#orchids Any Orchid lovers here know what I'm doing wrong with this plant? Every time it sprouts new growth it gets about this far and then the leaves start to turn brown. the leaf on the left is totally brown while the one on the right gets has sort of a brown tint that spreads until the entire leaf dies.
@ibid when was the last time you changed the dirt inside the pot?
@Jezibaba Probably a around 2 years ago. It's a mixture of fine bark and large vermiculite. they are in a clear slotted orchid pot so I can see the media and it looks pretty good. The last couple of years has been a personal hell, so the watering was a little too sporadic earlier. I think I've got a handle on that now but the same thing is happening again.
@Jezibaba The strange thing is they don't go yellow. they get an overall brownish tint (for awhile I thought it was almost purple) which then spreads until the leaf dies. I've managed to kill orchids in a lot of ways, but this one is new. I'm currently messing with light levels but it's hard telling which way to go.
@ibid that's new to me, let me see what I can find
@ibid mine started to yellow in the beginning of the spring. She's bounced back, the yellow leaves have died back and now she's about to bloom.
@Jezibaba I have some phalaenopsis too. They managed to get too much light. I moved things around so I could start garden plants forgot that those reddish grow lights are brighter to the plants than they appear to humans.
@ibid perhaps a bacterial or fungal infection. I've started using physon20 every other week, it's not systemic and many growers would recommend that, but we raise bees, so we can't
@FLTall Any idea if neem oil is compatible with orchids? I use that on my garden plants since I try to avoid the nastier stuff whenever possible,
@ibid I've used neem oil a few times on my orchids, followed the AOS recommendations of 4 teaspoons neem oil, 2 teaspoons plant safe soap, to one gallon water. Early morning/late afternoon spraying to avoid any sun exposure damage.
@ibid I’ve had that happen a lot too. Still trying to get it right. I boosted your post because I know there are some great #orchid growers on here.
#orchids