What's going on with my orchid plant?
Hello everyone. This is my first post here in the community. Could anyone tell me what is going on with my beloved orchid plant? How can I save it? I believe I left it one day under the scorching sun, by mistake? Can that be the reason? I now have it in my kitchen near the window, but it's turning its bright green leaves into brown and probably dying. Please save. #orchidlovers floweringplants">#floweringplants
1ft to light, indirect
6” pot without drainage
Last watered 1 day ago
9
Best Answer
It looks it got sunburned and the cells that received too much heat collapsed. DO NOT cut your leaves, what it needs now is just time and fertilizer. The purple on the leaf edges is totally fine pigment accumulation that just tells you the orchid had been getting a little more light than it needs.
The bottom tiny leaf that went yellow is also fine, the orchid will periodically decide to get rid of its oldest (always the bottom-most) leaf and it reabsorbs the nutrients from the old leaf (turning it yellow) and uses those nutrients to power new growth (in this case, you can see that it’s growing a new leaf). If it happens once in a while (especially after the orchid sustains damage like the sunburn) that is normal because over time older parts of the plant become less efficient at their job; if it happens every time it grows something new, that means the orchid is so desperate for one or more nutrients it is forced to cannibalize its oldest parts to power its growth and desperately needs fertilizer. So if a leaf starts yellowing like that, you always want to leave it until it falls off naturally because your orchid needs to reabsorb the nutrients that are stored in it.
So the damage to the damaged leaves is permanent, but your orchid otherwise looks fine and just needs your patience and some time to recover. If you aren’t fertilizing it, I would get some orchid fertilizer and feed it because it’s likely going to be putting a bunch of energy into leaf growth to restore the photosynthesizing capabilities that it lost in the sunburned areas.
The bottom tiny leaf that went yellow is also fine, the orchid will periodically decide to get rid of its oldest (always the bottom-most) leaf and it reabsorbs the nutrients from the old leaf (turning it yellow) and uses those nutrients to power new growth (in this case, you can see that it’s growing a new leaf). If it happens once in a while (especially after the orchid sustains damage like the sunburn) that is normal because over time older parts of the plant become less efficient at their job; if it happens every time it grows something new, that means the orchid is so desperate for one or more nutrients it is forced to cannibalize its oldest parts to power its growth and desperately needs fertilizer. So if a leaf starts yellowing like that, you always want to leave it until it falls off naturally because your orchid needs to reabsorb the nutrients that are stored in it.
So the damage to the damaged leaves is permanent, but your orchid otherwise looks fine and just needs your patience and some time to recover. If you aren’t fertilizing it, I would get some orchid fertilizer and feed it because it’s likely going to be putting a bunch of energy into leaf growth to restore the photosynthesizing capabilities that it lost in the sunburned areas.
Hi @FitDragonfire31! Here’s a saying that I learned from a popular houseplant influencer…”If there’s green, it can be saved!” So yes, your orchid can survive. I would consider removing the damaged leaf, make sure that the roots are hydrated; if the roots are gray it’s time to water. Give it a good soak and give it some nourishment. In time, it will be just fine. I hope that helps. 🥰
Sunburn 🥵. You’ll likely lose the more heavily damaged leaves, they can’t go back to being okay. Hopefully none of the crown leaves were exposed and they will grow out. It’ll look funky for a while but eventually should recover. No more direct sunlight for your phalaenopsis. Unless you spend a lot of time gradually accumulating her to it. But generally speaking phals don’t need full sun especially from mid-morning through late afternoon.
I don't think this leaf will recover. I think I just lost my first orchid leaf :( the other leaves are also showing stress/burn points like these. Do I need to do anything to save them? @smushface @BeeBalm @HighRiseGreens @QualifiedGarlic @MariansOasis
@FitDragonfire31 once damage is done it’s done (irreversible). Based on the updated picture it looks like the plant has also decided the leaf is a lost cause, because it’s turning yellow. You should still leave it on the plant until it finishes reabsorbing the nutrients in the leaf, meaning wait for the leaf to go fully yellow and it should fall off with a little tug.
Your orchid needs to finish reabsorbing the nutrients from the damaged leaf to help fuel the growth of a replacement leaf.
Your orchid needs to finish reabsorbing the nutrients from the damaged leaf to help fuel the growth of a replacement leaf.