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cutting off leaves

10 years ago

As an avid gardener outdoors as well as inside with my 'chids, I often resort to removing foliage from plants with fungal issues or other problems. Just wondering: does an orchid get stimulated to produce new leaves if you cut off ones that are just too ugly to look at? (Pleated, spotted, etc.) Or is it best to leave leaves until they fall off on their own?

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Comments (5)

terpguy
10 years ago
I know this is true for many plants, but for orchids the answer is most likely no. This would be because of their naturally slow growth. Phals grow maybe one or two leaves per year. It's unrealistic to think that cutting off a leaf would cause that growth rate to increase 50% (instead of 2 leafs in one year, growt three). It may negatively affect overall plant vigor in general for a short growth cycle (ie next leaf is smaller) but not necessarily stimulate the growth of a leaf. But as an infected plant it's vigor is affected anyways.

Think about sympodial growth (plants with pbulbs). In order to get a new leaf you need to have a new growth.

Depending on the nature of the infection (key phrase there!) I'm generally in the camp of let the leaf fall off naturally so the nutrients can cycle. But again, depends on the fungus and the situation in general.

This post was edited by terpguy on Sat, Nov 16, 13 at 22:14
terpguy
10 years ago
Keep in mind too that growth tends to be stimulated more with the severance of an active meristem. Read: pruning. That's why dividing a sympodial orchid is able to stimulate new eyes. Monopodial orchids, think crown rot that destroys the apical meristem. You get a basal keiki as a result.

There's a lot that goes into this question. Bonsai teaches us that early defoliation in some plants stimulates new leaf growth that comes in smaller than before. But again, if you do that to other bonsai'd species you kill them. So it's not a universal response. For orchids specifically it doesn't make sense

This post was edited by terpguy on Sat, Nov 16, 13 at 22:25
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jane__ny
10 years ago
I cut off nasty leaves if they've been on the plant for a while. If I want to photograph or display the plant, I take off anything ugly . I never saw it stimulate anything. I would imagine it could affect energy toward flowering, but that's just a guess. I only remove bulbs if diseased or if I'm dividing the plant.

I'm guilty of painting a leaf green to hide some bad sunburn. Anything for a good shot!

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terpguy
10 years ago
Jane thats hilarious. What do you use to paint?
orchidnick
10 years ago
Your dating yourself, Jane, my son would take a picture and then photoshop it so it looks like the most beautiful thing you ever laid your eyes on.

I use my cell phone and hope for the best. I'm a dinosaur going back even further than you.

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