Gotta have more information. Where are you located? How are you growing the plant (water, sun, fert., temps......all that good stuff) Also, give us a better look at that pot....Need to see the plant, roots, pot, and what the plant is potted in and how long its been in the mix it is in.

Bill

Thanks for your reply! :)

Ok I'm located in Byron Bay Australia ( subtropical environment) growing it outside undercover, use a little bit of liquid fertiliser weakly weekly, it's probably been potted in the mix for 2 years, i'll try an attach another photo of the pot etc.

Thank you ;)

It really looks like tobacco mosaic virus to me. But even with virus the plant can survive for a while and flower. If streaking occurs in the flowers then that would confirm my conclusion.

But I think you need to remove the phally from that pot and that mix. I would recommend a net pot and a bark mix. You would have to change your method of caring for it. Should be kept in an area that does not drop below

15 C and need high humidity of at least 60%. air movement is also very important. Your roots look good so you could water even daily if in a net pot

and help push up the humidity.

I think you
need to repot the plant with new Pine Bark Chunks and perlite as Bill said-.

Of course,
if temperature is below 10ºC with high humidity your Phal will be infected by a
virus as you can see.

In your case,
I think it would be good to add B vitamin to water because this vitamin makes
the roots grow heathier.

I live in
Spain and the humidity for my orchids is about 70% and the temperature is never below 15ºC. I spray them every
day and once a week I shower them.

I hope my advice
will be useful for you.

Susana

Britt, I'm glad to see the Australian growers jump on this one. You are in good hands with their comments.

Bll

The only way to tell if has a virus or not is to get a virus test kit and run some tests.

I'm still sticking to unfavourable growing conditions and probably Fungus. Funny, miserable sort of winter for here and maybe there since mid June, think back to the 26 & 27 of June when a total of 147mm of rain fell at Bryon Bay. Warm and wet is fine for Phalaenopsis. Cold and wet is not!

Thank you everyone for your awesome advice :)

Ok i'll definitely change its growing medium! I also wanted to move it inside due to the cold but I was worried that the drastic change in temp might effect it as its only ever lived outside for many years & I'm living in a 1 bedroom apartment which heats up pretty quick when I have the heater on & scared it might be too much for it? If I had a garage id put it there but I don't. What do u think?

Also what is the max & min approx temperatures for growing Phaley's successfully?

Fingers crossed it's not a virus, I'm thinking of just trimming that part of the leaf off maybe? oh & where would I get vitamin B & a virus test kit from - Bunnings?

Thanks again everyone it really is great to have people around to get good Orchid advice from!!

:) Britta

Recommended temperature range for Phalaenopsis is 15 to 32C. Many but not all are induced to flower by a slight cooling down in Autumn.

I do not think you will find a virus kit at Bunnings. Go with a Fungus diagnosis and give the plant good growing conditions and new leaves should grow blemish free.

You might be able to get fine tuning advice from a couple of Northern Rivers Orchid Societies.

Details of all NSW non native orchid societies are in the link.

NSW Orchid Societies

Ok great will do, thanks for the link!! :)

Same plant, I've just been watching it over the past week, do think I need to worry about any of these brown marks or just wash some fungicide over it & wait for a while? Thanks!

How much sun is it getting? What the temps like there? Where is the orchid placed?

They are low light warmth loving orchids...that said Sunlight filtered by something such as a matchstick blind in winter when they are in this room or a 50% shade-cloth hail guard + another layer of Shade-cloth + dirty glass + hanging from the benches down near glass-house Floor in summer is beneficial. I kid you not, they are probably easier to grow in Chicago in the USA.

Did you get any info. from the nearby Orchid Societies?

Edit|DeleteBritta

July 28, 2015 at 7:45AM

I live in a subtropical climate, winter at the moment & temps ranging from 9C - 23C & it's sitting under my porch so it's protected from rain & gets morning winter sun.

Edit|DeleteBritta

July 28, 2015 at 7:

Had no luck with the Orchid Society member, left a message but I had no luck & no response... Will try & go to sone orchid nurseries soon & hopefully get some more info & advice.

I think your plants are getting too cold and wet. Move them indoors. Don't worry about the sudden change. Next year move them in earlier to adjust more gradually.

Arthur knows what he's talking about. Please follow his advice.

Jane

Hi Britta,

I hope your orchid is better now.

I thought about all your doubts about how to take care on orchids. I´m not an expert so I have to learn by reading books, comments on internet and making with mistakes in my plants.

At the begining, I bought some books that I think are very useful but I´m not sure if they are in Australia:

Orchids by Roger Bellone

althoug I´m sure there are several better than these. I think they are very useful for beginers.

Susana

Thanks for that Susana :) yeah I've been reading a fair bit over the past year now & slowly learning what works & doesnt.. I found after reading a lot of advice & info I just had to put everything to the test practically & that's where I learn the most too & experimenting with a few things also. Thank you! :)