Angcm. sesquipedale shed its leaves...

[Angurek]

I used to have two Angraecum sesquipedale plants, but sadly, they are no longer of this earth.

I'm hoping to get a (late) diagnosis of what could have gone wrong.

Both plants were very healthy and growing when I got them, although one was growing much faster than the other. Things were going just fine for a few months, but after about 5 months, I noticed the first signs of the problem. The leaves were turning bronze at the axils, and the plants stopped growing. The leaves bronzed along the stem, one after the other. Each bronzed leaf dropped, and eventually I was left with bare plants crowned with three leaves. Needless to say, the last leaves eventually dropped. I inspected the roots afterwards, but they were just fine. I tried caring for the leafless roots, but they just died back.

Anyone have any idea what may have happened? :shocked:

I want to retry this genus, because A. sesquipedale is one of my favorite orchids, but I'm kinda reluctant to after having two plants die in the exact same way. Ang's are said to be fairly easygoing, but I'm not so sure anymore. Are there any Ang's that are a little easier to work with?

[Neverend]

Oh dear... that's really sad, I have no experience with angraecums, sorry to say I have no idea what happened to yours.

I suggest you try again, I'm testing out with Aerangis orchids once again, they're really rare in my country and I'm hoping this biloba doesn't end up like my previous fastuosa...

[FinnBar]

i don't have personal experience with sesquipedale (yet)
but from what i've read they can be real divas. often sulk when moved to a new location and super sensitive to any kind of root disturbance. did you repot them?

[smweaver]

Perhaps your sesquipedale had some kind of rot or infection in the stem that eventually worked its way up and killed the leaves. Did you cut or break one of the stems in half before you discarded your plants? I've grown sesquipedale for years, and in my humble opinion, it's a very easy orchid to grow and flower (mine currently has two spikes, and it's not a huge plant). The one big rule of thumb that you may have heard by now is that they don't really like to have their roots disturbed. So it's very important to be as gentle as possible when you repot them. Did you repot your plants before they started dropping their leaves? If not, then I would suspect that some kind of pathogen got inside the stem and started working its way up. Either that or maybe some kind of chemical got on the plant (did you spray it with any kind of insecticide/fungicide/bacteriacide?) that it didn't care for and it reacted by dropping its leaves. In any event, don't despair too much. This species is not hard to find. Just get another one and try again. My suggestion for your new plant would be to grow it in bright indirect light, water it regularly (they're from the lowlands of Madagascar and don't really go through a dry period in their native habitat) with good quality water (whatever you do, don't use softened water), keep it warm throughout the year, and avoid spraying it with chemicals. Sorry to hear about your plants--but don't give up! Once you do a good job with this species, it will flower reliably and you'll be glad you stuck with it.

[Angurek]

I didn't disturb the roots, or spray the plant with chemicals. It must have been a pathogen like you said, then, but I'm not sure exactly which one. In any event, it was rather strange, considering the plants were OK...

Thanks for your advice, everyone. I'll try another one, and hopefully it won't die out on me this time.