Having problems with my Promenea

[nenella]

for you.

[camille1585]

Well I jinxed it, came home from work to find another yellowing leaf!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Well I jinxed it, came home from work to find another yellowing leaf!

Which one? The Promenaea or the Propetalum?

[camille1585]

Propetalum. The poor plant is looking pretty bare, there's nothing left of it except 3 immature growths, and I have stripped leaves off them too.

The Promenea has been fine for over a month now, though all of its new growths rotted then.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It might be the winter "dormancy/rest" thing.

Water all year round, less during falls/winters; more during springs/summers.

This is the same thing for many Zygopetlinae - both with or without pseudobulbs.

[camille1585]

I've had it 3 years and have been growing it with that watering schedule. I've lost a Zygo to rot in the past, and this seems completely different. Here the bulbs remain healthy, and before the rot sets in on the leaves they first yellow.

If this had been any other orchid I would have tossed it by now, but I still have not managed to track down a replacement.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Believe it or not Camille, this is a common affliction amongst Zygopetalinae. It starts with root damage and it declines very rapidly. I assure you I've seen this problem before many times over. This is the same issue I had with Stenia vasquezii (still have it on a small, but manageable scale). This remains the issue with Kefersteinia sanguinolenta. I have occasional bouts with it in Chaubardia heteroclita. One of my supposed Warczewiczella marginata seedlings has this problem too. All Huntleya species are notorious for this.

This is more common of an affliction with this group of orchids than you may think it is.

It is usually curbed with the less water in the falls/winters.

[camille1585]

Hmmm, don't know what happened then, I kept it quite dry over the winter. So is it at all curable once a plant is infected?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Not really. It's not viral though, but man, you gotta be on your toes.

No amount of medication can really cure it. It kinda just lingers.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The only things I can really suggest is the less water in winter and maybe dissolve some multi-vitamin tablets in water and water the plants with it on occasion and see if that helps the plants perk up.

In the meantime, you can try burning affected areas if it's not too bad.

This problem is a nightmare to deal with and an eyesore to look at.

It really is a confidence killer.