Question
Hello Mr King,

I caught the orchid virus about a year ago and just repotted a Phalaenopsis, 3 days ago because it had a few damaged roots from too much watering.

I usually leave that one in the window (even though it is South oriented, but I live in the Netherlands and we had a very grey summer)but today turned out to be a great summer day and I came home to a badly sunburnt plant.

http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc362/littleribbons/15082011853.jpg

What should I do? When I repotted it, the book I used told me to use a transparant plastic bag and put it over the plant, to keep the humidity high enough... but now I'm reading that, after sunburn, it needs fresh air. Is there any way these leaves will recover? They're not dried out yet, since it just happened an hour ago.
Thank you for your help!

Answer
Annelaurie, it is a good idea to take the plant out of the plastic bag.  If damaged plant tissue is exposed to a humid environment, a fungus infection could set in and destroy the leaf, if not the entire plant.  In general, you do less damage to a plant growing it on the dry side than keeping it too moist.  Once the leaf tissue has dried, cut off the burned tissue with a sharp cutting implement and grow dry until the wound heals. As you are learning, window culture requires some precautions.  Except in an east facing window, it is desirable to protect a plant from direct sunshine.  If sufficient light is a problem, try adding supplemental light.  Supplemental lighting comes in many forms, but for a plant or two, I have used a clamp-on light, attaching it to a nearby object so the bulb is less than a meter from the leaf.  You should be able to find a plant bulb for this clamp-on fixture.  The fixture can be used to supplement indirect sunlight from a window.  By using a household timer in the circuit, you can vary the light duration with the seasons.  Please let me know if I can be of further help.