When I started collecting orchids I in 1996, bought a D speciosum. It went for the then unheard of price of $50 for a 4 to 5 cane smallish plant. The seller convinced me it was worth it. 4 years later, on Jan 1 2,000, it was trying to burst its pot. As I attempted to repot it I could not get it out. I gave myself a nice cut trying to slice away the old pot. I vowed to never have to repot that SOB again and mounted it on a large root stump. This led to me switching almost my entire collection to mounted plants. No more deteriorating bark, no more mountains of old bark, no more repotting bench, no more worry about over watering. I'm convinced that growing these plants bare root, as they grow in nature, is the easiest and best way to grow them. That D speciosum started me on that journey. It turned out to be a D speciosum var grandiflorum which was not know to me at the time of purchase when I knew nothing about these plants. Grandi is the biggest of them all, this thing now has 32 canes 24"to 26" long with 14" to 16" leaves to boot. Its horizontal wingspan is 5 1/2 feet, its 5 feet tall. I can barely lift it. When it blooms on 14" to 16" flower spikes with 50 to 75 fragrant flowers each, it puts on a spectacular display. The number of spikes varies as it has off years but 2 years ago it had 18 spikes. The beauty of this is that it requires no care other than watering and fertilizing. Can you imagine the hassle of maintaining this thing in a pot with bark? 'Gorgeous George' is a member of the family and it will stay with me for the rest of the trip. If it gets much bigger, they can bury me in it. Every time I take it to a our spring show I get huge offers for it but I'd sooner eat dog food for a month than part with it. Even though I have since acquired named, awarded, famous speciosums like 'Daylight Moon' FCC, 'Windermere' HCC and 'Yondi Tina Goliath' FCC, 'Big G' is the one I would keep. Nick

Well, they sure are pretty blooms! I'll be happy for cooler weather too! They are saying we have a big chance of rain today and tonight here in Georgia. This lack of rain for the last couple of years has been hard. Thanks for sharing what you DO have! April

Nina, I am so sorry to hear about your tree. Must of really bummed you out. Hopefully you will plant another or find some kind of pole or wooden structure to build, even an arbor and hang many from that...If I lived there, I would allow vines with strong support to grow up that would partially cover the plants so as not to burn...)

Thank you for getting back. I agree with the above statements. I am not certain it is fungal/bacteria but you could try a systemic fungicide, wait for new leaves to develop to see if they develop the same spots. There is a Phal virus which presents in a similar pattern. I would keep your plant separated from your other orchids and treat it with a systemic fungicide. When new leaves develop and if they show the same spots, I would personally discard the plant. Hopefully it is fungal. Jane