Wrinkly leaves - Orchid Board

shereel · #1 06-20-2016, 11:27 AM

I repotted a hand-me-down orchid in April and it has since been doing very well in a mix of bark and sphagnum moss, growing lots of new roots and even a flower spike. I water it when it seems to dry out, which averages about once per week unless it's particularly hot. I mist it in the mornings and keep a small amount of water in its dish for humidity.

However, I recently noticed that its leaves have become wrinkly, thin, and limp, and I can't imagine it's from dehydration since I am careful about monitoring its watering. The two lower leaves were limp when I got the orchid, but the top leaf was in good health. Now it's not looking too good. I also noticed little flying insects in the potting medium, which I suspect are fungus gnats so I sprinkled in some Mosquito Bits today before I watered.

What is the problem with my orchid? I'm reluctant to re-pot again since it has buds on its spike.

Irielicious · #2 06-20-2016, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shereel

I repotted a hand-me-down orchid in April and it has since been doing very well in a mix of bark and sphagnum moss, growing lots of new roots and even a flower spike. I water it when it seems to dry out, which averages about once per week unless it's particularly hot. I mist it in the mornings and keep a small amount of water in its dish for humidity.

However, I recently noticed that its leaves have become wrinkly, thin, and limp, and I can't imagine it's from dehydration since I am careful about monitoring its watering. The two lower leaves were limp when I got the orchid, but the top leaf was in good health. Now it's not looking too good. I also noticed little flying insects in the potting medium, which I suspect are fungus gnats so I sprinkled in some Mosquito Bits today before I watered.

What is the problem with my orchid? I'm reluctant to re-pot again since it has buds on its spike.

I'm by far NOT an expert as I'm a beginner too but my orchid started to do this too and it was due to lack of roots.

The best thing I can tell you with my novice experience is to move the orchid away from the window, where it isn't getting direct light. I do not know how hot it is where you are currently; but I do know that even if it feel comfortable to you two feet away from the window it can be several degrees hotter right next to the window. That means that the orchid is loosing moisture quicker than you realize or getting sunburned from direct light. Plus you have it right above an air conditioner unit which could be causing two problems at once in a cycle. It will go from really hot due to direct light then really cold due to the air conditioner coming on...

Also if you cannot see into the pot those pests you were talking about can be an indication of something on the orchid rotting. If the pest is something more devious like spider mites snails etc then unpotting will be necessary.

If you used an insecticide not approved for use on your orchid this could also be a problem as they can dry out roots or smother them. I have always made sure I use fungicides etc that are safe to use on orchids.

How is that new leaf? Is it nice and taut? If that leaf is coming in okay meaning it isn't overly soft or discolored then it could be those leaves are just getting old...

Furthermore, I will sacrifice a flower spike to save my orchids any day. I know that with time once they are healthy again they can re-bloom and usually with a much better showing than if they are sick. I'm not saying you should cut it off but just know if any of the experts on here advise you should, don't feel bad about loosing it. I broke off a new root tip last night on my sick orchid, I'm still beating myself up over it.

I know I really didn't answer your question so much as give you ideas as to what might be wrong. I would absolutely move the orchid away from the window ASAP to see how that helps. Keep us informed and I hope she turns around soon for you!!!

shereel · #3 06-20-2016, 12:51 PM

Thanks for your reply! Some extra info that may be useful:

The AC unit not on, and is never on. It has no effect on the orchid.
The orchid has a good amount of plump green roots-some are new growths and some are long and pre-existing. I can see into the pot from the sides and things look ok. I had trimmed away anything dead or rotten when I repotted it in April.
The window is North-facing and gets direct sun in one corner for maybe 1 hour a day, but I positioned the orchid out of that corner. However, the orchid used to be in an East window and I moved it because I thought it was getting too much light. It was actually doing BETTER in that window than it is now!
I am using Mosquito Bits as suggested by rePotme.com for fungus gnat control

The "new" leaf has been there for months, even before the orchid was given to me. It doesn't seem to have grown at all but it is taut and healthy looking. This orchid is definitely older though, it has a long woody "neck" from many years of leaves dying off when it was with its previous owner. I buried the neck in the potting medium as much as I could without suffocating the air roots.

Any further expertise would be greatly appreciated, I really want my adopted orchid to flourish!

Purpoh · #4 06-20-2016, 01:14 PM

The roots could be rotting under the medium. I'd wait for some more experienced advice but you might need to repot and cut the flower spike. Wait for more responses though. I wish you good luck.

rbarata · #5 06-20-2016, 04:05 PM

How is the climate where you live? Your current conditions ? Temp, humidity, etc?

I water my orchids (phals and other) once per week in summer. I'm talking about upper 90's F. And I don't use sphagnum moss.
Watering once per week (more than that when it's hot) + misting every morning + water in the dish = flying bugs in the medium + root rot.

I suspect you'r giving it too much water and you should unpot it to inspect the roots.

shereel · #6 06-20-2016, 05:06 PM

I'm in New York City, and the orchid is in my office at work with closed windows so the temperature should always be about 76F. The average humidity in NYC is 55-75%, according to the internet.

I just poured out all the water in the dish and will stop misting it but when I tipped out the potting medium, the roots are green, and I couldn't find any rot. In fact, they look much better than when I repotted the orchid in April because it was packed in moss only and its roots were either dried up strings or mushy and black/yellow. I don't have any new mix with me at the office right now, so I put it back with its current mix. Should I bring new mix and repot even though there is no visible rot?

Over the weekend, the door to my office was closed, could that have suffocated the orchid? It was quite hot this weekend (88F) and as I mentioned before, my windows are closed and the AC unit is not on. When I am at work, my door is open so air flows in from the common area, but it would have been isolated from that common AC airflow during the hot weekend. The orchid looked okay on Friday and today when I got to work its leaves were wrinkled.

Irielicious · #7 06-20-2016, 05:31 PM

Yeah Shereel that could totally be it! My air conditioner went out for about 3 days last July the hottest days (of course) we'd had so far in my area of Texas...needless to say my two orchids I had at the time were very very very mad as the air went out and the house got up to almost 100 degree's before I got home and realized the air was out!

If the roots look fine other than the possible pest issue or crown rot I cannot see any other reasonable reason they would look like that! Can you bring it home with you? Maybe until you can perk her back up?

shereel · #8 06-20-2016, 05:49 PM

Irielicious, I was considering taking it home but then do I continue with my watering routine? It got gnats after I brought it to my office two weeks ago, and it was doing fine until this past weekend. What did you do about your two angry orchids?

Irielicious · #9 06-20-2016, 06:19 PM

I would take it back to square one meaning see how the orchid adapts to the new environment. If you watered recently let her media dry out then water again and check the moisture level in a couple of days. Since the two places temps and light etc will be different that is something you will have to suss out.

As for my two orchids one was fine, the other has been struggling since sadly. >>> Pic of her hereTo Downsize pot or not to downsize the pot...
As you see the newer leaves are much smaller than the older leaves.

Two weeks before the air went out I re-potted her which stressed her out A LOT because she was in moss when I got her and I used bark. After the media change she got limp and the leaf she was putting out came in real thin and much smaller.

During all that she ended up loosing most of her roots ( they dried out) except one aerial root, THEN the air goes out! To now, all her leaves are paper thin, limp and dry but shes putting out new roots! No new leaves yet to speak of but I have been fighting like no other (so has she) to stay alive! I mist her new aerial roots and though her leaves look horrible as long as they aren't rotting they are still feeding the orchid.

So with some intervention on your part your orchid can pull though just fine! Especially since your orchid still has good roots! I would take her home and nurse her back to health!

rbarata · #10 06-20-2016, 06:42 PM

If you can take it home don't mist and don't let the dish accumulate water. Replace the mix by something with more drainage (bark+perlite, for ex). Don't use sphagnum to prevent overwatering.
Plus, insect in the medium is a sign of medium degradation (maybe not the case, but...just in case).

One more word about A/C...the conditions outside in NY are not the same as in the office, which can be considered as a "microclimate", cooler and, probably, with a lot less humidity. So, you have to adapt...you might consider buying those thermometers with hygrometer, like this one (for ex). They are cheao and really useful when you're trying to determine if the conditions are inside the suitable parameter range. Also helps you adjust your watering too.