My first (virused) orchid?

[JanS]

I've been watching this one for a while and something is wrong. I've had it for a few years and got it (I think) at my wife's (she's a nurse) hospital where a grower sold orchids to the staff once a year in a room in the hospital as a "perk" to the employees for cheap. I bought a numer more over two years that are fine.

In the past 6 months here's what happened to this one: first note the yellow patterns on the leaves which (to me) seem to correspond to orchid virus patterns shown on the net. Do you agree? Anyone has had this happen? Second, the newest growth is stunted. I know thsi can happen for many reasons - like loss of a good root system, sun/heat damage ( both been there done that) but this plant has not (to my knowledge) been subject to either.

Do I have a seriously virused plant? - Already isolated it but, as you all understand, don't want to kill it without being sure...

[escualida]

The only way to be sure is to have it tested.

[hcastil3]

I would keep it Isolated, I will do some research on this for you on this, I can check for you but be careful.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I would test it. It's hard to say for sure at this stage what it is. There's a good chance it might be a viral infection, idk.

[Orchidsoutdoors]

The shape of the pattern is suggestive of virus but as someone has already noted you'd need to have it tested to be sure.

[Gage]

I would cut those affected leaves off immediately, far below the discoloration. And the dwarfed new growths are most likely from lack of adequate water, probably from the bark it is potted in. General media rule: thick roots, big bark; thin roots, little bark. Your Oncidium has thin roots, so it should have smaller media that will hold more moisture. My oncidiums rarely dry out, even if they are wet I just keep watering them to make sure fresh air gets pulled into the media.

[james mickelso]

More likely bacterial. That is more common. Big bark/little bark? That depends on many factors the biggest one being your watering scheme. I grow mine in big bark/charcoal/sponge rock/lava cinder. They grow great and I water them once a week or if it is over 75*f more often. I get great results. You may need smaller bark if you live in a hotter environment or a drier environment. If you want to you can grow it in spagnum moss. Or old ground up tires. Or egg shells for that matter. The small pbulbs just look young on my screen. How old are they? The discoloration could be from a short bacterial infection or even a change in environment. This pot looks a little large for the number of pbulbs here. But then again that all depends on how you water. I wouldn't jump to conclusions. Instead if you suspect virus, and don't mind the cost, which isn't much, have it tested. But even if it comes back as infected doesn't mean that caused this leaf discoloration. The only way to know is to test. Here's big bark.

[JanS]

Thanks for the suggestions. I agree that just the leaf streaks can't be used as a positive virus identifier - I was not able to find that (more-or-less) exact pattern in photos after much web searching. So I looked up getting a plant tested and it is surprisingly cheap: I found one place here in California - Critter Creek Laboratory (Critter Creek Laboratory ) that claims excellent accuracy and charges $5 per plant for the basic test (less for more than 9 plants). You just chop off some leaf material, put it in a ziploc baggie and mail it to them as a First Class letter. I am gonna do that, just out of curiosity - maybe I'll learn something. They do not test for EVERY possible virus, though, so a negative result still isn't "proof".

By the way, the new growths are truly stunted - they have been like that for several months and aren't growing any more...

[james mickelso]

I have had oncids and relatives take a year to grow to full size before. A lot depends on when in their growth cycle they put out the new pbulbs. Environmental conditions can put them to sleep for awhile. Wait awhile. More light or warmth. Fert. Lots of things can impede their growth.

[NYCorchidman]

Many people are in denial when it comes to virus, but virus is wide spread in cultivated plants.

With the way those leaves look with irregular yellow patches and streaks all over and the stunted growths it has, I would assume it is virused.

Cutting off the leaf doesn't do anything.