Orchids are great houseplants because they are beautiful and easy to grow.
However, even the most perfect orchids will run into problems. One common issue is yellowing leaves, with or without brown spots.
When orchid leaves have spots, it typically is connected to a bacterial or fungal infection; fortunately, it is an easy fix.
If you notice orchid leaves yellowing with brown spots, it can either be a fungal infection or overwatering.
The main reason orchid owners notice their orchid’s leaves yellowing and drooping is due to over-watering: the roots get “flooded” with water, which shuts off the air supply to the roots.
As a result of this reduction in air, the roots are unable to take on any water or nutrients in order for the plant to survive.
The leaves will begin to yellow and lose their elasticity, but all you need to do is transplant the orchid and stop overwatering. For most cases, this is enough to take care of the situation.
Possibilities When Orchid Leaves Turn Yellow
There are many occasions when your orchid leaves turn to yellow that it is simply the circle of life, so to say.
It doesn’t mean that anything is wrong with your plants.
To see if your leaves turn yellow, see if the yellowing leaves fall off of the plant. If that happens, that means there are new leaves or possibly even new a flower spike on the way.
Yellowing leaves that fell off the plant are natural; yellowing leaves that stay on the plant are not.
Also, we discussed earlier that if the leaf was yellow or maybe even had brown spots on it that it could either have fungal leaf spot disease or bacterial brown spot disease.
Next, let’s learn more about either one of them.
Fungal Leaf Spot on Orchid Leaves
With fungal leaf spot, the yellowing often begins at the bottom and underside of the leaves.
If it takes you a bit too long to notice the problem and you don’t do anything about it, the spots on the leaves get bigger and turn to brown or black.
When you want to get rid of it, you can start by:
- wiping
- or spraying the leaves with some type of fungicide
Ideally, you should remove all of the severely infected leaves first, and treat the other leaves afterwards.
The thing about fungal leaf spot is both indoor and outdoor plants can suffer with it.
It occurs when fungal spores find a wet, warm surface, adhere to it, and won’t let go. They become comfortable, and then start to multiply.
Before you know it, tiny brown fungal leaf spots start to form. Then if adjacent spots touch, it develops into a huge blotch.
When you face that issue, it’s only a matter of time before that leaf begins to brown and drop off.
The issue is if those leaves drop into the soil, the spores will just wait for another wet, warm surface to then start the issue all over again.
That’s why it is so important to remove the infected leaves as soon as possible.
You don’t want to make it worse, and let the remaining leaves become infected too!
Good Idea: Pull them out of the pot completely to hopefully avoid the problem altogether.
Bacterial Brown Spot on Orchid leaves
With bacterial brown spot disease, the leaves have yellow or brown spots that appear “wet” and moist.
This is not uncommon for people living in hot and humid climates most of the year.
As the disease progresses, yellowing will intensify, and this indicates the plant is under stress.
The solution is simple to make:
- First, cut off all infected sections of the leaves; remove the entire leaf if it is fully infected. And be sure to always use sterile scissors to do this.
- Once all the infected leaves are removed, you can then spray either a fungicide or a broad-spectrum bacterial spray on the leaves, to prevent further infection from taking place.
You may also notice an unpleasant smell to go along with your leaves that are discolored, and that indicates a bacterial infection rather than a fungal infection.
These brown or soft spots often appear in hot and humid situations, comparable to fungal leaf spot disease.
Bacterial brown spot usually starts on the leaf and progresses to a brown spot.
Bacterial brown spot, also known as Erwinia, leads to the brown spot having a dark liquid oozing from it, which causes the odor.
That is why the spots look wet and damp on the surface of the leaf.
Keep this in mind: Once you see this spot on the leaves of your orchid, you generally have about a day or two before the leaves become soft and pretty slimy.
Getting Orchid Diseases Under Control
No matter what kind of disease you have on your plant, there are some things you can do to deal with the situation.
First let us revisit our finding concerning how the cutting instrument should be sterile, and the best is a sterilized razor.
Before considering your next step, you must remove all of the infected foliage.
Then you will want to take your orchid into a new area, preferably that has:
- A lower humidity level
- Temperatures of between 65 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit
- Better air circulation
At this point, you should be spraying your plant with a broad-spectrum fungicide even if you believe it is a bacterial disease. Fungicides are great for preventing secondary infections.
Always follow the directions on the fungicide package word-for-word.
All fungicide brands are slightly different, therefore its directions specific to that particular brand.
Using the fungicide differently is risking the fungicide not having the right effect; this could arguably make the damage to your plant even worse.
Ways to Prevent Orchid Diseases
Of course, it is always wise to prevent these diseases caused by fungi and bacteria instead of treating them, and it is much easier than you think.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when caring for your orchid plants:
- Always water the soil, and not the leaves.
- Leave plenty of space between each of the pots to allow for good air circulation.
- Try to water in the morning, not during the hottest times of the day.
- Orchids shouldn’t need to be watered more than once each week on average.
- Try to prune and trim the plant when it is necessary.
- After you prune, use a 1:10 bleach-water solution to treat the plant.
- Regardless of your orchid care method, be sure to regularly remove all organic debris (dead leaves, etc.).
Conclusion
Orchids are nice plants to have in your home and are easy to care for, but they can have some fungal and bacterial diseases.
If you see yellowing leaves with black or brown spots, your plant is probably under stress.
The good news is that when you can recognize the symptoms of these diseases, they are more manageable.
And before you know it, your orchids will be as pretty and as healthy as you want them to be.