Help! Why are my orchids dying? :(

[butterfly_muse]

Hi guys. A few weeks ago it got warm and I put my orchids outside during the day and brought them in at night. Up until then they were perfectly happy and going very strongly. Then I noticed their leaves had gone limp and mushy. A few days ago I posted another post asking why the leaves were black (I think they got burned), and now all my healthy leaves are starting to yellow and die! The remaining leaves that are still green are showing signs of dimpling and browning around the edges. What is this? Is it a disease they picked up outside? Did they get burned? Is this a fungus? Is it a pest? What can I do to save them?? Should I cut off the bad leaves? Is it too late?

I noticed on my larger orchid, the one with 2 yellowing leaves, that the base of the plant on that side is yellow also.

I have been watering them on their normal schedule and fertilizing them on their normal schedule as well. Ever since that one day when I found their limp leaves I have not put them back outside and have left them in their normal place where they were once thriving.

Please help me figure out what is wrong with them and how to save them! =(

[Vanda lover]

I think it looks like they got too much sun.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Definitely sunburn.

Do nothing. You have already done the right thing by bringing them back inside where they were growing nicely, (which is exactly what I would have advised had you not done so). The plants will grow new leaves. Just deal with the unsightly leaves until they do.

Sorry there's no snazzy trick or tip to give you. That's just the way it is.

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Definitely sunburn.

Do nothing. You have already done the right thing by bringing them back inside where they were growing nicely, (which is exactly what I would have advised had you not done so). The plants will grow new leaves. Just deal with the unsightly leaves until they do.

Sorry there's no snazzy trick or tip to give you. That's just the way it is.

If the leaves continue to yellow and dry up and die, should I cut them off so the plants can put more energy into growing better leaves? They were still green and slightly black on Tuesday and today they're yellow and papery, so it's happening really fast. =(

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Only remove the leaves that come off without trying to pull them off. Keep the remaining leaves. Leaves you want to keep, even if they're damaged but healthy and alive, because that's where they do the majority of their food production.

I say this for cases like yours.

[butterfly_muse]

Okie dokie. Thanks for your help, I feel SO guilty. >.< They were so happy and now they're all burned up. =( I hope they recover. Can I continue to fertilize them? Will that help them or not make difference?

[MattWoelfsen]

This is such a hard lesson to learn. I had the same experience as you have documented in this post, several years ago, when I took all my orchids from inside to outside without acclimating them--it was carnage! I've learned this process through time and error: My orchids do very well outside but they go through a two step process. First step, put them in the screen in porch, north and east facing. They stay there for three to four weeks. Then I put them outside under the eaves on the north facing porch. That's when they get a lot of indirect sun and rain. When winter approaches, I reverse the process. During the three to four weeks of being in the screened in porch, I fumigate the plants so there are no bugs coming inside. I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, so the length of time spent in the screened in porch depends on the weather temperature.

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by MattWoelfsen

This is such a hard lesson to learn. I had the same experience as you have documented in this post, several years ago, when I took all my orchids from inside to outside without acclimating them--it was carnage! I've learned this process through time and error: My orchids do very well outside but they go through a two step process. First step, put them in the screen in porch, north and east facing. They stay there for three to four weeks. Then I put them outside under the eaves on the north facing porch. That's when they get a lot of indirect sun and rain. When winter approaches, I reverse the process. During the three to four weeks of being in the screened in porch, I fumigate the plants so there are no bugs coming inside. I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, so the length of time spent in the screened in porch depends on the weather temperature.

I only put them outside for a few hours at a time, but I think that one of the mornings happened to be particularly sunny and I put them on the wrong section of my patio (it faces south and I wasn't careful enough to keep them out of direct light, it seems). ! When I brought them inside they seemed quite happy and then BAM! Look at them now. It is sooooo sad. I think from now on I will just leave them inside. I hope they will be okay, my big one was a gift from someone and I would be heartbroken if it kicked the proverbial bucket.

[Connie Star]

Another problem is that plants that grow outside in temperate climates get a chance to acclimate as the sun gets progressively stronger. Our indoor plants don't get that chance.
I put mine outside in the summer, but under a shade cloth. 3 years ago the shade cloth fell partly off and some of the leaves that were burned then are still on the plants. They all survived their sunburns (except for some that died of other things).

[iammadeofdreams]

This happened to me the very first time I put an orchid outside. Being very inexperienced with plants in general at the time, I thought that the wimpy Indiana sun could do no harm to my tropical orchids. Later that day I went out to get them and there were black spots starting already. Unfortunately, I asumed that I had killed it and I threw it out.

Good luck with yours, and don't lose hope, orchids are survivors.