health. The pseudobulbs were pretty shriveled when I first bought it but, when I looked at it this morning the pseudobulbs have become less shriveled and starting to fill in more. All I have done in the past two days is I soaked it for about 20-25 minutes Tuesday and about 30 minutes yesterday with warm water. I also depotted it yesterday to get a good look at the roots (which she has a lot of and seem to be healthy) and cut off the dead ones and potted it back in the same potting medium it came with since I ran out of new medium, once I get some more I will repot it.
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04-14-2016, 01:25 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Zone: 9b
Location: Phoenix AZ - Lower Sonoran Desert
Posts: 18,645
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Stop the soaking. It's a beaten-up Cattleya that will almost certainly recover if you don't overwater it. You must resist the urge to feel sorry for it and baby it. Treat it like any other Cattleya seedling: let it get dry between waterings. It will slowly get better, though the old leaves will never look good. If you fuss and soak it will rot. It can't handle extra water.
Last edited by estación seca; 04-14-2016 at 01:27 PM..
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04-14-2016, 02:18 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Feb 2009
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Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
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T agree. Water it well and then let it thoroughly dry out. No soaking every day or it will get root rot. Old bulbs are often shrivelled and won't plump up completely. So long as the newest one is plump, it is likely getting enough water. If the media isn't real deteriorated, I wouldn't re-pot again as this does not make them happy. They like to get established and only if necessary be re-potted when new root growth has started. You can read the thread about using bamboo skewers (in the beginner dept), if you like. Put a thin bamboo kebab skewer down in the pot and leave it there. When you think its time to water pull it out and see if it is dry. if it isn't, it is too soon to water a Catt. Put it back in the same place each time so as not to poke holes in roots all the time.
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leaf, spots, type, noticed, pretty, orchid, brown, purplish, spike, cut, watered, home, edges, texture, barkish, purchased, yesterday, moment, bloom, local, growers, ride, exposure, fell, share |
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