What’s wrong with my orchid leaves? I have some nice bloo...
0ft to light, indirect
4” pot with drainage
Last watered 1 day ago
3
@JoyfulPalqui i used to find this with mine and while it can be natural, if it happens every time it’s preparing for new growth, it can be due to low humidity. Having to shut down a structure so that it can use the energy to make something new means that the plant is extolling energy somewhere that it doesn’t need to as it should be able to support new growth without sacrificing itself. When humidity is increased, they are using less energy to function which means that they have more energy and don’t have to shut down structures in preparation for new ones. I am finding that my phals are happiest in 60-70% humidity.
Hi 👋 Your plant looks either dehydrated or stressed to me so it’s worth looking at the roots to differentiate between the two. If the roots are firm, round and healthy, then the plant is likely to to be stressed. This can be caused by a number of things but I noticed that you said that it has blooms. One of the things about phals is that blooming takes a phenomenal amount of energy and sometimes blooming for too often or too long can completely deplete them of energy to the point it looks like this. It could be that blooming with only three leaves didn’t allow the plant to get enough energy to maintain the blooms and could explain the yellowing leaf - the plant could well be shutting down the leaf to reinvest the energy into the blooms. Now that you’re losing a leaf and will only have two leaves, I would remove the flower spike as the plant won’t have enough energy to support it. Cut the spike close to the stem and dab a little cinnamon powder on it to prevent infection and bacteria entering into the plant. Continue with the same care (plenty of bright but indirect light and water when the media is dry) and this will allow the plant to rest and recharge. You want it to focus on making a few more leaves before it flowers again.
If this is down to dehydration, check the roots to see whether the dehydration is from overwatering (the roots will be brown and mushy) or underwatering (they’ll be thin or papery). For underwatering, give the pot a longer soak when watering and make sure to water it when the media is newly dry and it should pick up in time. I would still sacrifice the spike though. With two leaves, the plant isn’t healthy enough to support blooms. You can put the blooms in a vase and they’ll last for a few weeks!
If this is down to dehydration, check the roots to see whether the dehydration is from overwatering (the roots will be brown and mushy) or underwatering (they’ll be thin or papery). For underwatering, give the pot a longer soak when watering and make sure to water it when the media is newly dry and it should pick up in time. I would still sacrifice the spike though. With two leaves, the plant isn’t healthy enough to support blooms. You can put the blooms in a vase and they’ll last for a few weeks!