Question
QUESTION: Hi Jim,
   I just received a cymbidium that my friend purchased online and had shipped to me from Hawaii.  When it arrived yesterday one pseudobulb was a bit shriveled and has a horizontal white line across it.  Above the line is lighter green and below is darker green.  Then today I came home from work and it had dark spots all over it.  The other pseudobulb is fine and leaves are fine.  Is you have any advice, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Hedrick

ANSWER: Hi Hedrick,

I'm afraid I am at a loss to determine what it is on your cymbidium bulbs.  At first I thought it could be a fungus but it is highly unusual for fungus to grow and spread so quickly.  

If you could take a photo of it and post it on a web photo service and send the link to me, I might be able to determine what it is.  

Sorry I could not be of help at this time.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jim,
   I thought I might have problems conveying the problem accurately without pictures so I posted the same question with pictures on orchidboard.com.  Here's the page where the pictures can be found.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community/pests-diseases/14509-darks-spots-my-cymbidi

Thanks,
Hedrick

Answer
Hi Hedrick,

Thanks for the link, photos really do help with trying to figure out what the problem might be.  

From both photos, the markings do not appear to be due to a fungus or virus but rather like it may have received some very rough handling during shipping or dividing and repotting.  Other than the ugly markings, they look to be okay but keep you eye on it to make sure nothing worse appears.  

I forgot to say in my first response that it is not unusual for cymbidium bulbs to be slightly shriveled looking.  What you do not want to see is the bulbs turning brown (bacterial infection) or totally shriveling due to a total lack of water.  The white horizontal line around the bulb is where a leaf had been attached.  

By the way, I used to be on Orchid Board many years ago.  Life got too busy and complicated so I stopped visiting it regularly.  Wonder if my user name and password is still okay.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.