Phalaenopsis leaves turning yellow/ orange/ pink

[Wade Coleman]

So one of my phals that I’ve had for about 6 months starting to look really strange. It rebloomed for me this spring and it began to grow a new leaf and then suddenly the older leaves began to turn this pink/ yellow/ orange color and slowly started dying off. At first it was just the bottom leafs, but now it’s only got two older leaves and a small new leaf. I’ve never experienced this before and I just noticed today that another one of my phals is showing similar Symptoms. There is no evidence of pest damage, so I’m not sure what is going on here. Any ideas?

[KayJay]

Hi Wade - I am by no means an expert and have only just started my orchid journey this year - but is it in a very bright/sunny position? Are the blooms red or pink toned? My first guess is that it might be getting too much sun for its liking.

[Ray]

The fact that the plant has two very mature leaves and only one small, new one makes me think it is not getting at all what it needs. A well-grown phalaenopsis typically has several "ranks" of leaves in various stages of maturity.

It may be that the culture is so lacking that the plant is resorbing water and nutrients from the lower leaves so it can survive.

The first thing that appears to be an issue is that it is bone dry, while they prefer to be constantly moist.

Can you tell us more about the care they get, including watering, feeding, light levels, etc.?

[Ben_in_North_FLA]

looks like the plant is being grown too bright, I would move it to a shadier spot and evaluate the next leaf that comes out, media looks really dry as well, could use a good soaking. Reddish tint could also indicate a minor element lacking in its nutrition...

[Kevstar]

I too am not an expert, but I have been led to believe that the sort of discolouration shown on the edges of the leaves, together with the red tint could mean it's getting too much direct sunlight?
I am sure many more experienced growers will soon give you the answer. Kev.

[Wade Coleman]

Thanks for all the reply’s, so this guys been in a south facing window and since fall has has been creeping in, my window has slowly been getting more light as the sun kinda shifts gradually in the sky as the season changes. I know it wasn’t getting any direct sun during the summer but I’m not home a whole lot in the evenings so it’s possible that it may be getting direct sun now, but it’s been rather cloudy lately. The new leaf does have a very purple tinge to it, so maybe it is the lighting. As far as watering/ fertilizing goes, I water every 5 days (today is watering day which is why it looked so dry last night) and I try to fertilize about every week to every two weeks. I have a variety of other orchids that are growing well (oncidiums, epidendrums, paphiopedilum, dendrobium, cattleya, brassavola, and even other Phalaenopsis, so I don’t think it’s a lack of care...?

[Roberta]

If you got it 6 months ago, has it been repotted? If not, do it... It's rare that a plant, especially a Phal, doesn't need it. If you take a look at the roots, you will have a better idea of whether it is getting too much water or not enough... if roots are rotten, the plant has no way to take up water. If potted in sphagnum and the middle of the pot is densely-packed, the water may not even be getting to the roots. (Sphagnum retains a lot of water, but if it dries out can be very hard to re-wet, especially if densely packed... a tricky medium for hobby growers, which is why many of us prefer not to use it, preferring bark) If you repot in bark, it will need more frequent watering, you want the effect of moist air around the roots, look at the effect not the calendar.

[Wade Coleman]

I repotted it after the blooms it came with faded. It bloomed again for me a couple of months ago. It’s in a mixture of mostly bark with a little bit of sphagnum tossed in there and I added a little layer of sphagnum on top. Should I unpot it to look at the roots?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Wade Coleman

I repotted it after the blooms it came with faded. It bloomed again for me a couple of months ago. It’s in a mixture of mostly bark with a little bit of sphagnum tossed in there and I added a little layer of sphagnum on top. Should I unpot it to look at the roots?

No, let it be... it has the fresh medium that it wants, and new roots will grow into it. Are you checking to see that your watering schedule is keeping it damp enough? the "skewer test" is used by many people, discussed in a "sticky" on this forum. It does want to be moist, so that the roots do encounter "humid air" all the time - it does not want to dry out totally the way a Cattleya does. And when you water, do it thoroughly - so water runs through the pot.

[estación seca]

It's turning those colors because it's getting WAY too much light. In too much light, new leaves also wind up being much smaller than the old ones.

Phals are full shade plants. They bloom just fine if no ray of sunshine every hits them. Use that bright spot for a different orchid, and put the Phal in bright shade somewhere.