WOW! Today I bought my first orchid thinking how cool it would be to have one. It was droopy and in bad shape, but I paid $1 for it at a rummage sale so my expiations were not high. Some quick research, repotting and a little bit of water and sun and the top leaves have perked up. The second tier is looking a little better, but not perky yet. Then after dinner my husband and I were talking about it and, well, just staring at it when he pointed out to me several bumps all over the underside of the leaves and along the main stem in a few spots. The bottom tier of leaves has many more bumps on it then the top tier. I hadn't noticed these before and am now freaked out. They are very small... maybe the size of the tip of an ink pen,brownish and rounded. I gently scratched one off and it was firm and kind of whitish on the underside. He thinks that are some kind of bug cocoons and I don't know what to think. I would love to post pictures, but I don't have a digital camera at my disposal right now. Does anyone know what the bumps might be and what I need to do? Thank-you!
Might be scale, if there are sticky drips from it. I'd pick off as much as you can, spray it with water. Get some neem oil from a garden shop. Dilute according to directions and spray all over, particularly the undersides and stems. You may have to repeat this over several weeks for scale is tough to eradicate, in my experience. Keep the plant away from any other houseplants for a while. Good luck!
Sounds like a dreaded scale insect infestation. I employ the Q-tip-soaked in rubbing alcohol technique: remove the pests one by one. Time-consuming and must usually be done more than once. I agree with marjaleena's advice, too. Spray will reach where a Q-tip can't. Do both. Congrats to you on your first orchid! Warning...it will probably not be the last! I started with a phal about 20 yrs. ago (still blooms for me) and now have 25 of various kinds around the house. Orchids are amazing, beautiful, tough plants. Good botanical luck to you! And if you get ahold of a camera, post a picture---and let us know how your orchid grows.
Thank-you for the advise. I will try the q-tip and spray w/ rubbing alcohol. I might be able to use my in-laws camera this afternoon to get a picture. Will post it if I do!! Thanks again. P.S. After I first saw this forum I figured I was headed for an addiction. LOL! And I am already thinking about getting anther 1 now!!
Neem oil in the spray; alcohol on the Q-tip. And there are so many kinds of orchids...I especially enjoy finding one on the mark-down shelf at my local nursery, tending it and watching it grow...and then beholding it bloom! ---Try to adopt plants that have a variety marker in the pot: if you know what you've got you can give the plant more exactly what it needs. Have fun!!!
If you're thinking of another orchid or three, check out Ecuagenera - they're very reasonable and their orchids are guaranteed healthy.
Ok... I have pictures of the bumps and the the plant itself. Hope this works! YEAH!! It worked!! I am also wondering if I should cut off the leaf in the 3ed picture. It doesn't look so good.
Congratulations on identifying your problem (and getting into orchids). You will have to be diligent for quite some time in removing a scale infestation, I'm not familiar with the life cycle of these bugs but generally you have remove and kill each successive wave of hatchlings before they reproduce. Also look down in the leaf axils where little critters like to hide. I generally don't like to remove dying leaves from my orchids until the plant has finished with it, at which point it is completely yellow and will fall off without tearing or damaging the plant (exceptions would be when the leaf is infected or wet looking -remove asap). A little advice from someone who has gone a bit overboard with his addiction to orchids. Research your growing conditions and which orchids will do best in those condtions (that are most appealing to you, of course). Also, buy healthy blooming sized plants from reputable vendors whenever possible. I've got alot of non-flowering seedlings and orchids that aren't really thriving in my collection because my conditions aren't really suited to them. Good luck (and welcome to one of the most benign addictions around) Shaun
Yeah, I would clip off that leaf. Otherwise, though, looks as if you got a not-bad-at-all phal...especially for a DOLLAR! What a deal! I find that my orchidophilia is reined in by my space limitations. But still...if I saw a good deal on a Paphiopedilum rothschildianum, or one of the warty, hairy, dark-purple paphs for which I have a weakness...look out!
