Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web !

Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web ! (http://www.orchidboard.com/community/)
-   Pests & Diseases (http://www.orchidboard.com/community/pests-and-diseases/)
-   -   Ludisia leaves turning red and dying (http://www.orchidboard.com/community/pests-and-diseases/86134-ludisia-leaves-red-dying.html)

Istra 07-11-2015 05:32 PM

Ludisia leaves turning red and dying
 
2 Attachment(s)
Looking for some help here, because I'm at a loss.
I bought this jewel orchid around 4.5 months ago. It seemed to be doing fine - it grows and spreads extremely quickly and had to be repotted within a month.
However, last month I noticed some of the leaves beginning to fade, them turn red. All leaves that do this eventually wilt and die. Thinking it was sunburn (it was originally in a fairly bright east-facing kitchen) I moved it to a somewhat dimmer shelf in a western bedroom. This room has blackout curtains so it only gets morning-early afternoon light when the curtains are open, I close them when the intense evening sun starts up.

It is potted in a mix of about 40% coarse bark chips and 60% soil (Miracle Gro moisture control), with the very top of the pot covered in soil. It is in a Terra cotta pot that is painted to reduce fast dryout, but has ample drainage from the bottom. I water once every 6 or so days when it gets dry - tested at both the surface and the drainage hole in the bottom.
The plant is still sending out new shoots and has no evidence of pest or fungus, so it seems healthy aside from the red/dying leaves.
I would really appreciate any advice - I quite like my jewel and would be heartbroken if I lost it.
I've attached a couple images to show what exactly is happening here.

WhiteRabbit 07-12-2015 06:07 PM

I don't have much experience with these, but I believe the media should be kept lightly moist - perhaps it wants to be watered a bit more often ?
Hopefully some members with more experience with these will chime in!

bananification 01-25-2020 04:49 AM

Hey, Istra, were you able to figure it out? mine is doing the same...:(

Orchid Whisperer 01-25-2020 06:42 AM

The original poster's plant shows the normal progression of older leaves (turning red, then eventually drying up). Otherwise, the plant is healthy. This is normal, just remove the old dried leaves.

Ray 01-25-2020 08:08 AM

Yep, perfectly normal for the plant. Mine have always done well in straight sphagnum.

bananification 01-25-2020 03:28 PM

Orchid Whisperer, Ray, thank you for your response.
I hope so. What gets me a little worried is that this process sped up in the past month. But it also is about to bloom so I'm attributing it to that for the time being.


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:21 PM.

3.8.9
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.37 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.


Clubs vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.