Black patches on phalaenopsis leaf near base

[Busygirl2]

Hello, I'm an intermediate orchid grower, (I've kept them alive for a few years . A few of my orchids have a similar black patchy area happenings. Any ideas? Thank you!!

[Sharon's Sheepdogs]

Since it's near the base of the plant, could it be crown rot? If so, you could pour hydrogen peroxide into the crown & let sit for 5 min. before turning the orchid on it's side allowing the peroxide to completely drain out of the crown. You would have to do this at least 3 days in a row. I believe most commercial growers of phals use the copper fungicide named Kocide to stop crown rot.

If you do not believe it's crown rot, try googling: orchid leaf problems. Click on 'Images' & see if you can find a photo with leaf symptoms similar to those on your phal. This might help you with a diagnosis.

Hope this helps.

[Busygirl2]

Thank you, I'll keep researching and give the hydrogen peroxide a shot.

Regards,
K

[Orchid Whisperer]

Photos that are in better lighting (against dark background, using flash) would be helpful.

I can't tell anything from these photos.

[Busygirl2]

Good idea, I didn't realize what wasn't showing up without the flash. Looks totally different with the light.

[jkofferdahl]

First, I don't think it's crown rot, though it could be related. For one thing, it doesn't appear to be in the crown. It appears to me that there may be two things going on. Has the plant suffered some physical damage? There are a couple of places which appear to have scarring, whether from insect/small mammal bites or otherwise. These areas could have allowed a bacterial/fungal infection enter the plant.

If you can determine that there's physical damage of some nature, then you're on the right track. Rather than using peroxide (a good tool!), I'd suggest being a bit more hard-core about this and using something like Physan to really let any nasty stuff know you mean business. Repeat after about ten days, then again after another ten.

Seeing black spots on Phals can mean a lot of things. To really know what's going on with your other Phals we'd need pics of them. However, their presence isn't necessarily anything to worry about. I've seen a lot of exceedingly healthy Phals with little black speckles around the stem area. Larger black areas can mean simply that the plant is getting a bit too much light. It's quite likely that you don't have an issue at all with your other plants. There's also, of course, a very slight possibility of insects damage, and even of insects spreading fungi.

[estación seca]

It might be left-over damage from spider mites.

[Busygirl2]

Thank you for your reply! I posted a few more pics of sadly others that are sick too. . I'm ready to attach with the chemical of choice when I get a few more in unison. I tried a local Orchid place today with no luck. Growers were at a show.