Does my Vanda have a virus?

[Susie11]

I have had untold problems with this Vanda coerulea. I love it to death but it is one problem after the other. Problem number four is this, these strange spots appearing on the leaf. I got one on the main leaf a short time ago but I cut it off and dusted with cinnamon. I thought that it must be OK since I have not had it re appear but the other day I noticed that the dark brown mark was back with a vengence and that it has also started to affect the opposite leaf too!

Is my Vanda ready for the compost pile?

First leaf that it appeared on


Next leaf that it has started to show up on

[Halloamey]

Not yet Susie, it is not a virus infection, the leaves must be staying wet for a long time causing, bacterial or fungal rots. It is also possible it might be staying a bit too cold.

[Susie11]

Great! Thanks for the quick info. It probably is being kept too cold. I have it under a warm a daylight bulb for the day but at night the temps do drop to whatever it is outside. Should I just keep cutting them off when they appear?

[coeruleo]

the coerulea is a himalayan orchid, so it can take some cold, not freezing though. we can grow them outside in southern california year round. my lows get to the mid 40's fahrenheit. i bought one finally last winter, in february i think. i will be leaving mine outside this winter. over the summer, i got some spots like this, one each on 2 leaves. i suspect they are from sunburn, as the trellis and shade cloth set up i have still allows a bit of sun through at certain times of the day. now i have moved it to a spot that does not get sun in the middle of the day and it is not getting any more spots. i am careful to not spray the plant leaves so much, but i do mist almost every morning. here it is very dry, so i have had no fungus problems. do you think your spots could be sun spots?

[Susie11]

the coerulea is a himalayan orchid, so it can take some cold, not freezing though. we can grow them outside in southern california year round. my lows get to the mid 40's fahrenheit. i bought one finally last winter, in february i think. i will be leaving mine outside this winter. over the summer, i got some spots like this, one each on 2 leaves. i suspect they are from sunburn, as the trellis and shade cloth set up i have still allows a bit of sun through at certain times of the day. now i have moved it to a spot that does not get sun in the middle of the day and it is not getting any more spots. i am careful to not spray the plant leaves so much, but i do mist almost every morning. here it is very dry, so i have had no fungus problems. do you think your spots could be sun spots?

Hi Coeruleo. Well it is underneath a daylight grow lamp which does get hot but it is not too hot. I did actually mist the other day now that I think about it and maybe that is where they have come from... I don't know. I suppose that as long as it isn't a virus then I can worry less. I shall keep an eye on them and see if they develop any more. Hopefully they won't!

[coeruleo]

yeah, as long as they are not spreading, if they do definitely cut them off before they reach the stem or crown of the plant. some people use preventative spraying of fungicidals etc when they live in damp weather places. but blemishes are common, so i would not panic.

[Susie11]

Great thanks for that Coeruleo. I shall just wait and see then.

[OrchidAddict]

Susie, I'm 99% sure that's sunburn (or light burn in your case...LOL). The yellowing on the outside of the leaves is a telltale sign of oversunning, and the black on the other side is what happens to the yellow when the plant isn't moved in time.

Coeruleas seem to be extremely sensitive to light...much more so than any other vandaceous orchids I've encountered so far. My Vanda coerulea is with some phalaenopsis plants right now, because when it was any closer to the window it started turning a very light shade of green. Mine is in spike, and the last thing I wanted to do was have the spike blast by baking the plant. So I've been extremely conservative with the amount of light mine is getting. It really is hardly getting any direct sun at all...and the sun it does get is from a window that's a fair distance away from the plant, and the direct sun only lasts for maybe half an hour each day. The plant is loving this arrangement, and the spike is growing, so I figure I'll leave it on my phal table! (Although it seems kind of silly to be putting a vanda with the phals).

If you back off the light, I'm certain your problem will go away. Just keep in mind that sunburn can spread, and it can take up to a week or more for the full extent of the damage to show, so even if you move it away from the light today, it may continue to look worse in the upcoming days.

I would wait for the full extent of the damage to show before you remove any parts. If you move it back from the light today, within a week or so you should see the damage stopping. Then you can remove the worst bits and your plant will bounce back. Good luck! I hope your plant rewards you with some gorgeous blooms soon!

[Susie11]

Thanks for the advice. It is hard to know how much light these things need. I was told that it wasn't growing due to low light levels so I put it under the grow lights now it seems to be too bright! Oh well, I'll figure it out.
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[OrchidAddict]

Thanks for the advice. It is hard to know how much light these things need. I was told that it wasn't growing due to low light levels so I put it under the grow lights now it seems to be too bright! Oh well, I'll figure it out.
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Just out of curiosity, do you fertilize your coerulea regularly? Vandas are heavy feeders. I fertilize mine daily...I drop a couple of crystals of water-soluble orchid fertilizer in each vase before I fill them up with water. The plants soak up the fertilizer as they sit in the water during the hottest part of the day. I empty the water out in the afternoon after the sun has hit its peak.

I started seeing a HUGE difference in the rate of growth of my plants once I started dropping a couple of crystals of fertilizer in there each day. Before I started fertilizing, they just sort of sat there doing nothing. I'm wondering if your coerulea wasn't growing because it wasn't getting enough nutrients? Just something to think about.

Either way, grow lights are always beneficial...in this case, though, I think the plant is just too close to the light.

I hope it perks up when you move it away from the light a little! These are so stunning when they bloom...I'm watching my spike like a kid waiting for Christmas morning!