New Cattleya developed mold and sunburn?

[DesignerofBeauty]

Hello All!

I'm a bit new to orchids, so please pardon any lack of basic information.

I just received a Lc.Tropical Chip 'Andromeda' in the mail a week ago.

Today, I noticed that one of the leaves has what appears to be sunburn. Additionally, I noticed some white spots in the medium. I'm confused as to how this all happened.

Here's some background information:
The plant was shipped in 3 days from Hawaii to Rhode Island. It was left in the cold (mid 20's) for about 2 hours, but it did have heating packs inside the package. It was packed very very well, so I wasn't concerned. I noticed that the medium was moist, so I haven't watered it since it has arrived. I did notice that there was some moss growing on the medium, and a black centipede/caterpillar with a red stripe down it's back. I killed the bug, and haven't seen another since. Additionally, I noticed that a section of the plant had significantly lighter leaves. These leaves are a bit glossier than the others, so I suspected that it was a new growth.

The lighter leaves have developed what appears to be sunburn. This wasn't present at arrival. However, the orchid is placed on the same windowsill as another cattleya . The other cattleya doesn't receive adequate sunlight, as it's leaves are too dark. In fact, I'm waiting for artificial lighting to come in the mail as I write the message. Thus, I don't know how it received sunburn.

Additionally, I haven't watered the plant since it arrived. I'm clueless as to how it might have developed mold.

Any ideas?

Thanks!!

[bil]

Originally Posted by DesignerofBeauty

Hello All!

I'm a bit new to orchids, so please pardon any lack of basic information.

I just received a Lc.Tropical Chip 'Andromeda' in the mail a week ago.

Today, I noticed that one of the leaves has what appears to be sunburn. Additionally, I noticed some white spots in the medium. I'm confused as to how this all happened.

Here's some background information:
The plant was shipped in 3 days from Hawaii to Rhode Island. It was left in the cold (mid 20's) for about 2 hours, but it did have heating packs inside the package. It was packed very very well, so I wasn't concerned. I noticed that the medium was moist, so I haven't watered it since it has arrived. I did notice that there was some moss growing on the medium, and a black centipede/caterpillar with a red stripe down it's back. I killed the bug, and haven't seen another since. Additionally, I noticed that a section of the plant had significantly lighter leaves. These leaves are a bit glossier than the others, so I suspected that it was a new growth.

The lighter leaves have developed what appears to be sunburn. This wasn't present at arrival. However, the orchid is placed on the same windowsill as another cattleya . The other cattleya doesn't receive adequate sunlight, as it's leaves are too dark. In fact, I'm waiting for artificial lighting to come in the mail as I write the message. Thus, I don't know how it received sunburn.

Additionally, I haven't watered the plant since it arrived. I'm clueless as to how it might have developed mold.

Any ideas?

Thanks!!

First off, remember the message on the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy "Don't panic!"

I can't see anything wrong. By sunburn, do you mean the dead tissue around the crack in the centre of the leaf? That just looks as if the leaf has split for some reason, and the wound has scarred.
As for the mould, it happens, I get it in some of mine. It's a consequence of the medium being at a particular level of moisture, whatever.

The one thing I always did when receiving a new orchid was to repot it, as that way I knew exactly what the roots were like. I've saved a few that way. Nowadays, most of my orchids go onto mounts.
I would put it into a larger pot with coarse bark - sieve it to get rid of fine stuff so that the roots can breathe easily.
I am suspicious of the moss. That might suggest the medium is breaking down and retaining water, so repoting would be very high on my 'to do' list.

Just keep an eye on it. Hopefully the cold snap won't have done it any harm. If it has I would expect cold damage to show up very quickly, and since it's been a week, it ought to have shown up by now.
Any more questions, feel free to ask.

PS re the bug. If it was a centipede, it's not a problem. Most bugs aren't. The older the potting medium, the more bugs it will support. I had some catts in plastic trays once, which had literally a single layer of bark to cover the roots. It was dry 5 minutes after watering, I watered them every day, there were no bugs and the roots were half a metre long by the end of the first year.

[rbarata]

I don't see anything wrong with your plant too.
As Bil said, moss in the medium might be an indication of medium degradation, or previously humid growing conditions.

[katrina]

The damage on the leaves could actually be from the heat pack. Young leaves are very tender and if it was too close to the pack it could result in the damage shown. I don't believe it's serious and the plant will likely be fine.

As for the medium, I've seen that gritty texture in plants from Hawaii too and it's probably nothing too serious but the fine texture of the medium would be something that might concern me. If it were mine, I would repot and get it into fresh medium. It's making new roots so timing is perfect for a repot.

BTW - when i say fine texture...I'm referring to what it looks like along the sides of the pot...it looks dense and compacted. Could just be the pic.

[DesignerofBeauty]

Thanks for all your help!

I will be repotting the orchid, and I'm hoping the damage to the leaf was due to the heat packs!

[jkofferdahl]

I agree with others that the plant looks fine. If I ever find an orchid among my collection with perfect leaves I'm going to have it encased! Repotting is always a good idea with a new orchid, too. And Bil knows of what he speaks.