Help! think i sunburnt the leaf!

[wildorchid]

Hi guys new to forum and new to orchids.
well not completly new, my mother has orchids and i love these plants.

anyway. I bought myself a Phalaenopsis. It finished blooming 3 months ago, and as guided by the flowershop lady i cut the stalk. that wasnt the problem. I accidently left the curtain open on a very very sunny day, and i saw that a portion of the leaf is burnt! the portion is located somewhat in the middle, and only a small part of it.

it didnt look that bad at first, kinda yellowish at first, but after 2 days it turned yellow, and the whole leaf kinda wilted. now a week after, the rest of the leaf that wasnt burnt is olive green and plump again, however, that middle part is still burnt, now of yellow to brown color and sort of wilted. I was wondering what should i do?

will it change color to its green again? or will it cause the whole leaf to die?

as of now, the plant has 4 leaf, and one leaf thats growing currently at 2 inches long. there is also a leaf below the burnt leaf thats wilting, its more yellow than green. but that one started to wilt when the flowers stopped blooming. what should i do about that?

any help is welcome. thanks

[Diane]

Losing the bottom leaf after the plant finishes blooming is normal. The sunburned spot will not turn green again, depending on how bad the burn is, it could eventually cause the leaf to die beyond the burn. but I would wait and see how the plant does. If the leaf starts to wilt completely, I would remove the leaf.

[wildorchid]

oh no!
are you serious.
i wont have any leaf left

[orchidaddict789]

It's okay to lose a bottom leaf, as said above, and the burned leaf might or might not wilt completely. You said the plant has 4 leaves and a new 2-inch long leaf...so if you lose two leaves there'll still be some left. I've heard a phal having less than 4 leaves may be stressed, so raising the humidity can help (by setting the pot on a tray of pebbles filled with water, making sure the pot doesn't touch the water itself). I'm sure your phal will start growing new leaves and will be okay .

[wildorchid]

the other leaf oppoiste the burnt leaf has the same but smaller.
if that dies too. i will only have 2 leaf left and it would look funny
cuz the bottom leaf yellowing is at the same side with the leaf with the major sunburn. then the new leaf is growing on top of that. the other leaf with the minor sunburn is at the opposite side. and oncloser inspection, the burnt is close to the stem. i hope it recovers... stupid me!

[bench72]

Hi Wildorchid,

First off, Welcome to the forum! I'm sure you will find the natives here pleasant and helpful.

As for the Phalenopsis, Lily and Diane are quite right... and remember that humidity is good but overwatering is bad! So don't fall in the trap that I did when I was starting of extra watering thinking that would plump up the burnt leaves.

Good luck with your new plant.

Cheers
tim

[wildorchid]

Ok guys thanks for the help.

I think I kinda accepted the fate of my orchid.it would be maimed for awhile.

Now with the yellow leaf. should i cut that off or should I just wait till it drops off. looks really yukie! its starting shrivel abit.

the other two sunbrunt leaf i guess its best to wait and see.
I was trying to determine the color. its not brown at all. more off yellowish, but kinda dried and flat, and wrinkly (here again with the denial) lol

here is a pic of what i'm talking about. maybe i should have done this with my first post.

[Diane]

Cut the yellow leaf off. As it's dead, and it rots, it might have a bad impact on the leaf above or the body of the plant. Sorry about the sunburn, we've all done it sometime.

[orchidaddict789]

That new leaf looks great! Phals can put out 1-2 leaves per growing season (a year) so it won't look maimed for too long. Good luck with the phal!

[wildorchid]

ok cool will do that. I've been checking this thread every two hours for your reply. thanks all you people!

My wife makes fun of me cuz i killed the bonsai, and was almost succesfull in keeping this orchid nice and healthy except for this accident, she says I'm only good at keeping mini roses and goldfishes alive lol

thanks again