Hi everyone. This is my Phal. heiroglyphica x self. I mounted it about a month ago. It has put out a new root and is putting out a new leaf. The question is, in the picture you can see the way the leaf looks discolored. Is this possibly a virus. I have it separated from my other orchids. I hope this is not a virus, don't want to lose this species. Thank you in advance everyone....Mike

It looks funky, but I don't know.

Btw as with other Phal threads I did link this one also to the sticky Phal thread.....

Mike, it is impossible for any of us to tell you for sure if you have a virus in a plant from just a picture. There are virus test kits available if you want to go that route. There are about 25 different viruses that effect orchids and the symptoms may appear different in different genera. Viruses are primarily spread by unsterile pruning tools but can also be spread by insects so be careful. Just looking at that leaf makes me think of nutrient deficiencies. Try adding magnesium to your misting routine.

Jim

Its really hard to say what it is but, on the whole, your plant looks happy. A plant with a virus may not show any outward effects but will be less vigorous. If the leaf continues to turn yellow then fall off, I would say too much water. If the yellow spots start to develop on other leaves, it may be a virus.

A virus wouldn't just show up unless you already have it in your collection. Like people viruses, they are spread by the exchange of bodily fluids - in this case, plant fluids - while repotting, dividing, pruning... Practice good plant hygiene. A lot of times, you will not know a plant has a virus until after it spreads to other plants. Sterilize your clippers between plants, wash your hands a lot, always sterilize used pots, and never reuse potting medium.

I use 90 iso on my pruning tools. We use it at the shop, so it's resdily available. But when it comes to pots I just wash them out. How do you sterilize them.

Thank you everyone. This plant has been isolated from my other orchids. It is the only one with this problem.

Ursula...Thank you for linking this.

Jim...I will go back to using epsom salt in misting and every once in awhile watering. I am on a well and not sure what minerals we have in the water.

Daisy...I sterilize my cutting tools with pure rubbing alcohol and do not do cross cutting on plants without doing that between each one. I sterilize my pots with soaking in bleach and water for a couple of hours or longer and rinsing well and put in the sun to dry. I never reuse media. In fact I bad it up and put it in the trash.
I will also back off the watering and see what happens. It begin mounted I water it everyday, the plant is outside. I will wait and let the moss go completely dry and then water it. But like you said the plant is very health except for this leaf. It has put out a new root and putting out a new leaf in the crown. If it was a virus the plant would be sickly looking.

Ted...I sterilize my pots with bleach and water and scrub them good with a stiff brush. Rinse them with good clean water andput in the sun to dry. That is what I do.

I use a stiff brush to scrub my pots out then soak them in a bleach/water bath for a few days then rinse them out and they are ready to go.
Ted, what is 90iso? I've been just using a bleach/ water mix on my clippers ( because I can't seem to find the industrial strength stuff that we use at the University greenhouse)

Probably isopropyl alcohol, Lindsey. You can get it at the drug store.

I'm sticking with my torch.

Jim

Right Elaine. Icy Purple as we like to call it. 90 to clean certain parts of our printer and 70 to clean substrates before applying graphics. Jim, do you torch pots as well?

No, just pruning tools. I soak pots in a bleach solution before I reuse them.

Jim

You can easily soak your scissors/pruning shears in a 50% solution of bleach too. It is as effective as rubbing/isopropyl alcohol, and probably more effective. Jim would get sterile tools by torching but wiping/soaking is really closer to disinfection than it is to sterilization.

Physan20 works as well, but bleach is a lot cheaper.

I started years ago using blades in a box cutter and then skipped the cutter and just used the blades! One for each Orchid and throw them away. I have on occasion used a bread knife too, it was really clean and went after scrubbing by hand into the dishwasher.

OK, learning time. What ratio of water to bleach are you using and how long do you soak them.

drdawg said:You can easily soak your scissors/pruning shears in a 50% solution of bleach too. It is as effective as rubbing/isopropyl alcohol, and probably more effective. Jim would get sterile tools by torching but wiping/soaking is really closer to disinfection than it is to sterilization.

I never measure, but this sounds about right

Alcohol (full strength) for my tools. I'm allergic to bleach so its scrubbing with 409 and then the dishwasher for my pots.

But Bleach is the AOS recommended method of sterilizing pots.

Though I use a 50-50 ratio of bleach-water, even a 1-5 ratio will still disinfect well.

I believe the current thinking is any bleach solution can be harmful to metal tools because it encourages corrosion. While the disinfecting effect between a bleach solution and iso alcohol is pretty much equal, the alcohol is less harmful to your equipment.

Actually, alcohol is probably less effective. How harmful is heating the tool to (truly) sterilize it, as Jim suggests? Good quality tools will probably stand up to bleach solutions for the users lifetime. Just my opinion.