All About Orchid Leaves

Indoor plants, which are correctly "inscribed" into the interior of a house or apartment, are an excellent decorative element of a room. We can say that potted flowers play several important roles: in fact, they produce oxygen and allow you to feel the comfort of a home environment. Orchids are rightfully considered one of the most beautiful indoor plants.

Despite all their beauty, these flowers rarely become guests of city windowsills. The thing is that the South American beauty is very capricious to the environmental conditions. And the most susceptible to ailments are its leaves, without which the flower itself simply cannot exist.

First of all, you need to understand how absolutely normal orchid leaves should look like. The main signs of healthy indoor flower leaves are as follows.

• Same shape and color... Most often, only a couple of large leaves are present on the trunk of this tropical inhabitant. But even if there are many of them, it is not allowed that they differ from each other in shape and shades.
• Density... Healthy leaves should be elastic, like a rubber ball. In addition, they should be quite thick and not wobble in a draft.
• Without damage. Any healthy indoor plant has no dents, rot, or warts on its foliage. In the event that a dent remains on the leaf plate from a light touch, if any insects are visible on the plant, the diseased leaf is subject to immediate treatment.
• Uniform color. The ideal color for orchid leaves is a deep dark green hue. A change in color often indicates improper conditions for keeping a flower or its depletion.

The last point is especially important, since you can always check the density, shape and integrity of the leaves in advance, but the shade of the leaves can change after the purchase. Depending on how exactly he changed, you can find out what actually went wrong.

• Yellow. Such shades on green leaves mean that the plant is overdried or poisoned with an excess of minerals.
• Purple. With this shade, the plant signals an excessive amount of ultraviolet radiation and even a thermal burn.
• Red-brown... Interspersed means an excess of light, because flowers in a dense jungle are often in the shade of other, taller plants and are accustomed to diffused light.
• Dark brown. Blackish spots and stripes signal an infectious disease and the beginning of the process of decay of leaf tissues.

Such close attention to this particular part of the unusual flower is explained quite simply. The orchid is an epiphytic plant. It is thanks to the large fleshy leaves that almost all internal processes take place. And the roots of the plant play a minor role. In their natural environment, epiphytes use tree trunks to access light, literally climbing up them.

Orchid leaves allow monitor and maintain its overall water balanceabsorbing and evaporating moisture from the air. Also, leaf tissues serve as a kind of reservoir for the storage and storage of liquid in cases of short-term periods of drought.Orchid leaves, like other plants, actively participate in the respiratory process through photosynthesis, receiving carbon dioxide and sunlight, then releasing oxygen.

The glossy dark green surface of large foliage is the main indicator of not only the health, but also the beauty of an indoor orchid. Unfortunately, not every amateur gardener can boast of the shiny surface of the plant. No sun glare on the leaves does not yet speak of health problems of the orchid. Perhaps this effect is associated with the climatic conditions of a particular region or season. Therefore, in order to create such a shine for a more beautiful flower, you can use special polish.

A similar tool is made from natural ingredients and oils, so it is completely harmless. Applied to the surface of the leaf, it creates a thin film, which additionally makes the plant more resistant to drying out and invasion of pathogens. It does not interfere with gas and water exchange, while allowing you to get beautiful glare in the light. Before using the product for the first time, you must carefully study the instructions and adhere to a few simple rules.

• Apply polish is possible only if the pot with a room beauty is not installed in a place accessible to direct sunlight. Otherwise, the risk is too great that the tissues under the transparent film will receive severe chemical burns.
• Apply composition possible only on clean and dry leaves. Any dirt that gets under the film will contribute to orchid disease. In this case, only the outer surface of the sheet is covered, leaving its lower part intact.
• Not worth touching soft young leaves. Often on the net you can see comments full of regret that after polishing the orchid threw off the foliage and died on its own. The main mistake was that the growers processed too young growing orchid shoots. Shine products can only be applied to large, leathery leaves that have already become quite tough. And so that the sheet does not break during the procedure, it must be gently held with an open palm from below.

Plant diseases have a fungal, viral, or bacterial cause... In addition, the orchid may experience discomfort due to inappropriate conditions or insect attacks. They manifest themselves in completely different ways, for example, in the form of plaque or spots. For each of them, there are appropriate methods of struggle.

Anthracnose is fungal disease, which attacks exactly the leaves of plants. If appear small brown dots with a clear round shape, which means that the orchid is in the early stages of the disease. Over time, these points increase and grow, connecting with each other. Large parts of the leaf turn black and fall through, and if a white or yellowish bloom appears at the place of the dips, then the plant is almost impossible to cure.

The causes of anthracnose are excessive air humidity and water stagnation in the leaf axil. It is necessary to start treating the plant in the early stages, it is then that its effectiveness is highest. First, it is necessary to cut off areas with lesions, and cut the sections with charcoal or ash.Treat the rest of the orchid with preparations with a high copper content, repeating the procedure three times a month.

Phalaenopsis orchids are the most susceptible to this disease. In the early stages, their leaves begin turn yellow around the edges, and then the yellow color is replaced by dark spots. The areas crack in the middle, soften and accumulate fluid in the sores. Mottling is caused by excessive sunlight and improper watering.

If the disease was detected at an early stage, a simple local effect is sufficient. Dark spots are neatly cut with sharp scalpel or knife, and the cut site is treated with charcoal or iodine. If the disease has gone too deep, and the lobar is already damaged, then, in addition to the above methods, it is worth purchasing special preparations for processing orchids. After processing, you should wait 10 days: if the spots have not reappeared, then the plant is completely healthy.

If orchid leaves wrinkled and changed their shape, this can mean like the usual result of mechanical shockand severe hypothermia of the flower. Another reason for the deformation may be the high nitrogen content in the mineral fertilizers used to feed the orchid. In case of hypothermia, it is enough to return the flower pot to the warmth, and in case of excess nitrogen, change the feeding.

If the leaves appear whitish droplets of thick liquidresin-like or dense white bloom, which means the orchid has been attacked by a mold colony. The areas covered with dew and bloom dry up and die off over time. Mold is caused by high humidity and excessive temperatures. Therefore, when the first drops are found, it is worth immediately changing the care of the flower and purchasing special preparations for processing ("Skor", "Topsin", colloidal sulfur).

It is a fungus that primarily infects leaves. It is difficult to spot early on as it develops on the back of the leaf. At first, small light spots are formed on it, which are quickly replaced small reddish growths... It is in them that the spores of the fungus multiply and grow. In the last stages of the disease, small bumps become visible already from the front side.

As a treatment, you can use the same drugs as for treatment with powdery mildew or Mikosan and Ridomil. Before processing, you will have to remove all damaged areas and treat the sections well with a 20% alcohol solution.

Another fungal disease that often occurs in orchids after an insect attack. The fungus develops and grows in the stomata, forming black spots all over the leaf... The flower quickly weakens and dies if it is not timely treated with drugs and the damaged areas are not cut off.

Despite the fact that the orchid is a plant, it is also susceptible to viral diseases. It could be tobacco mosaic, cymbidium mosaic or, for example, tricholopilia... The most unpleasant thing about these viruses is that they do not appear externally for a very long time. An orchid can slightly change the shade of the leaves or their shape, but until things go too far, the owner of the flower may not pay attention to this.

You can infect a flower during processing from other diseases or with a sharp change in temperature and climate. If a similar disease is found, then, unfortunately, you will have to immediately isolate and destroy the plant before it infects the rest of the flowers. This is due to the fact that the virus is spreading rapidly, and an effective treatment has not yet been invented.

Another important cause of orchid disease is the attacks of various insects that parasitize its parts. If leaves curl around the edges, they show strange growths or holes, then there is a high probability that aphids, nematodes or thrips have appeared on the orchid. Also, these tropical flowers often suffer from tick or scabbard infestations.

As soon as there are suspicions that the plant has been attacked by pests, it is necessary to immediately isolate it from the rest.... In some cases, it is possible to be limited to the usual removal of insects by hand or with the help of water and a rag. To simplify the procedure, you can simply place the flower completely in the water along with the pot. In cases where this method does not work, you will have to purchase special chemicals (Aktara, Tanrek, Vertimek) or use traditional medicine recipes (soap solution, infusion of tobacco leaves or onions).

There are several basic rules for caring for orchids that significantly reduce the risk of disease..

• The soil. For orchids, a special substrate is needed, consisting mostly of tree bark.
• Watering. Most often, tropical flowers die due to stagnant moisture in the soil or too frequent watering. They need to be watered once every 2-3 weeks with warm water on the roots. An hour after the procedure, the water that the flower has not absorbed must be drained.
• Lighting. Orchids, accustomed to the southern sun, require sunlight for at least 10-15 hours a day. At the same time, it must be scattered, otherwise soft fleshy leaves can get burned from excess ultraviolet radiation. If the windows of the apartment face the shady side, you will have to organize additional lighting not only in winter, but throughout the rest of the year.
• Air humidity and air circulation. In the tropics, the humidity of the air is increased, and the orchid, like the rest of the epiphytes, receives the main amount of moisture from it. When the air humidity is less than 50%, the plants purchased in the store simply dry out and wither. In addition, so that the leaves do not overheat from the backlight, it is necessary to constantly cool the leaves by circulating moist cool air. At the same time, it is important that the young and tender shoots of the orchid do not freeze from the draft.
• Top dressing. During the flowering period, the plant especially needs active feeding. In this case, the concentration of fertilizer in the solution should be quite low.

For information on how to save orchid leaves from yellowness, see the video below.