Phaleanopsis with a broken/torn leaf
 

Hi all!

I received a Phal for Mother's Day from my wonderful boyfriend. Well... while we were moving things around it fell. The bloom and the stalk is fine and in tact showing no sign of damage. However, one or two of the leaves show some small rips across, though not across the whole leaf. Then, I have one leaf that is completely cut off across. What can I do? I read that I can use a blade to shape that leaf and the cut will heal, then I real also that I should just leave it alone. Please help... thanks!

i think it is better to leave it alone first. i have one bulbophyllum with one leaf torn in half during transport. anyway, both sides of the leaf is still green and even can be folded! if become brown then the leaf is dead.

some more, phal only grow a few leaves every year.

anyway, lets listen to what other say.

I would put some ground cinnamon on the cuts to prevent any damaging fungi from entering. Two leaves isn't very many for a healthy phal plant. Most would have four or more leaves. Your plant should be ok and grow well with proper care.

Jayme

I don't think she was saying that it only had 2 leaves, but that possibly two of the leaves were hurt.
Usually I just leave completely ripped leaves alone, unless it was a really jagged rip. In that case I take a sterile blade and make a nice even cut to make it look a bit better. For the small rips, I would just leave those alone.

I have used duct tape to keep a split leaf from splitting more and it may work with a ripped leaf too. If the leaf is yellowing then it probably a gonner, I would leave till it falls off. No harm in leaving it on right

I'd also go with the school of thought that says leave it alone. When a break first occurs, powdering it with cinnamon is a good way to keep fungi out, but after a few days the break will seal itself anyway. Plants in the wild get damaged often without major problems. Just keep an eye on the damaged areas for a while to make sure that nothing seemingly amiss appears.

Thanks so much for all your help!
 

And yes, the plant has four healthy leaves and even some tiny green leaves shooting from the roots (which I'm not sure about what I need to do with that!..lol) But, it was only one leaf in particular that I was worried about. There are three leaves with very minor cuts that I'm not too worried because they're very small cuts. But, I will rub cinnamon on the edges to keep bacteria and fungi out, (thank you for that tip!)