macodes petola leaves turning yellow/pink

16 years ago

Recently my macodes petola seems to be having some issues and I'm not sure what's causing them. The leaves have been fading to a light yellowy pink, slowly dying off. When this first happened, I attributed it to the leaf being old, as it was the oldest one on the plant, but now others are starting to follow suit. In addition, there are tiny little pinholes on the new leaves, which are surrounded by a pink hue. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I'm not that familiar with the species. It's growing in a cool terrarium under low light, the humidity is usually in the high 70s. There's also a ludisia discolor in the terrarium, and it seems pretty happy/healthy, as it's sending up a spike (can't wait to see it bloom!!!). Since they are both jewel orchids, I guess I assumed that they would have similar growing requirements, and if one was happy, the other would be...obviously this isn't the case! :) When I saw the holes, I immediately thought maybe an insect was munching on the leaves, but after an inspection, I couldn't find any sign of critters. Then I thought that maybe the yellowing was because it needs more light, but I read that the macodes petola doesn't like a lot of light, which left me a little confused. Anyways, any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks & happy holidays,

~Altair

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Comments (8)

komi
16 years ago
You say you saw no critters, but are you sure there are no mites? Not the webby kind, but one of the ones adoringly called false spider mites.....

I had a macodes and a few other things in a terrarium, and the macodes was the first to get mite damage. I initially attributed it to aged leaves, but I learned my lesson later. Much much later.
pcan-z9
16 years ago
I'd check out that mite thing too. Wet a cotton ball with alcohol and whipe the leaves top and bottom. If you get little red smears = mites. I have the kind of mites here that laugh at high humidity, so that would be the first thing I would check.
Pat........
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altair
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for all the great tips! Well, I double checked - didn't see any bugs (atleast not visible). Just to be safe, I wiped down the tops and bottoms of the leaves with alcohol and a cotton ball, and I didn't see any smears. I even unpotted the plant, thinking maybe they were burrowing in the potting medium. I'm embarrassed to say that I actually wish I had found spider mites, just so I had something to pin the cause on. While wiping the leaves down, I noticed that the new leaves that are still furled up have little pinholes in as well, so there must be bugs somewhere. After all, holes just don't magically appear! :) It's just hard to kill something that I can't see. But would bugs cause the yellowing/fading of a perfectly healthy leaf that had no holes in it? I just don't understand what's going on. Could it be that I have two separate problems?

~Altair
terrestrial_man
16 years ago
Two problems are possible here:
First is that Macodes likes it hot! 75F-85F day and night.
Second is the way the plant is planted and the type of media being used in your terrarium. Be sure the rhizome is planted on the surface of the mix and that the mix is an open mix such as a leaf litter type of mix with decomposed leaves, bark, bits of sphagnum-check out litter used for herps as a possible source.
Also you should provide more info on your terrarium:
temperature ranges during day and during night
amount of footcandles at the leaf level in the terrarium
humidity (which you did and which is good for these plants)

In the meantime I would consider lifting the plant and checking out its roots if there are any left. I believe that your Macodes is dying. The sequence you are describing sounds like it to me.

I am adding a link below but cannot recall just if it would be relevant or not.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tropical Exotica
harwichhelen
16 years ago
Hi Altair:
How is your Macodes petola doing? I have one that is behaving the same way, with no bugs that I can see, but then it's been slowly failing since I got it as a gift a year ago. I keep it in a Wardian case with a couple of other non-orchids, but never seem to have found the right combination of humidity, light, warmth, and watering to keep it happy. How is yours doing?
terrestrial_man
16 years ago
To help you with more info. Macodes petola occurs naturally from Sumatra to the Philippines in lowland forests. Check out the link below for more detailed info on the climate.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tropical Lowland Forests
garyfla_gw
16 years ago
Hi
I had that same recurring problem with both . Put the discolor in a 10 gallon tank that I use for a rooting shed and it just exploded !!! lol Why I don't know as there are people here who use them as garden plants but not me.lol
Didn't work on the Mac. Continued a slow decline .
If you find a solution to this problem please share as they are really gorgeous. gary
altair
Original Author
16 years ago
Hey everybody - wow, so much great info!! Sorry about not getting back here to post, schoolwork was piling up and I just didn't have the time to check back. I'm sad to say that my macodes didn't make it :( I was really heartbroken by it because I absolutely *love* their leaves...just stunning!!! When it was on it's last leg...err leaf rather, I had tried everything and nothing seemed to work. My biggest mistake that I regret is not looking at the roots soon enough...turns out it had hardly any left...poor thing :( Initially, I had mine in a 15 gallon terrarium (converted from an old aquarium) and it seemed happy in there for a while, then everything went down hill. I think that if I had caught it soon enough, it might have had a chance. As a last ditch effort, I saved the last living leaf and stuck it in some water hoping that it would form some roots. For about a week and a half it lived, but then took a turn for the worst *sigh*. I keep telling myself it's a learning experience, but I feel so guilty when one goes to that big orchid jungle in the sky.

macodes petola leaves turning yellow/pink

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macodes petola leaves turning yellow/pink

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komi

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