hey farmerboybill .... thank you for the insight ... i was wondering about those yellow leaves being a harbinger of *not good news* ... i have not gardened for, at least, eight years and have forgotten a lot, as well, my zone/location has changed ... anyway, the yellowing leaves could be from over-watering ... sometimes the tops of the potatoes droop from the heat and the first thing i want to do is: water .... water .... water ... and, i do! in the past couple of days, i've *strawed* the garden in the hope of keeping some of the moisture in the ground, so we shall see ... i live in the desert of washington state and it hardly rains in the summer ... lots of t-storms, but not so much actual rain ...... the potatoes are kinda newly planted ... we did not put the garden in until around 12 june, so they are almost ready to flower (checked at 7 this morning and still just buds) ... it's going to be hot today so they may just bloom ... again, thank you for your help ... darlene

Be careful of water quality. You can get away with it for awhile when using clean potting mixtures but it will catch up eventually. These plants live in fairly open forests in their native environments. They never get direct sun but the woods are always open and airy, often on hillsides and also often near streams. So you get the idea - lots of free air movement and humidity. You don't find them among brush or bushes in the wild (usually), so they love lots of indirect sun ! I don't think you can give too much indirect light - my best plants face SW in central FL and get light through screening from 12:00 on and thrive. They also get fresh rain when we have a downpour. I don't know that you can repot them too many times - as long as the new medium is moist and never fully dries out - they should respond to it ! You pretty much have to repot by the end of the 3rd year as they get a bit scraggy and the soil breaks down too much. They live in heavy leaf litter and light loamy soils in nature, where you can reach down and lift a couple or few inches of soil easily with your finger or a small stick. Hope that helps !

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

NEVER put a houseplant accustomed to low light outside in direct sun .. EVER ... if you want to take things outdoors.. you have to harden them off to new light levels.. by taking them out to full shade for a few weeks.. and then slowly working them into sunlight... if it is the type of plant that thrives in sun ... the further south you go.. the more important this rule is .. and that is why above they asked where you are.. big city name ... as long as the leaf has any green.. it is converting light into energy .. so regardless of how bad it looks.. leave it on the plant until it yellows and browns.. and then cut it off .. ken ps: i think of orchids as hanging on trees in tropical forests ... yeah i know.. its a generality ... but that thought makes me think to myself... they are never in full sun ... of course im sure there are exceptions in the greater family ... but if you are searching those out.. you ought to know all about that.. check this out: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffsb&q=orchid+natural+habitat&iax=images&ia=images