Odd coloration on Phalaenopsis

[Rhonda Svoboda]

Okay-full disclosure I broke my arm and can't work which is why I am posting so much. I am spending way more time with my orchids than usual and I am noticing things that I may have overlooked before.
Anyway. I noticed a red coloration on the stem of one of my phalaenopsis's (see photo). The bottom two leaves are yellow. . The root's look ok so I am not sure what's going on. Does anyone have answers/thoughts?
Thanks

[estación seca]

I'm so sorry you broke your arm! I hope it doesn't hurt too much, you have plenty of help and it heals rapidly.

That kind of pigmentation is normal at leaf bases on many Phals. A lot of them have purplish leaf undersurfaces, too.

The leaves look a pale green/yellow; higher than necessary light can cause this. They should be dark green. Phals are shade plants that don't ever need sun shining on their leaves. What kind of light are they getting? Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids told our society Phals have bigger and more flowers in low light rather than high light.

[Orchidwizard]

Higher light means plants grow faster than in low light so higher light usually makes nutrient deficiencies show especially in high light loving plants like Vanda's.
This does not mean the plant is receiving too much light. Only sunburns indicate too much light, some orchids don't get sunburn as easy as others, like Cattleya's are very hard to burn because they are high light loving plants but if there is a Nutrient lockout and you give them the light they need to flower then deficiencies will show which is often mistaken as too much light. It isn't, it only shows in high light but it's the light level they need to flower but they will struggle if they are showing a deficiency (like red on leaves) so one option is to dial down the light again - the deficiency will dissapear but the plant won't flower, alternatively the light can be kept at its intensity, this will exacerbate the deficiency and the plant most likely won't flower due to a lack of nutrients. So the best option is to address the deficiency. A deficiency is not just caused by a lack of certain nutrients, most of the time it is caused by other reasons that are too complex for me to go into, most growers aren't that interested in the technical aspects anyway and all the info regarding an orchids needs regarding nutrients and PH, the downsides of using tap water, can all be found online.

Leaves should be a light translucent green, dark green indicates the plant is not receiving enough light so although you don't want your leaves to be a dark green you certainly do not want them to be a pale yellow either.

This is most likely a deficiency but very often mistaken as too much light which will most likely be suggested again since it is a common misconception in my opinion and also remedied by lowering the light, identifying a problem via a picture is tricky so it could be something different to my assumption too.

[Roberta]

Phals don't grow fast no matter what... and aren't particularly susceptible to deficiencies. The amount of fertilizer they need is miniscule. (There ARE orchids that have periods of rapid growth, like Catasetinae, that are hungrier, but if they don't get enough of nutrients, they just are smaller and don't bloom as well) Phals are basically low-light plants, but I don't see anything worrisome about this one (probably near the upper part of the light range, though). I agree with ES that the pigmentation is quite normal. As for yellowing of lower leaves, older leaves do drop. Can't see much of the roots, but what I see doesn't look great. If you suspect issues, worth taking it out of the pot and having a look. Roots are generally the first place I look for problems. Phals are not fussy about repotting, so disturbing the plant is not likely to set it back. Some photos of the roots would help us diagnose if there is an issue.

[SouthPark]

Rhonda - while we know that in the wild, and also not in the wild - phals and other kinds of orchids can handle water getting into the crown area - but sometimes there are also reports of water getting into the grown area leading to issues such as rot - crown rot, leaf rot etc.

There are phals out there that have a bit of a lean ---- tilted (eg. on trees or mounted in a particular way) to allow water to drain out naturally. Just mentioning this - in case considerations need to be made later about water on leaves or getting into the crown.

[Rhonda Svoboda]

Thanks for your replies. My phal's started out the summer in full shade but as the summer went on the direction of the sun changed and they ended up getting an hour or so of direct sun-hence the lighter color. I am not sure about the roots. I just repotted this phal. a month ago and the roots looked good but I agree that a second look wouldn't be a bad idea. I'll post photo's of the roots and we'll go from there. Thanks everyone!!!

[SouthPark]

Sphagnum is known to work nicely for some growers - but can also be a source of issue for other growers - such as loose sphagnum can create patches of very watery regions within the media, and around portions of roots - and possibly can suffocate portions of root - leading to rotting of root(s).

So maybe need to watch out ----- with loose pieces of sphagnum that is - mixed within other media.

One issue is that those people that write articles about bark plus sphagnum mixes don't always tell you (or rarely tell you) what to look out for when potting an orchid a certain way ----- such as bits of sphagnum becoming too wet for relatively long times --- ie. what can possibly happen. Or they expect growers to just figure things out for themselves - the hard way - not great.

[Roberta]

If you repotted only a month ago and roots looked good, then I doubt that there is an issue. I think just give it a little more shade and it will be fine.