Have two phalaenopsis--one large and one baby, and the single leaf on
the large one fell off recently, and one of three fell off the baby
one.

The leaf that fell off the big one was really soft--kind of like
wilted lettuce when I touche it--that was also when it fell off. The
leaf that fell off the baby looked kind of dry and had a few small
white spots on it. Again, when I touched it, it too fell off.

Why are the leaves falling off? Isn't it a bad thing when leaves fall
off--after all, don't they need it for photosynthesis? What can I do
to prevent that?

Thanks in advance.

Lil

Lil,

The fact that the leaf on the large plant felt like wilted lettuce suggests
that the plant was not getting enough water. There are, unfortunately, two
ways that can happen - simply underwatering, or more commonly, you
overwatered it to the point of rotting off the roots. No roots = no way to
take up sufficient water.

The fact that it only had one leaf suggests it was on a steep downhill
trend, and is likely a goner at this point.

As far as the small plant is concerned, it's really hard to ID a problem
from such a brief description, but I'd guess that no matter what the spots
are, you've got a similar root rot problem on the way, if not there already.

I'd repot the plant into fresh medium, and go from there. If you can
describe more about the growing conditions, medium, etc., maybe we can
contribute more.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
om...
Have two phalaenopsis--one large and one baby, and the single leaf on
the large one fell off recently, and one of three fell off the baby
one.

The leaf that fell off the big one was really soft--kind of like
wilted lettuce when I touche it--that was also when it fell off. The
leaf that fell off the baby looked kind of dry and had a few small
white spots on it. Again, when I touched it, it too fell off.

Why are the leaves falling off? Isn't it a bad thing when leaves fall
off--after all, don't they need it for photosynthesis? What can I do
to prevent that?

Thanks in advance.

Lil

They're both in medium orchid mix--probably fir bark. When the leaf
fell off the big plant, I did repot it and noticed that it still had a
lot of roots, some of the ones in the old bark were brown and kind of
rotting, but others that were above the bark were green-brown and
dried looking.

When I repotted into a pot with a saucer at the bottom, I stuck a
pipet tip holder (bit of plastic with 96 regularly spaced holes) and
used it as a mesh to prevent the bark from being in contact with the
water in the saucer and to help the drainage a bit. Do you think it
will revive?

As for the little one, I noticed that the roots that were once plump
and green are now a bit shriveled. Am I underwatering? (I tend to
water once a week with maybe too much water at one fell swoop.) Maybe
what I should do is water more frequently but sparingly?

The reason why I'm concerned is one colleague of mine at work has this
beautiful phalaenopsis at work with big plump leaves and beautiful
plump, silver aerial roots. She keeps it near the window, behind
partially open blinds. Comparing the roots of my phalaenopsis with
those of hers makes me wonder if mine are a bit unhappy.

Thanks in advance.

Lil


"Ray" wrote in message ...
Lil,

The fact that the leaf on the large plant felt like wilted lettuce suggests
that the plant was not getting enough water. There are, unfortunately, two
ways that can happen - simply underwatering, or more commonly, you
overwatered it to the point of rotting off the roots. No roots = no way to
take up sufficient water.

The fact that it only had one leaf suggests it was on a steep downhill
trend, and is likely a goner at this point.

As far as the small plant is concerned, it's really hard to ID a problem
from such a brief description, but I'd guess that no matter what the spots
are, you've got a similar root rot problem on the way, if not there already.

I'd repot the plant into fresh medium, and go from there. If you can
describe more about the growing conditions, medium, etc., maybe we can
contribute more.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
om...
Have two phalaenopsis--one large and one baby, and the single leaf on
the large one fell off recently, and one of three fell off the baby
one.

The leaf that fell off the big one was really soft--kind of like
wilted lettuce when I touche it--that was also when it fell off. The
leaf that fell off the baby looked kind of dry and had a few small
white spots on it. Again, when I touched it, it too fell off.

Why are the leaves falling off? Isn't it a bad thing when leaves fall
off--after all, don't they need it for photosynthesis? What can I do
to prevent that?

Thanks in advance.

Lil

Sounds like underwatering and possibly low humidity.

Bark isn't necessarily the easiest material to rewet once it's dried out.
Try watering thoroughly, wait 30 minutes and do so again.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
om...
They're both in medium orchid mix--probably fir bark. When the leaf
fell off the big plant, I did repot it and noticed that it still had a
lot of roots, some of the ones in the old bark were brown and kind of
rotting, but others that were above the bark were green-brown and
dried looking.

When I repotted into a pot with a saucer at the bottom, I stuck a
pipet tip holder (bit of plastic with 96 regularly spaced holes) and
used it as a mesh to prevent the bark from being in contact with the
water in the saucer and to help the drainage a bit. Do you think it
will revive?

As for the little one, I noticed that the roots that were once plump
and green are now a bit shriveled. Am I underwatering? (I tend to
water once a week with maybe too much water at one fell swoop.) Maybe
what I should do is water more frequently but sparingly?

The reason why I'm concerned is one colleague of mine at work has this
beautiful phalaenopsis at work with big plump leaves and beautiful
plump, silver aerial roots. She keeps it near the window, behind
partially open blinds. Comparing the roots of my phalaenopsis with
those of hers makes me wonder if mine are a bit unhappy.

Thanks in advance.

Lil


"Ray" wrote in message
...
Lil,

The fact that the leaf on the large plant felt like wilted lettuce
suggests
that the plant was not getting enough water. There are, unfortunately,
two
ways that can happen - simply underwatering, or more commonly, you
overwatered it to the point of rotting off the roots. No roots = no way
to
take up sufficient water.

The fact that it only had one leaf suggests it was on a steep downhill
trend, and is likely a goner at this point.

As far as the small plant is concerned, it's really hard to ID a problem
from such a brief description, but I'd guess that no matter what the
spots
are, you've got a similar root rot problem on the way, if not there
already.

I'd repot the plant into fresh medium, and go from there. If you can
describe more about the growing conditions, medium, etc., maybe we can
contribute more.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
om...
Have two phalaenopsis--one large and one baby, and the single leaf on
the large one fell off recently, and one of three fell off the baby
one.

The leaf that fell off the big one was really soft--kind of like
wilted lettuce when I touche it--that was also when it fell off. The
leaf that fell off the baby looked kind of dry and had a few small
white spots on it. Again, when I touched it, it too fell off.

Why are the leaves falling off? Isn't it a bad thing when leaves fall
off--after all, don't they need it for photosynthesis? What can I do
to prevent that?

Thanks in advance.

Lil