Do Yellowing Leaves Spell Trouble for Your Phalaenopsis Orchid?

There’s no doubt, once you own a Phalaenopsis orchid, a special attachment develops with the plant. Who among us has not found ourselves on the hunt for another Phalaenopsis orchid to add to the collection of orchids that we already have? Phalaenopsis orchids are like chips…you can’t have just one!

Locate the Yellowing Leaves

Everything can be fine with your beautiful orchid and in the blink of an eye you may notice that the leaves on the once healthy plant are beginning to yellow. Once any yellowing is discovered, it is time to kick into high detective mode to figure out if there is a problem with the plant. If you discover the yellowing leaf is located on the bottom of the plant, don’t worry. This is a natural process of the plant to discard the mature leaf in order to produce a new leaf. However, if multiple leaves are turning yellow or top leaves are yellow, you’re plant may be sick.

Isolate the Sick Plant

The first step is to isolate the plant away from any other orchids that you may have to ensure that they do not become ill as well. Here are some steps to take to try to determine the problem:

Check the Amount of Receiving Light

Just as a person can suffer from sunburn, so can a Phalaenopsis orchid. Yellowing of leaves on a Phalaenopsis orchid can be a result of the orchid plant being placed in direct sunlight. Phalaenopsis orchids need plenty of good light, but direct sunlight will quickly burn the leaves as well as the entire plant.  Orchids should only receive indirect sunlight at all times.

Ensure Accurate Watering Amount

Overwatering a Phalaenopsis orchid is another reason that the leaves on the orchid plant will yellow. When over watering occurs, you should suspect that root rot is the reason that the orchid plant is suffering from yellowing leaves. To avoid overwatering, we recommend watering your Phalaenopsis orchid with three ice cubes once a week so that the roots will soak up water slowly.

You will find many more helpful tips and special care information that will help you avoid orchid problems on some of our other blog posts.