I posted a question about leaves dropping off phalaenopsis. The baby
one that had lost one of its three leaves is in danger of losing the
second--it's looking yellowish and dry. Why is it?

I don't understand it--the baby Vanna and miltonia cross that's on the
same shelf is doing well. Some of the larger oncidium on the shelf
above it are sprouting new leaves and/or roots.

Is it because it's too much light--the grow shelf is inside the patio
door, where it gets late afternoon sun. Because the sun is quite
strong, I've had the vertical blinds partly slanted to let in only a
bit of light. Because we've had a lot of windows we get a fair amount
of indirect light.

Is it because there's not enough humidity?

Thanks in advance.

Lil

Lil,

Too much sun on a phal results in tissue burning - the damaged patched end
up looking like parchment.

Too little humidity is usually manifested by dull looking leaves.

Loss of leaves as you describe sounds like serious underwatering, a
bacterial or fungal infection, or mineral toxicity of some sort. Fill in
more about the medium and your watering/feeding regimen, won't you?

--

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

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
m...
I posted a question about leaves dropping off phalaenopsis. The baby
one that had lost one of its three leaves is in danger of losing the
second--it's looking yellowish and dry. Why is it?

I don't understand it--the baby Vanna and miltonia cross that's on the
same shelf is doing well. Some of the larger oncidium on the shelf
above it are sprouting new leaves and/or roots.

Is it because it's too much light--the grow shelf is inside the patio
door, where it gets late afternoon sun. Because the sun is quite
strong, I've had the vertical blinds partly slanted to let in only a
bit of light. Because we've had a lot of windows we get a fair amount
of indirect light.

Is it because there's not enough humidity?

Thanks in advance.

Lil

Ray,

Lack of humidity might be the problem--except the pot is sitting on
top of a piece of plastic with holes in it, and the plastic "table" is
sitting in a dish of water (about 0.25 to 2 in. of water.

We religiously water twice a week now that it's summer and it's been
pretty warm in the house. I've been careful to give the little
phalaenopsis only a little water (about 2-3 tablespoon?) each time.
(This is because when I repotted the larger phalaenopsis in new medium
fir bark, the roots were brown and looked a bit rotted.)

The one remaining leaf on the little phalaenopsis is still glossy
green (unlike the dull dark color of the large phalaenopsis before it
rotted off).

My gut feeling is that I still haven't figured out the right balance
of light, water, and humidity for the phalaenopsis. I'm not sure what
I should try first--increase the amount of water in the dish to
increase the humidity?

Thanks in advance.

Lil
"Ray" wrote in message ...
Lil,

Too much sun on a phal results in tissue burning - the damaged patched end
up looking like parchment.

Too little humidity is usually manifested by dull looking leaves.

Loss of leaves as you describe sounds like serious underwatering, a
bacterial or fungal infection, or mineral toxicity of some sort. Fill in
more about the medium and your watering/feeding regimen, won't you?

--

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

. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
m...
I posted a question about leaves dropping off phalaenopsis. The baby
one that had lost one of its three leaves is in danger of losing the
second--it's looking yellowish and dry. Why is it?

I don't understand it--the baby Vanna and miltonia cross that's on the
same shelf is doing well. Some of the larger oncidium on the shelf
above it are sprouting new leaves and/or roots.

Is it because it's too much light--the grow shelf is inside the patio
door, where it gets late afternoon sun. Because the sun is quite
strong, I've had the vertical blinds partly slanted to let in only a
bit of light. Because we've had a lot of windows we get a fair amount
of indirect light.

Is it because there's not enough humidity?

Thanks in advance.

Lil

Lil,

You haven't said where you live, but if it's in a low-humidity environment
(air conditioned home, for example), that tray of water is likely doing very
little to raise the humidity around the plant.

If the roots were rotted, the thing to do is to cut off the brown, rotted
parts, and repot it into fresh medium that has been saturated then drained
(that is, the medium is wet, but not dripping), and keep it in a warm,
shady, VERY humid environment without watering again until new root growth
has begun. I accomplish the ultra-high humidity by putting a clear baggie
over the pot and plant to simulate a greenhouse.

I suspect your assessment of learning the proper balance is a correct one,
but I can almost guarantee that pouring a few tablespoons of water through
fresh, medium-size fir bark is hardly wetting it at all. You'd be better
off watering it thoroughly with tepid water, waiting 30 minutes and doing so
again, THEN let it go until it's almost - not completely - dry before
repeating the process.
--

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

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
om...
Ray,

Lack of humidity might be the problem--except the pot is sitting on
top of a piece of plastic with holes in it, and the plastic "table" is
sitting in a dish of water (about 0.25 to 2 in. of water.

We religiously water twice a week now that it's summer and it's been
pretty warm in the house. I've been careful to give the little
phalaenopsis only a little water (about 2-3 tablespoon?) each time.
(This is because when I repotted the larger phalaenopsis in new medium
fir bark, the roots were brown and looked a bit rotted.)

The one remaining leaf on the little phalaenopsis is still glossy
green (unlike the dull dark color of the large phalaenopsis before it
rotted off).

My gut feeling is that I still haven't figured out the right balance
of light, water, and humidity for the phalaenopsis. I'm not sure what
I should try first--increase the amount of water in the dish to
increase the humidity?

Thanks in advance.

Lil
"Ray" wrote in message
...
Lil,

Too much sun on a phal results in tissue burning - the damaged patched
end
up looking like parchment.

Too little humidity is usually manifested by dull looking leaves.

Loss of leaves as you describe sounds like serious underwatering, a
bacterial or fungal infection, or mineral toxicity of some sort. Fill
in
more about the medium and your watering/feeding regimen, won't you?

--

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

. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
m...
I posted a question about leaves dropping off phalaenopsis. The baby
one that had lost one of its three leaves is in danger of losing the
second--it's looking yellowish and dry. Why is it?

I don't understand it--the baby Vanna and miltonia cross that's on the
same shelf is doing well. Some of the larger oncidium on the shelf
above it are sprouting new leaves and/or roots.

Is it because it's too much light--the grow shelf is inside the patio
door, where it gets late afternoon sun. Because the sun is quite
strong, I've had the vertical blinds partly slanted to let in only a
bit of light. Because we've had a lot of windows we get a fair amount
of indirect light.

Is it because there's not enough humidity?

Thanks in advance.

Lil

I'll second Ray's assessment and point out that especially with bark,
you can't tell if it's dry enough by looking at the surface - that'll
always look dry. Eventually, you'll learn to tell by the weight of the
pot. Until then, you can stick a pencil eraser down into the bark and
see if it comes up moist.

Watering once a week works for me.


Ray wrote:
Lil,

You haven't said where you live, but if it's in a low-humidity environment
(air conditioned home, for example), that tray of water is likely doing very
little to raise the humidity around the plant.

If the roots were rotted, the thing to do is to cut off the brown, rotted
parts, and repot it into fresh medium that has been saturated then drained
(that is, the medium is wet, but not dripping), and keep it in a warm,
shady, VERY humid environment without watering again until new root growth
has begun. I accomplish the ultra-high humidity by putting a clear baggie
over the pot and plant to simulate a greenhouse.

I suspect your assessment of learning the proper balance is a correct one,
but I can almost guarantee that pouring a few tablespoons of water through
fresh, medium-size fir bark is hardly wetting it at all. You'd be better
off watering it thoroughly with tepid water, waiting 30 minutes and doing so
again, THEN let it go until it's almost - not completely - dry before
repeating the process.
--

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

. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
om...

Ray,

Lack of humidity might be the problem--except the pot is sitting on
top of a piece of plastic with holes in it, and the plastic "table" is
sitting in a dish of water (about 0.25 to 2 in. of water.

We religiously water twice a week now that it's summer and it's been
pretty warm in the house. I've been careful to give the little
phalaenopsis only a little water (about 2-3 tablespoon?) each time.
(This is because when I repotted the larger phalaenopsis in new medium
fir bark, the roots were brown and looked a bit rotted.)

The one remaining leaf on the little phalaenopsis is still glossy
green (unlike the dull dark color of the large phalaenopsis before it
rotted off).

My gut feeling is that I still haven't figured out the right balance
of light, water, and humidity for the phalaenopsis. I'm not sure what
I should try first--increase the amount of water in the dish to
increase the humidity?

Thanks in advance.

Lil
"Ray" wrote in message

...

Lil,

Too much sun on a phal results in tissue burning - the damaged patched

end

up looking like parchment.

Too little humidity is usually manifested by dull looking leaves.

Loss of leaves as you describe sounds like serious underwatering, a
bacterial or fungal infection, or mineral toxicity of some sort. Fill

in

more about the medium and your watering/feeding regimen, won't you?

--

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

. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
.com...

I posted a question about leaves dropping off phalaenopsis. The baby
one that had lost one of its three leaves is in danger of losing the
second--it's looking yellowish and dry. Why is it?

I don't understand it--the baby Vanna and miltonia cross that's on the
same shelf is doing well. Some of the larger oncidium on the shelf
above it are sprouting new leaves and/or roots.

Is it because it's too much light--the grow shelf is inside the patio
door, where it gets late afternoon sun. Because the sun is quite
strong, I've had the vertical blinds partly slanted to let in only a
bit of light. Because we've had a lot of windows we get a fair amount
of indirect light.

Is it because there's not enough humidity?

Thanks in advance.

Lil

i'm in the humid summer of toronto and we have 8 phals all spiking right
now. we water once a week, with occasional misting in between. they sit in
a west facing window that doesn't get much direct sunlight due to heavy tree
cover filtering most of it. the windows are open (air conditioner only in
the bedroom - we learned our lesson... no spikes) all summer long.

we do have some yellow leaves going on on one of them, but it seems to be
growing a new leaf at the crown and a few new roots so we're not worried.
good luck.



"mg" wrote in message ...
I'll second Ray's assessment and point out that especially with bark,
you can't tell if it's dry enough by looking at the surface - that'll
always look dry. Eventually, you'll learn to tell by the weight of the
pot. Until then, you can stick a pencil eraser down into the bark and
see if it comes up moist.

Watering once a week works for me.


Ray wrote:
Lil,

You haven't said where you live, but if it's in a low-humidity
environment
(air conditioned home, for example), that tray of water is likely doing
very
little to raise the humidity around the plant.

If the roots were rotted, the thing to do is to cut off the brown,
rotted
parts, and repot it into fresh medium that has been saturated then
drained
(that is, the medium is wet, but not dripping), and keep it in a warm,
shady, VERY humid environment without watering again until new root
growth
has begun. I accomplish the ultra-high humidity by putting a clear
baggie
over the pot and plant to simulate a greenhouse.

I suspect your assessment of learning the proper balance is a correct
one,
but I can almost guarantee that pouring a few tablespoons of water
through
fresh, medium-size fir bark is hardly wetting it at all. You'd be
better
off watering it thoroughly with tepid water, waiting 30 minutes and
doing so
again, THEN let it go until it's almost - not completely - dry before
repeating the process.
--

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

. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
om...

Ray,

Lack of humidity might be the problem--except the pot is sitting on
top of a piece of plastic with holes in it, and the plastic "table" is
sitting in a dish of water (about 0.25 to 2 in. of water.

We religiously water twice a week now that it's summer and it's been
pretty warm in the house. I've been careful to give the little
phalaenopsis only a little water (about 2-3 tablespoon?) each time.
(This is because when I repotted the larger phalaenopsis in new medium
fir bark, the roots were brown and looked a bit rotted.)

The one remaining leaf on the little phalaenopsis is still glossy
green (unlike the dull dark color of the large phalaenopsis before it
rotted off).

My gut feeling is that I still haven't figured out the right balance
of light, water, and humidity for the phalaenopsis. I'm not sure what
I should try first--increase the amount of water in the dish to
increase the humidity?

Thanks in advance.

Lil
"Ray" wrote in message

...

Lil,

Too much sun on a phal results in tissue burning - the damaged patched

end

up looking like parchment.

Too little humidity is usually manifested by dull looking leaves.

Loss of leaves as you describe sounds like serious underwatering, a
bacterial or fungal infection, or mineral toxicity of some sort. Fill

in

more about the medium and your watering/feeding regimen, won't you?

--

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

. . . . . . . . . . .
"Lil" wrote in message
.com...

I posted a question about leaves dropping off phalaenopsis. The baby
one that had lost one of its three leaves is in danger of losing the
second--it's looking yellowish and dry. Why is it?

I don't understand it--the baby Vanna and miltonia cross that's on the
same shelf is doing well. Some of the larger oncidium on the shelf
above it are sprouting new leaves and/or roots.

Is it because it's too much light--the grow shelf is inside the patio
door, where it gets late afternoon sun. Because the sun is quite
strong, I've had the vertical blinds partly slanted to let in only a
bit of light. Because we've had a lot of windows we get a fair amount
of indirect light.

Is it because there's not enough humidity?

Thanks in advance.

Lil