Question
QUESTION: I bought my girlfriend a phanea orchid for v-day. It's been in the apartment
with indirect light, as we were instructed. Well, today we came home to find
that the new buds had wilted and two of the leaves had turned purple and
had fallen off. When we picked up the leaves A LOT of water came out of
them. The only thing we'd done to it was give it a little water after a week.
What's going on? I'm really worried about it. We live in new york and I read on
someone's orchid page that this might be a fungus.

ANSWER: Hello Adam,

It might be a fungus problem but it also might be a bacterial infection.  If there is an area or spot on the leaves that are somewhat soft but the surrounding tissue is still solid or firm, it could be a bacterial infection.  If it is, this could be fatal for the phalaenopsis if the watery sap got on the remaining healthy leaves, thus infecting them too.  For a leaf to suddenly turn purple is highly unusual, it usually is a gradual color change if the phalaenopsis is placed in too much direct sunlight.  

Can you write back with a bit more information about where and how it is growing along with the condition of the plant itself and I may be able to pinpoint the problem a little better.  Since it is a v-day orchid, I'm sure you want it to survive and live a long life and hopefully I can help it do that.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.



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

QUESTION: Thanks, Jim. Since I wrote you the plant got worse. I had also posted a few pictures on an orchid board and was told by some growers that it was black rot (Crown rot? not sure if I'm getting the terminology right). Anyway, I took this information to the vendor and he agreed to give me another plant (It was not easy to convince him. I showed him the plant, but he seemed to know nothing about them. Just a seller).

Anyway, I my follow up question is this: What should I do when I get this new plant home to ensure that it isn't sick as well, or that it doesn't get sick? I had kept the other one on a shelf facing a North window - not on the windowsill but close to it. It's potted in a ceramic pot with moss. I've heard that sometimes it is good after the first few days in the home to repot because the you can check the roots. Should I do this?

Answer
Hello again Adam,

First, I would like to apologize for taking so long to write back to you.  I thought I had sent a reply almost as soon as I saw your folloup question but I may not have clicked on the Send button after finishing.  Since then, I had gone on vacation and when I returned I noticed a message stating I had not answered you yet.  Can I blame it on a senior moment?  (grin)  

I would be cautious about keeping it in the ceramic pot with moss potting media.  The main reason is most ceramic pots do not have drainage holes in the bottom and thus any excess water stays in it for a very long time.  Also, to compound the problem, the potting media is moss which tends to hold quite a bit of water over a long time.  Two bads do not make one good in this case.  I hope it is not too late and all of the roots have drowned and died.  You can try pulling it out of the pot to check on the condition of the roots, hopefully most of them are still firm and alive.  

You can repot it into a more open potting media if you wish.  Look for an orchid potting media at your local garden center, one that is recommended for phalaenopsis and cattleya.  Also get a small plastic pot to repot into.  Unpot the phal. and remove as much of the moss as you can and also remove any soft mushy roots.  Place a little media in the pot and lower the phal. into it and while keeping it in the center of the pot, fill in around it with more media.  When done, the bottom leaf should be just barely above the media.  

The north window location is fine as long as temperatures are between 60F to 85F, humidity is above 50% and there is some light air movement.  Water when the media becomes almost dry.  It helps if you feed it a little balance type orchid fertilizer once in a while to help it grow.  

Again, I apologize for my mistake.  Hope this helped.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.