Keep or Throw; Virus or Pest Damage?
 

Hi, I’m a new member here and this is my first post!
I recently got into the orchid growing hobby, specifically polychilos Phals.

One of my plants seems to have some chlorosis and pitting on the leaves but I can’t tell if it’s pest damage or a virus. I’d hate to throw it because I don’t have that many in my collection but should I? I can’t afford to buy virus test strips sadly :(. Can somebody with more experience with orchid problems help? Thank you :)

Plant: Phal. LD Sun Rose ‘Freys’ from HappyPlantUSA, supplier is MIKI orchid in Taiwan.

Images:
1-4 second newest leaf.
5 & 6 newest leaf.

Welcome to the Orchid Board.

What are your growing conditions? Temperatures? Light? Humidity? How are you watering? What water? How do you decide when to water? What are they potted in? Are you using fertilizer? How often? Which product? How are you diluting it?

Hi,
I haven’t had this orchid for a while so I don’t know how much my environment is influencing it. It arrived like this. My temps reach 67-70F at night and 72-78F during the day. I don’t know my exact light levels in units, but I keep it medium bright under LEDs. Humidity ranges from 45-70, hanging around 55-60 most of the time. I water when the roots are silverish-green, making sure it doesn’t completely go bone dry. I make sure water flows through the bottom when I do. My tap water TDS is 220 ppm. This Phal. is in full sphagnum and it’s fluffy and not compacted. I only use slow release osmocote fertilizer at 1/4 dosage, so about 18 pellets per pot.

I doubt virus... at any rate the only way to diagnose virus is with a test. But I don't think so The first photo looks a lot like a bit of sun damage (likely old). IF you got it that way, the pitting might be some old insect damage.

Overall, I don't see anything that would concern me a lot. As with any new arrival, best to keep it away from your other plants if you can. But at any rate, it sounds like your culture is fine. Time to just observe. Orchids don't do anything fast, so changes could be over a period of weeks or months, Definitely keep.... and observe.

I see no conclusive sign of virus and probably wouldn't have thought too much about it, if it wasn't for coming across this thread several days ago:
If you bought from HappyPlantsUSA on Etsy - you should test your orchids -- r/orchids on Reddit

Here's a summary:

u/adrimargarita said:
u/throwaway3689431 said:
Now that doesn't mean it has to be a virus, but putting it all together I'd be pretty vigilant.

You absolutely cannot determine virus yes/no without a test. Some people virus test everything they buy. I'd go for isolation and observation. (General good hygiene... don't cram plants together, never never share water. Do any repotting on multiple layers of newspaper or other disposable surface, sterilize tools for use single-use single edge razor blades, disposable gloves ) Use those hygienic procedures routinely. Fred Clarke (SVO) puts it this way - if you injure yourself and go to ER, they will glove up and mask up and do all the rest of the procedures as if you were infectious whether you are or not.

Without virus testing it’s impossible to say. Totally healthy looking orchids test positive for virus, and unhealthy ones test negative (I have virus strips!). It’s good practice to not share water and sterilize tools.

It just looks like the plant has experienced inconsistent culture and conditions. Your conditions seem fine, I’d just care for it and see how it does with time in your care.

I have a Phal whose leaves looked just like that leaf in the second picture after I left it with a friend for 6 months. Back in my care it grew new leaves and eventually dropped the ugly ones ;)

Welcome to the OB. The others have given good advice.

I agree with the others. I don't see anything that concerns me. If you are worried, just keep it away from your other plants and watch it over time.

I tend not to worry so much about viruses. Like the quote Roberta gave us from Fred Clarke, just use proper hygiene and treat every plant like it might be virused, which will prevent the spread of virus should one of your plants actually be afflicted.

As far as testing for viruses, I don't bother anymore. There was a time when I would test new plants for virus, but the fact of the matter is that most virused plants show no symptoms and will grow and bloom normally throughout their natural life span. I'm not going to throw away an otherwise perfect plant just because it tested positive for a virus. Seems like a waste to me.

If you follow my lead, then plant hygiene becomes especially important, because a virus that causes no signs or symptoms in one plant can certainly cause symptoms in another plant, so you definitely want to follow Fred Clarke's advice about hygiene to avoid spreading anything, but I feel that there are more pressing matters than to worry too much about viruses beyond basic preventative measures such as proper hygiene. Testing healthy plants for viruses feels a lot to me like a solution looking for a problem, and disposing of a healthy plant because it tested positive for a virus seems like such a waste to me.

Went off on a tangent there... but the point is I wouldn't stress over the plant too much. It looks perfectly healthy. Maybe quarantine it if you are worried, and use good hygiene practices, and you'll be fine.

Thank you everyone for your help. I’m gonna keep it and watch how it progresses. As for my other plants that don’t seem to be virused I’ll treat them equally and make sure to keep proper hygiene. I didn’t expect that much people to reply :)