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hi!! i just noticed this ginormous black spot on my phalaenopsis. it… | The Orchid Oasis | Planta-community

vicky <3

hi!! i just noticed this ginormous black spot on my phalaenopsis. it was smaller a couple of weeks ago ago, this was a rescue from a big box store less than a year ago and she has been consistently flowering. i noticed her leaves looked droopy/flaccid so i gave her a really long soak early this week by placing up in a bowl of water. i try to bottom water her whenever i notice silver roots. i wasn't as careful about not getting water on her leaves, but i have been lately. should i cut off the entire leaf? what can i do to prevent this in the future? why does this happen? also, her second flower spike browned and died 4ish months ago, so i cut it back. i usually only cut until i reach a closed node on the flower spike. i was wondering how i could get her to put out another flower spike. also, how can i get her blooms to open closer to each other? her first bloom usually dies off by the time the second one open and so on. how can i get more leaves? can anyone recommend a good but affordable fertilizer/food? potting mix: lots of perlite, orchid bark, charcoal, leca

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5 reacties

  1. GreenGamgee

    That's fantastic she's been flowering so much!!! I've had a spot like that before, it can be a fungal thing, keep an eye out for any other spots and keep the leaves dry. I did cut off the spot on my leaf to keep it from spreading. Use good sharp trimmers or scissors that have been sterilized ( spritzed with hydrogen peroxide or cleaned with boiling water) and trim half an inch or bore beyond where it's yellowing. You don't want any discoloration left behind. I did it in a way that mimicked the original shape of the leaf so it didn't look to blunt. It won't grow back, but it'll keep it from spreading. Bloomwise, keep trimming after the nodes for sure. If there's points where she doesn't have flowers you can use a liquid fertilizer and add it to the water she speaks in during watering times about once a month. Miracle Grow has a liquid spray bottle that I've used before and it's helped with root growth and putting out flowers. Don't use when its flowering since it could cause them to drop. Bright indirect light, and sometimes putting them close to a window when it's cool/cold can help encourage them to pop out new spike. Just don't keep it there indefinitely. Excited for you and your Phalanopsis and hope some of this helps!!! There's also a guy on Instagram @ohiotropics that has good orchid tips.

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    • vicky <3

      thank you so much!! i would usually just hack the whole leaf off but my orchid hasn't been growing them so i chopped where you recommended. and i purchased a fertilizer! i had no idea fertilizing while blooming could cause them to drop. i will definitely check out the instagram page! thank you so much for your help :)

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  2. Jen

    I would agree with the above comment as far as the cutting of the leaf- especially since the spot is growing and the yellowing (infection) is headed toward the stem of the plant. See suggestion of cut in photo for clarity.

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  3. Jen

    As far as the blooming questions- I follow an opposing school of thought about practices for this. Phalaenopsis tend to produce flower spikes on the sides of their stems between the leaves two or three leaves down from the crown. If the plant is sapped of energy from over producing flowers, an orchid may not have the energy for vegetative growth, producing leaves from the crown and maturing the entire plant to make the space to support new flower spike growth. Let me know if that is unclear. Because flowers take a lot of energy from the plant, I tend to cut them all the way to the base when they are done blooming. It’s perfectly fine to prefer to cut back to the node and try to encourage another few blooms. I find, as your experience is also showing, that the next blooms aren’t as plentiful, as large, or simply as vibrant as the initial full spike of flowers. Giving the orchid time to grow roots and leaves to support the long term health of the entire plant tends to result in a more ideal blooming.

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    • vicky <3

      thank you so much! i appreciate your thoughts, and i agree with you. she's constantly blooming, but doesn't have a good support and her blooms are not as great as when i got her first. i will cut back the flower spike to the base once this set is done blooming. hopefully that works!

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