Phal with small web, no damage to leaves

[emalieee]

I received a Phalaenopsis orchid as a gift about a week ago and I'll admit to knowing very little about orchid care.

Everything was fine until this afternoon when I noticed a long hole in the petal of one of the flowers. Further inspection led to the discovery of a few smaller holes.

I checked for mites but didn't find any. The leaves are a healthy, solid green with no signs of weakness or discolouration. I did not notice any silver sheen to the underside of the leaves, but did find a very small cobweb at the base of one of the spikes.

Does my orchid have mites? Is it something else? I'd wondered if the flowers were developing holes because they're old (it was fully bloomed when I received it, and looked as though it had bloomed a while ago).

[bil]

I really don't see anything I would worry about.

[Dollythehun]

Originally Posted by bil

I really don't see anything I would worry about.

I agree. Normal aging.

[bil]

Spider silk is only a problem if it hides a caterpillar. It pays to check thin leaf orchids especially, and if there is a caterpillar in there kill it. or it will eat at the leaves, disfiguring them.

[emalieee]

Thanks, everyone! I'll assume it's just ageing, as suggested, but keep an eye out in case other signs of something emerge.

[flowerpower]

I've occasionally had a spider jump out at me when watering phals indoors, and they are known to grow webs on my outdoor cymbidiums. I know it's spiders because they connect their web to the recycling container and hang out in the air. I believe spider mites only start spinning the webs once their numbers are high and you would think there would be obvious symptoms. If memory serves, I *think* the web spinning has something to do with crowded colonies and wanting to establish another.

Inspect the plant under a bright lamp, ideally with a magnifying lens - especially lower leaves - and monitor the situation. There is a test to shake the plant onto a piece of A4 white paper and see if any peppery dots start moving - their instinct is to crawl onto the "safe" underside of the leaf (or paper) where they are usually found.

In the meantime, you are right to be cautious. I highly suggest keeping it far away from other plants until you know for sure, as a full blown mite problem is a nightmare. If you have more than a handful of plants it is not worth even a 1% risk of introducing any kind of mites to the rest.

[bil]

Originally Posted by flowerpower

In the meantime, you are right to be cautious. I highly suggest keeping it far away from other plants until you know for sure, as a full blown mite problem is a nightmare. If you have more than a handful of plants it is not worth even a 1% risk of introducing any kind of mites to the rest.

Well, you can make a good argument for treating any new plant with an acaricide, followed by a systemic pesticde.

[estación seca]

The holes in the flower look like cuts from something sharp. The web does look like a spider.