Orchid Culture - Questions & Answers from This Month
by Sue Bottom, from the St. Augustine Orchid Society Newsletter. Email us with any orchid question. If we can't answer it, we'll find someone who can! Send photographs too!
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Blotches on Cattleya Leaf
Q. This is my Rlc. Volcano Spring with blotches on a single leaf. Any thoughts on this disease and recommended treatment?A. That looks like a cercosporoid infection, from one of the leaf spotting fungi. The typical recommendation is to spray with thiophanate methyl, such as in Thiomyl or Banrot. Unfortunately, the fungicide won't cure the infection, just help prevent unaffected leaves from becoming infected. You'll have to decide whether you want to remove the infected leaf, which undoubtedly contains spores that have the potential to spread the disease. (May-24)
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Rlc. Golf Green 'Hair Pig' Unruly Flower
Q. I've had a mature Rlc. Golf Green 'Hair Pig' acquired through Odoms several years ago, which has consistently bloomed, but the flowers present themselves dismally, e.g., bent, upside down, and twisted. I gave it several years, but it has never improved. This photo was taken in 2021 but doesn't convey the problem as the flower was wired in place. I hate to send it to the compost, but what does one do with a plant such as this?A. The problem is the long pedicel Golf Green inherits from its digbyana parent. The only way I know to overcome it is to stake it early in the process, and you might have to be creative with your staking. It's a beautiful flower when it is presented like you had it in 2021! (May-24)
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Coconut Orchid Pseudobulbs Wrinkled
Q. I saw my friend's coconut orchid and her pseudobulbs are nice and plump. My pseudobulbs are wrinkled. What can I do? It is outside and gets lots of indirect sunlight.A. That plant looks dehydrated. The two most likely causes are either it's not being watered frequently enough or the roots have rotted so it can't take up the water it is being given. Try to pick up the plant by the vegetation and see if it's wobbly in the pot. If it is, the roots aren't healthy. This orchid also has a tendency to grow up and out, so it responds really well to being grown in a basket. See if you can find a 6 or 8 inch basket for it, and pot it up. You can bring it to the repotting clinic and we'll help you with it. (May-24)