Rust spots on paph?
 

Hi everyone!
I’m semi-new to orchids. I’ve only been going a little over a year and only have one paph. I’m sure this is probably a question that’s been asked before so I am so sorry if this is a repeat! I’ve searched all over online and in all my books and can’t find an answer.
My paph has 3 fans. Two are old and one is new growth since I’ve had it. The two old fans have “rust” like spots on them while the new fan is completely unaffected. As I’ve mentioned this is my only paph so I’m not familiar as to whether this is natural death of the old fans or an indication of a problem? The fact it hasn’t spread to the new fan or any nearby plant makes me confused if it is in fact a virus or pest. Thanks in advance for any input!

I think the spots on the old leaves are just an indication that they are eventually on their way out. Unless you see indication on the undersides of those leaves that you have a pest problem, I would suspect it's just "force of nature". But do take a look at the undersides of those leaves to be sure that nothing is hiding there.

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

I agree. Also, if you've had it a while, it might be time to repot. Many people recommend repotting every 2 years.

Thanks so much! I appreciate the input and welcome! The bottom of the leaves are clean so you two are probably right! I got it about a year ago!

One more little detail... when you repot, be gentle... good Paph roots can look like bad ones in other orchid types. (Black and a bit icky is likely NOT rotten... rinse them off and they tend to clean up) Also, depending on the specific Paph, roots may not be all that sturdy, sometimes being attached to the plant by only a small, brittle bit making it really easy to break of the root ball. (Yes, I have done it..:(() So just pull it out of the pot carefully, rinse, don't worry about trying to remove anything stuck on, and put in fresh bark. (I'd suggest small bark - these do like to stay on the damp side)

Possibly ----- just possibly the result of spider mite attack. And then rust type patches, followed by leaf rot. Could try copper spray (at safe dosage level of course) ----- on all parts of the leaves and stem.

SP, I doubt that it is that exotic... Sounds more like normal aging Paph leaves, possibly exacerbated by bad medium. The OP did not mention location, but if they don't live in the topics, leaf rot is not the first thing I'd think of. From the photo, I'd suspect that the plant is grown indoors so would not have alot of exposure to fungal problems.

You could be right there Roberta! I'm not sure what it as well. I have seen similar before ----- but not as wide-spread rust spots all over the leaf. For one of my Paph. vietnamense ..... it started with something like that on two different leaves, and then it spread ----- rotting a couple of leaves. It wasn't a lightning fast spread, but relatively quick/rapid. I first tried thiomyl ..... no improvement, and tried my yates anti-rot. No improvement as well. Finally tried a copper spray, which stopped whatever that rot was - dead it its tracks. I mentioned this particular case in a couple of orchidboard threads - somewhere.

For the orchid in this thread though ------ it could well be aging, or something else.

For what it's worth, I think I may have some Phyton 27 someplace, but can't recall the last time I used it, not sure where it even is. I honestly can't recall when I have even wished that I had a fungicide (I have a modest arsenal of pesticides which I also use only rarely, most of the fungicides mentioned on the Board I never even heard of) So in wet, warm places, you need them... in drier places, far fewer problems that a simple repot won't cure. Inside the house, especially, I'd be hesitant to recommend the strong stuff as a first resort.

I live in Ohio! I use the paph mix off repotme.com.

---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:47 PM ----------

Mites surely would show up on plants around it and on the underside of the leaves though right? The underside of the leaves is normal and all my plants around it are totally fine. The rust spots have been there for a couple months but the plant is really healthy otherwise, I’d just gotten very curious recently as to what the heck is going on here! I didn’t question it much because the plant is performing great otherwise.....

---------- Post added at 08:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:49 PM ----------

And yes I’m sorry I didn’t mention, I do grow it indoors.