Chances are pretty good that orchids from Big Box are virus free. They are young and have been force grown in an environment where exposure to virus is unlikely. Virus on leaves is pretty subtle if it is visible at all and usually shows up as a strange color pattern in the flowers.

You probably have scarred mechanical damage. Got a picture?

"Looks like warts" immediately brings hard scale to my mind. With your figernail, gently see if one can be scaped off.

Yes, the "warts" can be scraped off with a fingernail. You're right on, albertan. I never thought about the possibility of a type of scale. Oh, it'd be great if this is not a virus and I could do something to help it become more sightly.

Here is the link to see the pics I have taken. I could not figure out how to attach them. Can anyone help me with that for the future? Thanks.

http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=288818892/PictureID=7044393727/a=127517805_127517805/t_=127517805

Yep, you've got bugs. Be sure to keep it away from your other plants until you know that they are gone. I would start by removing as many as you can with your fingernail, toothpicks and or que tips. Than it should get a good spray of insecticidal soap. And than check it weekly for at least 3 or 4 weeks to make sure they don't come back.
It sounds like your care is spot on. I would add the closer to the window the better. I have two that are actually right up against the glass of a west facing window and they are doing fine. (one is in spike right now) A south-west facing window sounds even better - as long as it's not too far from the window.
It's great to reduce its water in winter and stop fert. And now to start increasing the watering a bit and weekly weekly fert. Dends need to dry out between watering but not for too long in the summer months or they blast their flowers. (learned that one the hard way) In reference to your pH problem, I can't help with that one. I don't check the pH of any of my plants - orchids, bromeliads or succulents.
In reference to posting photos, do a search on gardenweb. There are several how to's around.

Okay, I picked off all the bugs. Some of them put up a good fight and the plant has quite a few crushed cells now, but really a lot of them were not brown and hard like the ones you can see in the pic. They're green and look as if they're part of the plant. Poor little thing....

I'm getting hold of each of the local nurseries to see who has the best advice for the product and price for the insecticidal soap. Thanks so much!!!

According to the book, "Orchid Growing Basics" by Dr. Gustav Schoser I can treat the scales (now picked off) with a soapy solution OR with a systemic insecticide. I have had the plant for at least a year (can't remember exactly how long) and I noticed the scales within a few days of being home. This morning I picked off at least 80+ scales.

Will the soapy solution work or should I use a systemic insecticide considering the length of time and the number of the scales?

If the soapy solutions would work, what do I do? I've never had to do this before.

I can't believe none of my other plants have gotten infected....

That type of hard scale will respond to a mix of a little dish soap and alcohol. Avoid flowers, but a non-blooming plant can be sprayed all over.

Hey Guys, I'm wondering if we need to re-think this...re-reading the OP's second to last post...
I have never seen GREEN scales...
nick

Called local nursery/Orchid Specialist. He doesn't think it has scales. I have to take it to the Orchid Dr. next week so he can take a look. He thought maybe a fungus of some sort (hopefully) otherwise it's a disease. How sad. The first Orchid I get from my hubby....

Walmart sucks.

With the"warts" removed, taking it to the "orchid specialist" will be useless. Fungal infection cannot be scraped off! With alcohol and a cotton ball, wipe the leaves down carefully. Spritz some alcohol at leaf joints and watch for later hatchlings. For one plant, systemic sprays would be too expensive to be practical. Even the most diligent professional growers have to deal with scale now and then.

You can buy a spray bottle of Bayer Rose & Flower spray for about $6 to $8. It's a good systemic for houseplants and orchids. Follow label directions carefully.

The "warts" were implanted into the leaves and were not easy to get off. I had to scrape w/my fingernails and, in some cases, dig them out. That's why they're leaning to fungal or disease. He asked me to look at the roots again. Hollow. Not a single firm root. They're gray and hollow. I don't keep it wet; just moist and it's been dry for the winter with the exeption of two good waterings.

I've come to the conclusion that dendrobiums are among the hardest orchids to keep healthy, at least in my part of the world. I've only had 3 and they've all lost their leaves or had them cut off (by me) when they turned totally yellow. One encouraging sign: I'm getting new growth from the base of one. As for scale, I have a bay leaf plant, aka laurel, which is extremely prone to it. I keep an eagle eye out for the first sign of scale. I scrape off any that I can see, then set it in the kitchen sink and gently rub each leaf and stem with soapy water, then rinse. Important that you look at stems--scale loves hiding there. It's been weeks since I've had to do this, so you might try it on your dendrobium.

Well, I took it to the greenhouse. Turns out he is pretty sure it's a disease that might be "fixable," but all he told me to do is to cut off the healthy and all the roots of the canes and start over with it. He was younger than I am; probably just out of school. They don't grow them there; they ship them in and house all their plants in a giant greenhouse. I don't feel confident in his advice. Anyone?

Don't cut anything off, fix the problem, let the plant grow and cut next year if you have dead stuff. As you poison insect remember the eggs!! Your soap only kills the adults, 3 days later a newly hatched group starts growing and you are back to square one. After treating, repeat every three day for at least 3 cycles, that way you get Mom and Dad and their babies.

Nick

The existing roots are all mush, hollow yuck. Should I still leave them? I've read about "Sphag & Bag" should I do that? The kid from the greenhouse told me it is a disease; not insects and to hope it'll go away by starting over. Assuming it is a disease...has anyone ever heard of this just going away after starting over???? I am so stinkin' lost. I might be going to the University to get a REAL professional oppinion rather than from some kid. At least the prof. will be able to see it in person too. The pics really don't show everthing the Orchid is telling me.

~Frustrated :-(

Hort, who are these professionals? You will be hard pressed to find them. I've been trying to grow things for 37 years and still plants cark it.

That is why we need an orchid forum. Sometimes you will find in posts little hints that make a difference.

Anyway, it all comes down to conditions, conditions, conditions.

Your Wal-Mart Dendrobium is probably a hard-cane, i've got about thirty of them and not many people grow them around these parts because they are considered "Difficult" .

As for the disease, your plant is just showing what happens when conditions do not suit.

I had one that grew too big, thought i would trial it outside a glasshouse and put it in a sheltered position of the front porch, sheltered position, morning sun. It declined!

Moved it to my shadehouse. It declined more and then died.

Your plant has declined to such a point that perhaps you should discard it and start off with a new one.

These are the "weeds" of Florida, Hawaii, Queensland, Australia. They like moderate humidity, warmth, even watering, though slightly less in winter and sunlight filtered by some like shade-cloth.

How can i tell you how to grow them seeing my total orchid experience is here? That is the real problem with orchid growing, you have to do some research and follow that up with some interpretation in relating what you read to your growing place(s). Even then many you try will just die.

There I go with my danged foot in my mouth again....

I was not trying to portray that anyone in this forum is not a professional when it comes to growing Orchids. That's the whole reason I'm here. Experience = profession. I meant that a professional needs to see this Orchid in person. My pictures are not good enough to show what needs to be seen. Plus, I am not doing a fantastic job at this Dend.

I'd mail it to someone for the help if I needed to. I'll talk to my hubby first. I am just so frustrated with this. I thought by taking it to the guy at the greenhouse, he'd give me more information than to "hope it'll grow out of it." I just don't trust it's going to "grow out of it." I really am about to trash it due to my mounting frustration. Maybe I set my expectations too high for this guy at the greenhouse. He could not have been a day over 23 and really gave me no viable information. Had I known that I'd have gone to one of my previous professors who has been in the Hort. industry of over 40 years or thought to ask someone here if I could mail it to him/her for help.

I apologize for offending you arthurm; that wasn't my intention and I didn't realize that's how I portrayed my thoughts. Again, I apologize.

How have you offended me? What i'm trying to say is that orchid growing is not an exact science. If you knew the name of that Dendrobium, sure someone could give you some optimum figures re, temperatures, light, humididy, ph of water, potting mixture, size of pot, fertiliser and so on.... but they might be talking from the perspective of a beautiful, fully automated glasshouse which you haven't got.

So you have to interpret the instructions and apply them to your particular growing situation.

Not easy, that is why real orchid growers live in the frozen north.

Well, I talked to my husband. He said he would not be offended if I threw the Dend. away. In the trash it went. I am just not confident that this will just "grow out of it" since I spotted problems with the Dend. two days after coming home. I am not giving up however. I'll get another one. My husband told me he wants to buy more for me. I let him know I would like something more challenging than a Phal. Those are easy to care for. I'm going to hang one of my Phals up tomorrow and see if it likes it more. I think it will do well. I've had it for six years. We're happy together. ;-)

I told my husband that, when we buy our house, we'll have a room separate for the orchids and his 4' Ball Python. After all, they like the same atmosphere.

I have yet to see fungal infections manifest themselves as "warts" or proturberances. Disease, whether fungal (cercospora) or bacterial usuallly manifest by dark, nectrotic spots that grow. A hard growth, or "wart" is something different. Could be scale. Or just a protuberance. Brown scale and white scale usually come right off. The brown scale more like small limpets. You can blast them off with a jet of water. Or spray with insecticide. Enstar 2 is a good scale killer. But expensive. Viral disease usually manifests by chloratic streaks then becomes necrotic and sunken. Scraping these protuberances off (if not scale) may do more damage: if your hands, fingernails or a tool isn't clean (sterilized) you can easily infect the plant with latent virus, or other pathogens like fungi and bacteria.

I'm not sure what it was, but it was a challenge to get off the Dend. It was not just on the surface of the plant. I am pretty sure it was part of the plant itself because each spot had to be dug out and did considerably more damage to the plant than just leaving them there. The brown spots made holes (pock marks) in the plant while the green ones damaged a broader area because they were so hard to get out. It was like they just grew with the plant. When my husband first brought the plant home it had two canes with leaves. They quickly began yellowing and falling off. I checked the Dend and that's when I noticed the spots. I figured it was just from improper care and it would get better, but it never did. I am befuddled and I wish I would have posted that I'd like to send it to someone much more familiar with Dends. than I for proper diagnosis before I dug out all those spots. We live and learn, I guess.