Wilting and bleached leaves help

[qcia13]

hi, recently got a couple of mini phals and the leaves are wilting. any recommendations on how to perk up the leaves?

also, got a couple of paphs and the leaves must have rec'd too much sun and are bleached. are the leaves dead or will they turn green again?

thx for your help!

 

[CarlG]

A zip-lock bag of damp (not wet) sphagnum, a cool-ish environment, and no direct sun.

 

[Morja]

That's a pretty big chunky mix for both! Smaller pieces would probably be better especially for the paph. It looked like it did get too much sun. They can't take direct sun, typically, or not for long.
Have you seen the roots of either? The wilty leaves on the phal usually mean the plant is thirsty, but this could be from having no roots due to overwatering so it's good to check. If it was recently put in that big, dry mix then it could just be shocked and dry from that and need a good soak. I would see if it has roots though.

 

[big923cattleya]

Just how recent is recently?
A week, ten days, two weeks. Or a month?
Your mini Phals are in shock!! They are in trouble. They need TLC immediately. The pot they are in is way too big, perhaps a 2 1/2” pot with a fine grade media mix of charcoal, perlite and kiwi bark.
Or a pot with moist sphagnum. Keep
Them shaded, evenly and constantly moist, not sopping wet and certainly not dry. That coarse bark can not simply hold enough moisture to revive them.
And dead tissue is dead tissue. It can’t be brought back to green. I might be wrong but when leaf color fades and yellows it has lost chlorophyll. Cell walls have colllapsed as the leaf dies. You can not rebuild burst cell walls with water.

 

[IvoPhal]

I think that's fusarium, I have several phals with such condition. I try now treatement with fungicides. Azoxystrobine, captan etc.
I tried to put them in moss any kinds, any grades unfortunatly no sucess. I'm talkng to second picure, you can see velvet color.....

 

[Ray]

Fusarium is actually fairly rare in home-grown plants.

More likely, you’re dealing with root damage that has reduced the plant’s ability to take up water.

That bark does seem awfully coarse, even for a mature phal., but if you water the hell out of it, wait 30 minutes and water the hell out of it again, it may start holding more water. As coarse as it is, y there is plenty of airflow for the roots, so never let it get dry.

I’m going to offer a different approach to recovery. If you can, get some Kelpak and water it thoroughly @ 1 oz/gal. Invert a clear plastic bag over the plant and pot, leaving it open at the bottom. If the roots are compromised, trapping humidity will slow transpiration losses, giving it more time to recover. Unlike Carl, I’d recommend keeping it very warm and shady, as warmth accelerates growth and is the preferred culture for phals.

If the paph truly has been burned (neither genius really needs direct sun), there is nothing you can do. Treat it normally and it will recover.

 

[big923cattleya]

I just checked the Saint Augustine Orchid Society and it’s web page item on pests and diseases which is top notch information that is up to date.
Fusarium wilt enters through the root system of various orchids and the exact cause is undetermined. It could be because of excessive moisture in media, low temperatures in media, etc.
For Cattleyas cut and discard effected areas, treat with Medallion or Cleary’s 3336. Follow directions.
Fusarium wilt blocks the transportation of water within the plants vascular system.

For smaller Paphs, they recommend discarding the plant. Why? Because the wilt proceeds through the tissues so quickly it is often ahead internally more so then you can see!
They recommend discarding small Phals as well. For bigger plants, cut off all diseased parts and treat with Daconil, Heritage which is a drench or Switch which is a spray.

 

[IvoPhal]

Yep, indeed, Medallion SC fungicide-fludioxonil
Cleary’s 3336 - Thiophanate-methyl
Heritage - azoxystrobin.
But the instructions, as far I read the official site of Sygenta or similar, the orchids are missing and the ornamental too. These pesticides are mentioned with exact rates for industrial agriculture.

 

[JustinR]

Phal - pot too big, media too chunky as suggested. Smaller pot and finer medium or sphagnum might help to resuscitate it. Don't overwater it, let the media approach dryness between waterings.

Paph - looks like it is in a net pot with charcoal and sphagnum top dressing? Does not look like sunburn to me, looks like root loss resulting in nutrient deficiency. Not clear what species or hyrbid it is but a lot of paphs don't like spahgnum in my experience. I personally would put it in the smallest possible pot (not a net pot) with seedling grade bark and pumice 50/50. Again, water when the medium approaches dryness.

I would not douse with all sorts of chemicals, instead carefully remove the yellowing leaf and apply cinnamon to any wounded parts of the plant. Excessive use of chemicals should be avoided IMO, good culture should be preferred to regular dousing of plants with lots of chemicals.

 

[Ray]

Generally speaking, I think folks that are having issues overdo it with disinfectants, bactericides, and fungicides. In the vast majority of cases, the true issue is poor culture, often due to ignorance of the needs of the plant or I attention to the fact that something has changed. One major example is when dealing with root rot.

Healthy roots don’t get attacked by microbes, weak ones do. The minute the inexperienced grower sees it however, the fist thing they want to do is “treat with something” such as Physan, hydrogen peroxide, or a fungicide, thinking that by killing the pathogen, the roots will recover, which they won’t.

The sequence is poor culture > weak and dying roots > adventitious microbes come in to “clean up the mess”.

I’m not saying that there aren’t cases in which a pathogen is somehow introduced to the collection and does damage, but relatively speaking, those are rare, and in those cases, it is more often bacteria than fungi.

 

[qcia13]

rec'd the mini phals and paph a couple of weeks ago with the roots packed with spagh moss. i left the orchids in the moss and just placed them in a pot with a mixture of bark, perlite and charcoal.

been misting them every morning.

 

[qcia13]

rec'd the mini phals and paph a couple of weeks ago with the roots packed with spagh moss. i left the orchids in the moss and just placed them in a pot with a mixture of bark, perlite and charcoal.

been misting them every morning.

i have the paph glaucophyllum and mini phal bellina coerulea

 

[IvoPhal]

I agree that good culture is essential for the health of any plants.
From my experience all orchids here are imported from Holland , so during storage, transportation and waiting for buyer that are stick together. And then you need the pesticide.
I’m not a fan of chemicals, for nearly 20 years of growing bonsais I found that a good drainage, substrate, water and doing miracles with bio fertilisers.