Is it a virus?
 

Hello everyone:
I have separated this plant for several months because of the fine yellow stripes that it presents in two old leaves, I have not seen any variation in the other leaves but the doubt remains. I would like to hear your advice. Thanks in advance.

I suspect that is not a virus, more likely related to insects, especially since it is just on a couple of old leaves. But virus cannot be diagnosed visually with any accuracy, either positive or negative. (A member of one of my societies devised a test, with photos of virused and non-virused plants, and gave the test to quite a few very knowledgeable people (judges, hybridizers, etc) - they got it right less than 50% of the time (would have been more accurate to flip a coin) Get some test strips, or send a sample to a lab such as Critter Creek.

Me too. I don't think it's a virus as well.

If your new leaves are generally looking fine, then it's most likely all is great.

Just maintain the nice growing conditions - and the occasional weak fertilser and weak mag-cal, and nice gentle air-flow.

The leaves look pretty good over there merita.

Thanks Roberta, I will continue to observe the plant, it is the Pot.Hsinying Pink Doll Hsinying and it looks strong, it has a pod with seven flowers to open, hopefully it is not a virus, the thrips attack me a lot.

---------- Post added at 08:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:56 PM ----------

So be it, I fear viruses.

If the flowers bloom with no color break (spots, streaks of lighter or darker color) the odds are very good that it's fine. Catts in particular often show virus with those anomalous and random color issues, but there are a few that can bloom fine and still have a virus. So if the flowers are clean of color break (thrip damage is another thing completely... brown edges on segments, spots anywhere on flowers, alas) then the odds are strong that it is something else... but you can never know 100% without testing. Still, for your situation, I would not worry.

---------- Post added at 05:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------

Then buy some test strips. They are quick and easy to use. They will put your mind at ease if your plant tests negative, you will know to treat the plant appropriately (isolate or toss, handle with care) if it is positive.

Where can I buy the tests?

One source is Agdia
They are in the US, so purchase and delivery should be pretty easy, they sell a range of quantities Another possibility is Rega , located in Taiwan. I don't think that you can buy less than 50 tests. Another member of the Board was able to get some... you can search for the postings if you are interested. Another approach for the occasional one-off test (or to verify an ambiguous result) is a testing laboratory.. the one I know about is Critter Creek Labs You don't get the "instant" result that you do with test strips, but they are very accurate, and can test for more than the two that the strips test for.

Don't fear them Merita. Just relax. The way I go about orchid growing is for stress relief, and just enjoying seeing any orchid in the growing area. And when they flower, we capture not just photos of their flowers - also capture the whole plant - leaves, roots, pot and all. These images can be stored (and backed up ----- just as we can sometimes back-up orchids ----- divisions, or buying clone spares if available - spread the eggs out in different baskets).

But in any case - having pics of them is nice, so no matter what happens to the actual plant, we always got pics to remember them by.

We definitely don't want losses, that's for certain. But orchid growing should be for relaxation, stress-relief. So ------ no fear!

Now ------ with flowers, nasty colour breaks that really look out of place in orchid flowers can be an indicator of virus. Test kits can certainly pick up certain kinds of virus. But also ------ very interestingly --- some orchid flowers really open up (when newly opening) and look a bit 'concerning' ------- where they just naturally haven't coloured-up yet (due to being new) ----- and their crease/folds create markings on the flower that gives the impression of virus colour break. So not all occurrences of 'colour break' mean virus is in the orchid.

And one other thing is ----- viruses themselves can actually have a tough time surviving ..... themselves. Pretty sure that they can also easily become out-of-action when they don't have the right conditions to survive and can't reach another host. So while viruses do get around, they also face survival challenges. It's a tough world/universe.

I just do my best to look after the orchids - not share water, not splash water between plants, and I take lots of pics. And definitely I don't get worried or stressed out. I make back-ups of particular plants when I can - just in case.

Thank you for your motivating message, it is true that we should not stress and more because I have enough plants for this hobby but I love them and it hurts to lose one. Last year I transplanted two cattleyas that are very important to me and one is still not recovering well, the good thing is that I made a purchase from Hawaii and achieved that hybrid again. I will try to enjoy more and think less. Regards.