Phal bellina disease help

[emartinm28]

Hi all,

So I got this Phalaenopsis bellina about a year and a half ago. Tried mounting it, that ended in a colossal failure and I set it back pretty severely. It has been recovering since then and made lots of new roots and three new leaves (plus it has just started a fourth leaf), each bigger and shinier than the last. I’ve noticed a few things that have been worrying me though

1. On one of the leaves there’s all of a sudden a dark and squishy spot. What is this? what causes it? How can I treat it?
2. These black spots with the veining still kind of intact. They’re sunken in and dry, but they pop up every once in a while
3. The newest two leaves have not bent back flush against the other leaves as all the rest of the leaves have. Am I doing something wrong?

Thank you all in advance!

---------- Post added at 12:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:47 PM ----------

Shared album - Eli Martinez - Google Photos

---------- Post added at 12:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:48 PM ----------



Edit: the site won’t let me post more photos than this, not sure how to get them on here
Edit edit: nevermind i think i got it

[estación seca]

What are your growing conditions? Temperatures day/night, humidity, light? How are you watering? When was it last repotted? What medium is it growing in?

[emartinm28]

Originally Posted by estación seca

What are your growing conditions? Temperatures day/night, humidity, light? How are you watering? When was it last repotted? What medium is it growing in?

Temps are around 70-73 in my cabinet. Humidity is high, on lower shelves I have a maidenhair fern and a rabbit’s foot fern on lower shelves. Using artificial grow lights, light is sufficient that my Howeara lava burst blooms multiple times a year. Repotted over a year ago the pot is filled with roots. Mixture of bark and sphagnum moss and watering when the roots turn a silvery color

[estación seca]

Any chance you might have splashed cold water on them? You're already keeping them at the low end of their preferred temperatures.

The leaf curling back may happen normally.

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by emartinm28

Temps are around 70-73 in my cabinet. Humidity is high, on lower shelves I have a maidenhair fern and a rabbit’s foot fern on lower shelves. Using artificial grow lights, light is sufficient that my Howeara lava burst blooms multiple times a year. Repotted over a year ago the pot is filled with roots. Mixture of bark and sphagnum moss and watering when the roots turn a silvery color

you should put a hygrometer and see how humid your grow area gets. At humidity above 80% and a temperature of 70F or lower lower your vapor pressure deficit (VPD) drops below 0.5 kPa. this means that transpiration will slow and water isn't moving through the plant, not through the leaves not up through the roots. ideally you want to raise the daytime temperature because Phals are thermophilic and do better in higher temps but that will also improve transpiration rates and keep your plant drinking and breathing. if you follow the chart I posted below you will also see that you can decrease humidity as well, at the cost of growth rate. but you should see the disease pressure decrease. improving air circulation and freshness can help you avoid the disease issues you are seeing as well.

[emartinm28]

Thank you! I’ll try increasing the temperatures to see if that helps!

Should I cut off the black areas?

[Dusty Ol' Man]

After seeing the photos I would say leave it alone and see if it spreads. If they are increasing in size you may want to take more aggressive action.

[Ray]

I’ll throw 2 suggestions out there:

1) As has been said, increase the temperature. In nature, they thrive in the triple digits and rarely see lower than the mid-70’s.

2) Look into plant probiotics. The microbes do a good job of quashing pathogens and helping stimulate the plants’ defenses. (They can also cure some diseases, but they are not labeled to do that). The two best, in my opinion, are Inocucor Garden Solution and Quantum-Total (also sold as Quantum Orchid at a higher price).

[kwubb]

I have to agree with all of the above suggestions.
My Phal. Bellini is about 6 years old. I also have a Phal. Bellini Coerulea, a Phal. Bellini (Double Trouble X self), as well as other summer bloomers and winter bloomers. The summer blooming Phaleanopsis have a little different growth habit. They thrive in warm temps, high humidity, bright filtered light, and good air circulation. I thought at first the leaves a bit unruly in their growth. Try as I might I couldn’t get the new leaves to lie flush with the old growth. In native conditions they hang upside down. New leaves curl upward as the older leaves move aside, allowing for max light absorption. With this growth habit, potted plant leaves tend to flare out, like a fan. Allow the plant to dry between watering, but not for long. They typically will spike in spring and flower around the end of June. Do not cut the stem until it has become woody, because each year they will add a flower to that spike.
I believe that black spot may be due to something cold, air temp, or as mentioned, cold water. I had a spot like that, left it alone, and it did nothing. Keep an eye on it for now.

[Shadeflower]

leaves cupping over are an early warning sign.
The brown spots would confirm it but I'm sure the probiotics will sort it out, or not. I've never tried them, I went a different approach for mine but probiotics are a widely accepted cure.

Ps the picture is one of mine when it was developing problems