Orchids bring a lot of joy and vivid color to every environment and many people enjoy having these beautiful tropical flowers in their homes. Since there are more than 25,000 orchid species you can grow in pots, the best orchid to begin with is Phalaenopsis, also known as moth orchid. For many people, the thought of owning and growing a Phalaenopsis orchid can be intimidating. In reality though, Phalaenopsis orchids are hardy plants that are forgiving many of the mistakes that people can make during their care.
One of the biggest concern people have when growing orchids is the color of their leaves. Whenever the leaves of a plant turn a different color, especially orchids, people immediately begin to think that there is something wrong with the plant, but that is not always true.
Indeed, the overall aspect of the leaves reveals a lot about the health of your Phalaenopsis orchid, but a yellowing orchid is not the end of the world.
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As I said earlier, yellowing leaves on a Phalaenopsis are not necessarily a cause for alarm. It’s normal and natural for older leaves to yellow and gradually drop off. Older phalaenopsis often have somewhat elongated stems where old leaves have dropped away. On healthy plants, new roots will continuously emerge from the stem, eventually forming a mass of roots.
If you discover the yellowing leaf is located on the bottom of the plant, don’t worry. This is a natural process of the plant to discard the mature leaf in order to produce a new leaf. However, if the leaves are yellowing from the top of the plant, there is a problem.
If the leaves on your Phalaenopsis orchid are yellow, it could be an indication that something is wrong and here the main reason why your orchid leaves may turn yellow:
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- Overwatering
- Low Temperatures
- High Temperatures
- Burning
- Chemicals
- Deficiency
- Rot
- Bacterial, Fungal, and Viral Causes
Of course, healthy orchid leaves are strong and hold their shape and there are a lot of factors that can cause orchid leaves to turn yellow. However, check your plant thoroughly before jumping to any conclusion.
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