Yellowing leaves is one of the most common problems that occurs with orchids. Yellowed leaves certainly need to be removed, but not everyone does it right.
Instruction manual
1
Yellowing the leaf means the cessation of its nutrition from the plant and the gradual dying off in this regard. Sometimes this is a natural process, but in general the reasons are always different. Deciduous orchids in the dry season always drop their leaves, but for indoor orchids, yellowing is most often a sign of an onset of the disease. In most cases, yellowing of leaves in domestic orchids occurs as a result of a variety of fungal infections that are caused by improper maintenance. Fungal diseases most quickly come from long contact with water, since epiphytic plants in nature are not in the water for a long time and are very sensitive to stagnation of water in the roots. The easiest way for them to catch fungal infections in a store where they rarely monitor each specific plant. If a recently purchased plant starts to turn yellow, other reasons may not even be distracted at first.
2
The faster the grower reacts to the yellowing of the leaves and takes appropriate measures, the more chances the plant has of surviving. If the leaves turned yellow from a bacterial or viral infection, it is impossible to cure at the moment, but such cases are extremely rare. If the leaf has turned yellow, it is impossible to cure it and make it green and alive again somehow, therefore, such a leaf should be removed as soon as possible, especially if it is the only one in the young orchid. Rot on the leaf will easily penetrate the stem and kill the growth point, after which the chances of survival of the orchid will be minimal. Therefore, the yellowing sheet is removed with a sharp knife, if there is already rot on the stem in this place, all of it is cut to living tissue, and the cut is smeared with brilliant green, or powdered with charcoal or cinnamon. You can not use potassium permanganate powder - it burns living tissues, but you only need to dry them.
3
The fungus that caused yellowing of the leaves on the orchid requires moisture for a comfortable existence. Therefore, the orchid is removed from its substrate, and, cutting off diseased leaves and processing the slices, leave to dry. As a rule, this stops the spread of infection, but does not completely relieve it. Therefore, after drying, if you do not take other measures, you will have to cut off the remaining leaves, as the infection will begin to spread further with renewed vigor. The orchid must be treated with fungicides, put in a lighted place and provide its roots with good ventilation. The change of substrate also helps, as sometimes the former is too shallow or completely rotted from excess moisture. It is important to prevent the use of fertilizers during the treatment of orchids and pruning of yellowing leaves. For any weakened plant, they are equivalent to poison.
