Mottled leaves on phal
 

A few of my phals have leaves that are mottled,not sure why..could it be a virus?

There are several possibilities, including insufficient nitrogen and/or magnesium.

Tell us more about your water supply and feeding regimen.

Mottled leaves
 

I water once a week using weak dilution of orchid specific fertilizer of 20-10-20..I had to go out of town for a few weeks recently which,now that I think about it,had disrupted my routine..would it be beneficial to increase the fertilization concentrate for awhile or ?

First what do you mean by weak dilution?

Next does the fertilizer contain any magnesium?

Next are you using tap water or purified water? If tap water can you look at your water company's online water quality report to see whether it has contains any magnesium?

By weak, I use 1/4 tsp per gallon with every watering..looking at my fertilizer ingredients I do not find magnesium listed but manganese is. I do use tap water so I’ll get the analysis on that..

Magnesium and manganese are two different elements. Plants need both but they are not interchangeable. Magnesium can react with other fertilizer components and precipitate out of solution, so many fertilizers lack magnesium. You need to provide it since your fertilizer lacks it.

Plants put one atom of magnesium into each chlorophyll molecule. Without magnesium plants can't make chlorophyll, and they become pale. I think this is your problem.

Epsom salts available at the drug store contain magnesium. On a separate day from using your fertilizer, you could water your plants with a solution of 1 teaspoon of epsom salts per gallon of water. That will provide magnesium. It can take a very long time, even some months, to replenish plants deficient in magnesium, so keep at it.

Some people have enough magnesium in their tap water for plants, but others don't.

Thank you so much for your expertise! I will start the Epsom salts immediately. Would it behoove me to treat all my orchids as well even if their coloring isn’t affected? Is there a reason you have to fertilize separately from Epsom salts? Would you adopt me?

1/4 tsp/gal of that fertilizer is 75-80 ppm N

How often is “every watering”?

I water once every 7-8 days,they have gone 2 weeks on rare occasions.

Yes, all plants need magnesium.

Magnesium and calcium mixed with other fertilizer may lead to formation of insoluble precipitates. This might make the magnesium or calcium unavailable. Calcium and magnesium are often applied by gardeners separately from other nutrients. If your water has enough of them you probably don't need to supplement them, which is why I asked about your water quality report.

I'm a gold digger too. For years I've been looking for somebody who would keep me in style.

Thanks for the input! I’ve never been called a gold digger before…kinda exciting…

LOL!

Water quality report
 

Attachment 158086

Here’s what I’ve got so far on the water report,hope you’re able to view it..magnesium is present , I have no idea on the values

is the pH 6.2 or 8.2?? sorry, i cant really make it out. but thats a major diff and 8 ph may be part of your issue if i was guessing....

Yes, pH is 8.28

Water is better than mine... and it has both calcium and magnesium. I don't see anything that would make it problematic for a Phal.

It probably has enough magnesium so nitrogen deficiency is more likely. I would increase the fertilizing to between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon per gallon if you're fertilizing weekly.

1 tsp/gal would be above 300 ppm N - way too high for weekly feeding.

N
 

So I’ll go with 1/2 tsp weekly?

1 teaspoon per gallon, weekly.

Time to rethink, Ray. My mind was changed recently about Phals. They are high nitrogen orchids. Have a look at the paragraph about fertilizer in this message, a composite of my interview with and written articles by a Phal. hybridizer with 10 Awards of Quality from the AOS:
Eric Goo of Phoenix Orchids: Growing Phalaenopsis

Now what?
 

So should I get MSU RO fertilizer with 94.7 % nitrate and 53 % ammonia and also have to reduce the alkalinity of my tap water? Seems it’s opening up a can of worms to try and do reverse osmosis or resort to distilled water…I’m not brand new anymore..in fact soon to be 80…but love orchids I do..I look forward to the challenges..

Phals should not need RO water - they do fine on nearly everybody's city water, even some that is pretty high in solids. From the notes in this thread, you should try just increasing the concentration of your regular fertilizer. Instead of 1/4 teaspoon per gallon, go to 1/2 teaspoon per gallon or even 1 teaspoon per gallon, once a week or so. You will not see quick change, orchids don't do anything fast. Just be patient.

well if none of these more experienced folks think over 8 pH is bad, then i wouldn't worry about it! we are around 6.5, and with all of my plants i have always tried to stay just under 7 if posible. so, figure the other stuff out and dont stress the ph

Thanks to all who responded to my question, I have really enjoyed the journey..I intend to increase the fertilizer and observe the results..and will report same.this is a wonderful forum