Burnt phalaenopsis

[RodneyCPhT]

My neighboor gave me these 2 phals and I'd like to identify the problem here and possibly bring these babies back to life. Didn't know where to post this... I don't think it is a pest but it looks to me more like burnt either caused by sun or wind. Can anyone actually identify the problem here? And offer a solution? At the time I took this picture i had just watered them. Thanks a lot!!

[jkofferdahl]

Unfortunately the picture is quite small, making it difficult to really see anything.

[estación seca]

First first first, do not ever let non-aquatic orchids stand in water until you really know what you're doing and you're doing it as part of a particular growing technique.

They will probably make it if you treat them properly. Go to Forums, in the left menu, then Beginners. In the top section is a sticky thread called The Phal Abuse Stops Here. Start reading there.

To start with, the pots are too big. You will probably unpot them, snip off any dead roots and repot into new medium and new pots.

[bil]

As Estacion Seca says, don't leave them in water.

It is hard to read the pic, but the leaves on the plant on the left look a little leathery which while it looks as if they need watering, can men they have over watered and the roots are rotting.

I am a little different in my take on phals. My advice would be get some 2" bark, sieve it to get all the small stuff out, and get a wide shallow pot, or use the ones you have.

Plant the phals in that, don't cut off any roots and if it wobbles, use three rocks to hold it upright. Put it in low light with no direct sunlight, out of the wind and water it every other day. In bark like that you can't overwater it, just don't let it sit in a saucer. The water needs to run thru the pot and away.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I am especially concerned about the plant on the left because it looks like something has discolored the leaves in an odd way, but I can't make out the tiny photo. Need a do-over of photographing the plants first.

Take each plant out of it's pot, clear off any old potting medium (bark) from the roots, and take one or more big, sharp, well lit photographs of (1) the leaves and (2) the root system. Then we can provide better answers. If either plant has plant ID tags, be sure to save these so that you will know which-is-which later on.

[Sharon's Sheepdogs]

I have to agree with bil on this one. The leaves on the left phal look limp which indicates the leaves do not contain enough water to retain their firmness. This is a symptom of either overwatering or underwatering. I suspect the cause here is overwatering which leads to root rot. Once the roots have rotted, the phal can no longer take up water no matter how much water you provide to the phal.

There also appears to be a lot of salt build up on the pot on the left which is also detrimental to the roots.

Like the previous posts, the phal should not be sitting in water as the photos show. Phals like to remain moist and are usually not watered again until they approach dryness. Are you attempting to water from the bottom up? If so, this is not recommended for orchids although, if you are a gardener, it can be an acceptable practice for annuals & perennials.

The pot size for both phals is too large. Orchids prefer to be somewhat pot bound so I also agree, you should down size the pot.

I would also recommend that you remove the phal from their medium and check the condition of the roots. Once you've done that, let us know what you find. Any healthy roots? Also, I see you are in FL. Are you growing the phal outdoors?

[RodneyCPhT]

Yes, I agree with all of you, I do not let them sitting in water. That was just at the moment I was watering them. Here is a closer picture, hope you can all see it. I would like someone to tell me what caused all these leaves to look like that. I assumed it was from the sun maybe but i was hoping someone could confirm it. They look "malformed" or like burnt in the edges. . Like i said i got these frin my neighbor who moved away and was going to throw them out. From what I remember they were outside, on these same pots, hanging from a tree. My neighbour never cared for watering them so they got water from the rain I guess? I cannot tell for sure. I'm just trying to bring them back to life. As you can see in the picture, it has spikes that never fully develop or bloom, but instead looks like they dried out, although not entirely.

[jkofferdahl]

That looks to me like a lot of physical damage, along with watering issues. My guess is that the plants have been in their pots for a long time, especially as indicated by your latest picture which shows a Phal that's grown for numerous years without a lot of real attention (the plant in the back of the new pic).

Judging from the wrinkling in the leaves and the lack of air roots I have to wonder about the watering and humidity levels the plants are receiving, which I'm guessing is too low.

I believe that these plants have been ignored for several years. They obviously need proper repotting (the pots are fine) but also TLC and some extra care. For example, the very leggy Phal in the back of the new pic really needs the stem to be cut down, but since there appear to be no new roots higher up on the stem you can't just lop it off and expect good luck.

[bil]

By all the gods but that looks as if it has had a hard old paper round.

---------- Post added at 11:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:52 AM ----------

TBH, unless it is particularly special I would compost that and buy another.

[Sharon's Sheepdogs]

Thanks for posting that last pic, it's much more helpful. I agree there is a lot of physical damage to this plant as jkofferdahl pointed out.
I'm actually amazed it's still alive seeing how much damage it has suffered. It has apparently been exposed to the outdoor elements for a very long time. However, the leaves look better than what I expected other than the scarred areas.

I do not believe the brown areas are from sunburn since the larger leaves do not show any similar symptoms of sunburn. However, those brown areas appear only on the newer growth so I can't really say for sure.

If the brown areas are dry, perhaps they are areas on the plant that just died from continued exposure to the elements and perhaps too much sun. Is it dry enough that you can you scrape it off?

If the brown areas are wet, there's disease going on. Recommend the same as my prior post, pull the phal out of the pot & check the roots. Let us know what you find.

Could there be pest damage going on? That is what I would look for.

Even if that spike is partially alive, I would cut it off. You want any energy the phal has left to go to the roots, not to blooming.

In my opinion, this phal is a survivor. It will take a long time for you to bring it around to better health and a lot of care. If you are up to the challenge, go for it.

If not or there's evidence of serious disease, I would trash it. It's just not worth exposing your other orchids to disease or pests for that matter. The condition of the roots should help you make your decision. It's really your call.

Sharon