Paphiopedilum brown spots

[jesleo]

Hello,
I purchased this paphiopedilum at the end of October. I recently noticed that a couple of the leaves, but not all of them, have browns spots. I believe it is in a medium sized bark and moss. I haven't repotted it because honestly I am nervous I'm going to mess it up. I water once or twice a week depending on how the potting medium feels. It gets fertilized with Better-Gro half strength once a week. I do use city tap water. I'm wondering if the water is too hard. Any advice?
Thank You,
Jess

[PaphLover]

Hi Jess,

Welcome!

Don't worry about repotting. Look on YouTube and you'll find tons of instructional videos. I've repotted paphs in spike, out of spike, winter, summer, etc. I've knocked them over, tipped them upside down. Wow! I sound positively abusive.

My point is, orchids are survivors. Despite their reputation of being difficult divas, they just seem to WANT to grow. So, I'd say definitely repot, because you don't know what's going on with the root system unless you get in there and look. And the roots are the beating heart of the plant.

If the media it's in has broken down and is anaerobic, the roots will wither and die. So think of it like triage: life over limb.

Hope this helps ease your concern. And welcome to the board!!!!!

PS: Also, looking at your photo again, it appears that the brown, fungal looking spots are on an old fan and you have a healthy new one growing in the forefront. If that's the case, it's good news (or better news) because if you cut away the affected parts of the old leaves it should leave you with a much healthier, happier plant.

[estación seca]

Go to your city water Web site and read the water quality report. Paphs don't do well with high amounts of minerals in the water. Look up total dissolved solids (TDS) If it's over about 100 or so that can be bad for Paphs. That includes fertilizer, so if your water has a lot of minerals to start, the fertilizer raises it even more.

Here in Phoenix, with TDS 800-1200, Paphs die before long when people give them tap water. I collect rain or use reverse osmosis water when I run out of rain.

[jesleo]

Thank you both. I'll repot it as soon as possible. I had thought it had a fungal infection a couple of months ago because the same thing happened to just one leaf. I cut into good tissue and placed cinnamon. It was looking fine until recently. I thought I had come up with the wrong conclusion because the spots came back on a different leaf. I'll cut this leaf and hopefully it won't come back.
I've looked up the water quality report in my area. It's a bit confusing. I'm going to do more research.
Thank you