Orchid is an exotic plant that has recently become popular with indoor flower lovers. With a violation of care, the plant quickly loses its attractiveness. Spots of different colors appear on the leaves of the orchid. To solve the problem, you need to know the possible causes of spots and measures to combat them.
The main causes of spots on the leaves
On the orchid, spots on the leaves are a sign that the plant has become infected with pathogenic organisms. The penetration of infection occurs in different ways:
- Perhaps the plant was not transplanted for a long time, the substrate was quail and compacted. Orchid roots lack oxygen, so the plant has weakened.
- There is no drainage at the bottom of the flowerpot, excess moisture accumulates, overmoistening occurs. The roots become wet, rot, and dark spots appear on the leaves. It is necessary to transplant the instance, having previously deleted all infected parts.
- Excessive air dryness can also cause fungal infection.
What's with the orchid
- Orchid is very fond of light, but direct sunlight can cause yellow burns on the leaves. In this case, it is necessary to rearrange the flowerpot to another place.
- Exotic beauty requires a lot of free space. If flowerpots are very close, the flower lacks air. You can’t put a plant near an open window - drafts are contraindicated for it.
Important! You can not often feed a flower. A large number of fertilizers will not bring benefits, but harm.
If you understand what exactly caused the plant to weaken, you can predict the period of restoration and resumption of flowering.
Orchid disease
Types of pigmentation
Experienced gardeners warn that spots appearing on orchid leaves are the first sign that a flower is sick. If you look at the affected cultures, you can see that the spots come in different colors.
Brown spots
Brown or brown spots on the leaves may be dry, wet, greasy. Dry spots indicate high humidity in the room where the orchid grows. The process of spreading dark spots is fast: more and more foci appear, which can be eliminated only by removing damaged fragments of the plant.
Black spots
On the orchid, black dots on the leaves may indicate one of two diseases: chlorosis or late blight. With late blight, the leaves change color twice. First they turn purple and then blacken. The disease occurs due to increased humidity. With chlorosis, blackened leaves curl into tubules and fall off. If you do not respond to the color change of the leaves, the disease will develop, and the plant will die.
Yellow spots
The spots of yellow on the leaves of the orchid can be of a different nature. Small dots are sunburn. Obviously, the flowerpot was in direct sunlight. The spots will disappear if the container with the flower is rearranged in a cooler place. If the yellow spots are small, this is an indicator that a fungal infection has settled on the orchid.
Important! Yellow bulging spots are also dangerous. They gradually increase and push through the leaves.
There are yellow spots on the orchid
Other possible spots
Spots on the leaves of orchids are not only yellow, black or brown, but also other colors.
White spots on the leaves of the orchid indicate that the plant has settled bacteria that cause a disease called powdery mildew. It spreads from the bottom up: after the leaves, the stems are covered with spots, the roots are affected by the last.
Sometimes reddish bright spots appear on the leaves. They can be a sign of different problems. This is how burns from the bright rays of the sun appear. Sometimes bright spots are a sign of illness, for example, anthracnose or brown rot. If an insect infects a scab or a spider mite, the flower can also be covered with similar spots.
Note! If a stain suddenly appears on the leaf plates of the plant (no matter where, above or below), you need to immediately begin to treat the flower. To do this, use chemical preparations or alternative methods.
Need treatment
Causes of Stains
Spotting on the leaves of a plant can occur for various reasons. So viral, bacterial or fungal diseases manifest themselves. Sometimes the reason may be the low air temperature in the place where the flower pot is located. To understand why spots appear on the leaves, you need to know what orchid diseases are.
Bacterial spotting
Spots of a bacterial nature can be of different shades depending on the causative agent of the disease and the variety of flower:
- If there are black spots on the orchid on the leaves, then the plant is affected by bacteria of the genus Bacillus. At first, the color of the spots is yellow or whitish, and they blacken over time.
- If the spots are wet, brown, their appearance is caused by bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas, Erwinia or Burkholderia gladioli.
Exposure to low temperatures
The southern beauty is very capricious, and does not withstand temperatures above 28 ° C. The optimum temperature for its development is 20-25 ° C. The plant can grow at 15 ° C, but then it becomes vulnerable to infection.
With low air temperature and high humidity, spots on the leaves of the flower appear due to damage by brown bacterial rot. At first they are watery, then darken and grow.
Orchid Viral Diseases
Sometimes this flower, like a person, gets a viral infection. The virus can be on the trunk or leaves for a long time, and not manifest itself in any way. As soon as the living conditions of the plant worsen (changes in temperature, humidity, moving to a new place), the virus activates, begins to multiply actively and affects the flowers that are nearby.
Note! An orchid infected with a virus cannot be cured. It has to be thrown away, otherwise the disease will affect all indoor plants.
To prevent a viral infection, indoor flowers need to be periodically treated with fungicides.
Fungal diseases
These diseases include anthracnose (powdery mildew). You can distinguish it by a soft coating of whitish color on the leaves of the plant. Then they dry and fall off. The causes of the onset of the disease are increased humidity and high air temperature.
The development scheme of anthracnose:
- black spots appear on the leaves;
- they grow and cover the entire leaf;
- dents appear.
Important! When watering an orchid, you need to ensure that water does not fall into the axils of the leaves.
How to save an orchid if there are spots on it
Orchid Pests
Due to harmful insects, not only spots appear on the orchid, but also a sticky coating on the leaves. Often insects act as distributors of infectious diseases. The flower pests include: scabies, mealy and root worms, aphids, whiteflies and mushroom mosquitoes.
Shield
The insect settles on the flower trunk or under the leaves, because of which tubercles form on them. So the pest protects its eggs, from which new individuals emerge and sprawl throughout the plant. Parasites suck out the juice, covering the leaf with a sticky coating. This is a wonderful environment for the appearance of soot fungus, which clogs the pores in the tissues of the flower. As a result, the plant acutely feels a lack of oxygen.
You can save an orchid if you clean off all the tubercles and treat it with an insecticidal agent that has a gastrointestinal effect. When used, the plant absorbs poison and becomes poisonous itself. Scale, sucking juice, is poisoned and dies. The dried "plaques" are removed with a toothbrush, and then re-processed.
On the orchid
Hearts
If small mealybugs have settled on the orchid, it is very difficult to remove them. Microscopically, parasites hide in buds, multiply by larvae. The worm entangles the larva with threads, attaching it to the plant so that the hatched individuals can feed. Adult parasites and larvae suck out the juice of the flower. Small spots remain on the leaves. A weakened plant loses its ability to resist disease. You can destroy the pest with an insecticidal agent that penetrates the gastrointestinal tract of parasites.
It is more difficult to treat the plant if the worm has settled on the roots. The root worm is similar to mealy, but smaller in size. It is impossible to see the pest under the soil layer, but its presence can be judged by the leaves that have fallen down, yellow spots on them and the gradual wrinkling of the plates due to lack of nutrition.
Important! For prevention purposes, a dry insecticide can be poured into a pot. During watering, it will dissolve and get to the roots with water.
Aphid
If sticky spots on flowers appear on orchids, this is a sign of aphid damage. The insect multiplies very quickly, feeds on cell sap, so the damaged leaves are sticky. Subsequently, a fungus develops on them. Light green pests merge with the leaves, so at first they may not be noticed. When the leaves begin to curl on the plant, you need to sound the alarm. Fight the pest with the help of chemical insecticides, biological products or folk remedies.
New Pest - Aphids
Whitefly
The appearance of white stains on leaves and stems indicates the appearance of whiteflies, an insect resembling a moth. The pest is very dangerous, as it sucks the juice from the tissues of orchids. If a butterfly flies near a flower, it is necessary to transfer it to a cool place, spray it with poison and wrap it in a bag to create a greenhouse effect.
Mushroom mosquitoes
In early spring, mushroom mosquitoes (sciarids) may appear in flowerpots. This is due to the fact that in the spring, when there is not enough solar heat, the soil dries poorly, it becomes cool in the room. To destroy mosquitoes, it is necessary to dry the soil or replace it with fresh and fill it with sand. Additionally, you need to treat the soil with an insecticide.
Spotted disease prevention
Orchid is a moody beauty. It is better to pay attention to it daily (follow the rules of care, watering, feeding) than then treat it for diseases. Preventive measures will help keep the flower healthy:
- Compliance with the feeding regimen. You need to purchase special fertilizers, on the packaging of which there is a note "For orchids." You can not use universal fertilizers for indoor plants, since they have a lot of nitrogen, which is not suitable for the orchid family.
- Balanced watering. The orchid is hygroscopic, but does not tolerate excessive moisture. It should be watered only when the soil is completely dry (in this case, the flower pot becomes light). In this state, the roots are white. A flowerpot with a plant is placed in a wider vessel, spilled well with water and left for 30 minutes so that the roots are saturated with moisture. For irrigation should take warm water with a low salt content.
- Timely airing of the room. The plant needs good air circulation, but it does not tolerate drafts.
- Enough light. Orchid is a photophilous plant that needs additional illumination in the winter.
- Regular transplantation. You need to do this every two years in the spring. As soil, special soil for orchids is suitable.
It’s time to transplant the flower
Orchid is a plant that can please its beauty for several decades. To prevent stains of different colors from appearing on the leaves, you must follow the rules of care (watering, temperature, lighting) and protect the flower from pests.
