Phal Leaves - reddish edges and floppy

[tedro]

Originally Posted by LadySoren

Might be answering my own questions here, but I still want people's opinions just in case.

Maria's Orchids: Leaves darken on Phal Memoria Audrey Meldman 'Mendenhall' from high light

The above post seems to echo a little bit of what I'm seeing (though not as drastic). In her post she says she has a light about a foot above and that that's too much light, but she was doing it on purpose.
She also noticed a smaller plant not showing signs of stress from too much light.

So I'm thinking that it is possible the leaves got floppy from dehydration (totally likely where I live) and then red edges from the light change.

IF that's all there is to it, then I don't know how far away my light should be.

but still give me all your opinions if anyone even reads these posts.

just found this thread. sorry i haven’t read all the way yet, but is this light source “bulb” led/non heat emitting?

[Shadeflower]

this thread is 6 years old Tedro.
Are you asking the OP what bulb they were using or do you have a red leaf issue you are looking up at the moment?

Red leaves on phals are an interesting one tbh. I've got a phal that develops red leaves when it gets too little light just to make the matter more confusing

With Catts its generally the other way round, too much light and they can develop red or purple tinges. But phals have so many different parents, some phals have like mottled leaves and this particular one grows nice lush green leaves when it gets enough light.

Any part on this phal that doesn't receive enough light turns red (including the underside of the leaf). As an experiment I placed a light underneath shining on the bottom of the leaf and sure enough the red went away so there I was believing that reddening leaves on a phal meant it was getting too much light when it actually needed more.

edit: if you look through her gallery, you will find she has a good example of this reddening - on the underside of the leaf.

Maria's Orchids: New Orchid: Dtps. Jungo City

[tedro]

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

this thread is 6 years old Tedro.
Are you asking the OP what bulb they were using or do you have a red leaf issue you are looking up at the moment?

Red leaves on phals are an interesting one tbh. I've got a phal that develops red leaves when it gets too little light just to make the matter more confusing

With Catts its generally the other way round, too much light and they can develop red or purple tinges. But phals have so many different parents, some phals have like mottled leaves and this particular one grows nice lush green leaves when it gets enough light.

Any part on this phal that doesn't receive enough light turns red (including the underside of the leaf). As an experiment I placed a light underneath shining on the bottom of the leaf and sure enough the red went away so there I was believing that reddening leaves on a phal meant it was getting too much light when it actually needed more.

edit: if you look through her gallery, you will find she has a good example of this reddening - on the underside of the leaf.

Maria's Orchids: New Orchid: Dtps. Jungo City

oops!
it came up in an internet search! i forgot to check the date!
my phal has dark color (i refer to as black).
at first i thought maybe too much light — we thought alike?!— (also very close, but no heat/led)… but now (all in this afternoon i think it is not enough light.
i bought more light.

i already use a light. here are some pics (brb):
i also think: outside has been rainy season (smaller window light… mine is never much anyway)… and maybe too wet: newish repot, hard to get used to, especially in these dank and cooler temperatures).

[Shadeflower]

Tedro, your phal is pretty strong and not many have gotten theirs to flower like you.
You are worrying too much I think
It looks good to me.

[tedro]

thank you.

but that leaf is turning “black”?
it’s relatively new leaf, too.

i’ll report back after i add another light. )

or maybe she’s not used to being as damp. :/

[Shadeflower]

Hey tedro, I was a bit worried at first too I have to admit and it's not something you see discussed very often. A lot of times people will suggest it could be a deficiency so I will just show my red devil and see what other have to say about it. To be fair mine hasn't flowered this year but I feel it is growing as well as my other phals so wouldn't consider it deficient.

I've also added a white phal noid that grows in the same light (west window, natural light) with no redness whatsoever so I believe it is largely genetic but a magnesium deficiency is known to exhibit similar signs so it might be difficult to tell them apart.

I do hope it is just natural pigmentation for both of ours.

[estación seca]

Tedro, your plant is probably turning red because it is getting a lot more light than it needs. A speaker at our orchid society, Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids, told us Phals produce better flowers in lower light - larger in size, longer spikes and better spacing.

[tedro]

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

Hey tedro, I was a bit worried at first too I have to admit and it's not something you see discussed very often. A lot of times people will suggest it could be a deficiency so I will just show my red devil and see what other have to say about it. To be fair mine hasn't flowered this year but I feel it is growing as well as my other phals so wouldn't consider it deficient.

I've also added a white phal noid that grows in the same light (west window, natural light) with no redness whatsoever so I believe it is largely genetic but a magnesium deficiency is known to exhibit similar signs so it might be difficult to tell them apart.

I do hope it is just natural pigmentation for both of ours.

fascinating. i’m so sorry i didn’t start a new thread.

here’s what i take from your post:
we’re calling this red, not black. hmmm. i still wanna say black. d’oh. no problem.

i’m going to jump down and reply more under estacion seca’s reply….

OH! your orchid looks GREAT! BEAUTIFUL.



---------- Post added at 05:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:02 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

Tedro, your plant is probably turning red because it is getting a lot more light than it needs. A speaker at our orchid society, Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids, told us Phals produce better flowers in lower light - larger in size, longer spikes and better spacing.

too much light. hmmm. yes, we went this very slightly before. but i had much more light from outside coming in.
i’ve had to put a shader on my outter lanai, so, plus dark time of (rainy) year, i figured she’s gonna have to and i’m going to see just how she’s using my little GE ‘daylight’ bulb.

when it happened (i think) before — a year or more — i thought it was a light burn and probably, surely, acted accordingly.

hmmm. time will tell. last night i put the light even closer/closest ) — always been pretty close. it appears to be backing off the “black”.
btw, i also shpuld have mentioned in this, i think related, is leaves are turned from matte-y to glossy (and therefore darker green).

i hear you, but i’m still thinking more light.

of course, she’s getting older, too. not a baby anymore!

if i don’t get a spike by october (i forgot when, i’ll look back) i’ll reckon something, not necessarily bad, is up.

time will tell, soon, i think.

i’ll try to let the bottom of the pot dry more, too.
before this repot, we enjoyed “total” dry every 3-4 days, and full double flush each watering.
plus i put, i thought, more sphaghnum… watering so often was wearing me out.

thank you.

when i report back, new light has arrived already! i’ll start a new thread.

**update on new light: way too bright “for me,” gonna get a clip on wand or something hooded.

thank you, both!

[tedro]

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

But phals have so many different parents, some phals have like mottled leaves and this particular one grows nice lush green leaves when it gets enough light.

Any part on this phal that doesn't receive enough light turns red (including the underside of the leaf). *As an experiment I placed a light underneath shining on the bottom of the leaf and sure enough the red went away so there I was believing that reddening leaves on a phal meant it was getting too much light when it actually needed more.

I think this (see *) was my experience once.

[Shadeflower]

I think trying more light is worth trying.
These darker leaved phals seem to be able to take it well.

Just inspect it every day for one week after trying the light. Also look at the underside of the leaves. You are looking for any sign of "sunburn" which would start as a tiny yellow or white spot on one of the leaves closest to the light (sometimes they start on the underside before you notice on top)

Just be careful with the sun, the sun + additional light can be too much whereas on cloudy days it might be good so if you use a light, use less sunlight to start with.

Don't be scared to give too much light as long as you are there to monitor it and do it gradually so don't give maximum light straight away, you can always move the light closer if you feel the plant can handle more after a few days.

It's worth trying, as long as you don't forget about the plant nothing bad will happen.

Thank you about my phals, e white noid on the picture has sunburn actually but you can't even tell, it's not bad if you catch it in time and artificial lights generally don't do as much damage as the sun can do.

You will know after 2-3 weeks already if the light is making improvements or if you need to give less light. Good luck with it. Let us know how it goes.