Phalanopsis with small purple spots on stem
 

Hello All

I have a healthy looking phal.. it's even growing a secondary spike with 5 buds.. however the other day it suddenly dropped 4 green leaves which were yellow from the stem end.

Also it has purple spots on the stem..what are they??)

As it was a rescue phal l thought the spots were indication that the blooms may be purple... but now after the sudden leaf drop l am not so sure... could it be fusarium spots.

I have isolated it and bare rooted it and sprayed with hydrogen peroxide.

Any advice please.

I would post photos but l am a newbie so not sure if l can.... was so looking forward to some gorgeous people blooms but now l am not sure if the buds will make it or if they are even purple at all ...or it's just fusarium spots

Hoping sgainst hope l get beautiful purple blooms and a healthy phal

Welcome Heebs! Pictures would help, as you know. Some people (not all) have trouble posting pictures before they have 5 posts, so just make a few random comments on other people's threads and you will be ready to go. I find the attachment method of accessing photos the easiest.

Thanks fishmom


I will definitely post photos.

Hope this reply counts towards my 5 minimum posts before uploading pics

Pictures would really help. Sometimes sudden leaf drop can indicate stem rot. If you do use hydrogen peroxide, make sure you keep it off the roots: it can do a lot of damage.

Hi all... thanks..l will attempt to post photos now.. just trying to make the necessary 5 posts

---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 AM ----------

Ok.. here goes..l am attaching photos of the purple colouring.. just hoping that it indicates the orchid is purple and not fusarium

Ok...3rd time lucky maybe.. attaching photos of the purple spots

Ok great... the photos attached.. I'll add the remaining 3 photos now

I think the purple may just be the natural pigmentation on the stem. It doesn’t look like it’s in terrible shape. I suspect the plant was trying to conserve resources and jettisoning its older leaves. The root system isn’t great, but doesn’t look too bad. I think this plant should bounce back quickly with proper care.

I really hope it's just natural colouration.. but in my panic to save it l dabbed the purple with alcohol and cinnamon... hope i haven't done it too much harm..

It looks rather healthy, even though it doesn't have many roots. I agree that the purple marks look like natural pigmentation rather than some disease or other. I would cut off that spike to let the plant focus it's energy on making new roots, pot up the plant in the smallest pot it will comfortably fit, and with time an good care it should recover nicely.