Phalaenopsis Orchid Leaves, How I Damaged them, Warning! Careful When Cleaning Orchid Leaves

Hi Everyone! Sorry! Another sad video... I damaged my phalaenopsis orchid leaves. Hopefully, this won't happen to you! Be careful what you use to clean them.
Thank you for watching!
Xoxo,
Blanca

[@virid1021]

Videos like this are so much more insightful and educational than simply looking at pretty blooms. It's difficult to accept the ugly sides of the hobby, but I am so glad you shared this because beginners like myself might otherwise not have known about the consequences of seemingly harmless advice. I was actually thinking about trying out this method

[@resilience4lyfe331]

The method I saw was either or not both lemon juice & dawn /water. Am I 🤷🏾‍♀️?

[@Catbooks]

@@resilience4lyfe331 She used the Dawn and water on one leaf and the diluted lemon juice on another. Not both on the same leaves.

[@frankvitier6086]

Hi Blanca. That was definately the lemon/sun combination. I have used diluted dish soap on MANY of my plants...even in full sun, and have never seen anything like this. I'm so sorry your experiment took its toll, but your phals will be fine. They are pretty resilient. Once dry, trim off your burnt leaves. They'll come back beautifully. Thank you for sharing the negative as well as all your gorgeous positive videos.

[@nidiapearson7409]

I also read about using "only few drops" of lemon juice in water and I have done it myself, so far I have not had any problems but I will be more cautious. Thanks for your video.

[@ZoeGloverV1]

So sorry for what happened! Perhaps if the leaves were rinsed off with water afterwards this would not have happened but of course this is doubling the time spent cleaning the leaves. Thank you for letting us learn from your experience. Hope your orchids survived.

[@julianagooptar6315]

So sorry,I hope they can still be saved. Thanks for sharing the video so others out there will know to be extra careful.

[@debbie8783]

Blanca I experimented last week. Had the white stain marks on the leaves. Used mayo and lime juice to clean. Indeed all the residue disappeared. My leaves had Lustre. Then a few days later I had an issue. To be fair, it rained and my plant was outdoors. By the time I returned from work, a softish squishy spot appeared on my best orchid. I pruned the leaf up to the healthy tissue. What I'm learning is that phals r delicate and require a lot of attention. High maintenance plants. And I can't grow them outdoors during the rainy seasons. Hey Miss B, have u ever experienced the fleck virus on ur plant? Well I'm dealing with that too. Happy gardening!

[@AnthonyGomez912r]

My phals got sunburned recently and looked exactly like yours. Certain areas were fine on the leaves but other areas were totally melted. Your phals will make a come back. Besos...

[@vivtran5970]

mix 1/2 Avocado Oil and 1/2 water, put in spray bottle and use that to clean any house plant leafs include Orchids ;-) your plan will thank you. Good luck

[@ivan11cast]

Omg thanks so much for sharing this, very educational, shows how much u care about your viewers, thanks and hope they get healthy asap

[@Ellen-we2mu]

I am so sorry to see this for you, but thank you so much for sharing, even the "down" side of things, we appreciate this.

[@mylyfeasb]

Too late at this point but for the future I read that you aren’t supposed to clean the bottom of the leaves only the top. And they aren’t supposed to be in direct sunlight. Hopefully this will help in the future or help someone else

[@Deborahwoyden]

I have used lemon juice and water before and didn’t get burn. However I diluted it with twice the amount of water and made sure it was a cloudy day. The heat and sun in Florida with the addition of lemon can lead to a quick burn. Now that they are burned I suggest cutting off what is badly burned and spraying with hydrogen peroxide to help prevent a secondary infection. So sad to see this. I pray they bounce back.

[@deannaczernon3826]

I agree I've used lemon juice at a weak concentration and my leaves didn't burn.

[@MrMaxsPapa]

I sympathize with you. I’m new to orchid growing but have successfully got one to rebloom for me. Your leaves look like mine when I sat the 3 orchids outside on an east facing patio before 9 AM. What you would see is sun burn on 2 of the 3. The mini escaped unharmed somehow. There is reflective light from a swimming pool which further exacerbated the sunlight. I can’t get a photo of mine to show you but it they look very similar to your leaves. I just use plain water to clean the leaves. They are inside now so they don’t get very dirty.

[@jor8701]

When trying a new method always test on one orchid. Also you never touch under the leaves(where they breathe) I also use lemon juice, but I use 1part lemon, 4 parts water and no soap! Hope your orchids do well !!

[@resilience4lyfe331]

Jo R ikr... I add like one lemon’s juice to a gallon. Or at a different time I’ll use 2-3 literal drops of dawn to a spray bottle. Oh boy- this didn’t happen to mine. Maybe because I didn’t put outside in that day?

[@marissamaharaj304]

looks like they can still be saved to me, I have had many phals with black rot and brown spot, I cut off the damaged area and rub the wound with cinnamon. The damage looks like fungus to me but you off course know your phals better, very disheartening though, I hope they recover.

[@morningglory8559]

Thank you for this,! Appreciate your being so candid!

[@dovedarby]

I've been using 50/50 water and lemon juice for years with no burn(I only use it on the top part of the leaf though, not the underside). That's so crazy how it affected your phals. So sorry Blanca. Hope you find a safe solution for cleaning your phals:)

[@louisech1963]

Thank you for sharing this with us. I was tempted to try it tonight. I believe the concentration of lemon juice was way too high. It is citric acid after all. It can burn :(

[@stacysargent6376]

I used a spray fertilizer for Orchards and the same thing happened. Should I trim the leaves. Thank you for posting this video..

[@Jansinspirationpts]

wow! such good information for newbies like me. Thank you bundles for being brave enough to share this. Your honesty really is invaluable to help others...Phals are so hardy...I know with time, they will come back and delight you in the future.

[@PhilippinesTurkey]

So sorry to know about your orchids. Thanks for sharing this info, so that i won't do the sane with my orchid.

[@sunahyun6339]

That looks like sun burn, I wonder having lemon juice on the leaves made them more sensitive to sun light. 😢

[@mom8597]

Were they placed in direct sun? I’m so sorry your orchids suffered damage! I would probably cut the mushy parts off so it doesn’t get your whole plant infected from rot. Also, are those mushrooms in the pot by the roots on the one? Also, I use a mixture of water, dish soap (a few drops), and rubbing alcohol (isopropyl 70%) - this was used initially to get rid of mites and thrips but the soap does clean the leaves you just need more soap in your water maybe.

[@vanessas8518]

I think you did okay it was just the bottom of the lead should of not been clean because of photosynthesis. I’m doing same research. Thank you

[@martharobertson8070]

How sad. I am not sure how the issue will affect the function of the whole plant, the roots look too wet. Hope you find a way to rescue them.

[@geekmachine666]

Does these need lemon juice in the wilds? If not i prob does need it inside either. Thats my general rule when tendering to my plants.

[@Rinsuki]

The trick is to dilute the citrus juice or in your case if you used 50/50 you need to go back and wipe the residual lemon juice off the leaves. Citrus essential oils do the same thing too. They are phototoxic and so on human skin burns as well. So before letting your orchid under the sun make sure you wipe the leaves of any remaining lemon juice.

[@Kobisashi]

With my first Phal. I used mayonase to clean the leaves. They were shinny for a month. After reading & watching videos I realized I was lucky my plant was healthy because it survived with no damage. .

[@angelasmith4990]

Thank you for keeping it real! Love your videos. You inspire me with my orchids as I also live in Florida and the care is unique. Keep doing what you are doing. Hugs

[@danabella6540]

I'm sorry for your loss

[@blancaacosta333]

Oh Blanquita how sad. Could it be that you wiped the underside of the leaves where the stomata, (pores) are? They do absorb moisture and water, but not lemonade. So sorry dear. My lemons are staying in my drink. Thanks for sharing and advising us not to try this at home.

[@blancasorchidgarden]

Blanca Acosta 😥😥 never again my friend. I followed the instructions to another video and unfortunately it didn’t work me.. I will keep my lemons in my lemonade too 😂 have a wonderful day!! And thanks for making me laugh 😆

[@valeriemelanson4131]

It is so sad to see the damage on your lovely orchids. I hope you can trim them and save them. In my experience it would be sun on the lemoned leaves that did it. Lemon & sun is a great way to sterilize and bleach things. Lemon rinse on fresh washed hair, then dry in the sun really adds some highlights.

[@karmajeffers3194]

I think that it was big of you to post this video. It's unfortunate that your orchids were affected in this way but l am sure you have helped many people. I had a similar experience with some of my plants not my orchids l sprayed them with a leaf shine product and had a similar outcome. One of the reasons for this l think is the heat you experience in Florida l live in the Caribbean and our climate is similar orchids are so resilient and you are such an attentive grower that l believe they will bounce back l do enjoy your Chanel and l hope that this experience will not discourage you in any way all the best.💕

[@vangiecollins6202]

Bummer...thank you for sharing!

[@erinlowry2175]

So now what ? Are you going to cut the bad leaves off ? I have a couple damaged leaves on a plant I'm trying to save. Not sure if I should leave the leaf alone or prune off....and no I didn't clean the leaves the plant actually fell off the counter and broke unfortunately :( thanks for helping

[@blancasorchidgarden]

Yes, these were all cut right where the damaged areas were . A year later and they are healthy and blooming again on my palms 😊

[@viviamthornton2822]

I used a few drops of lemon juice disolved in water and worked, but yeah not lemon juice pure , it is too strong . Thanks to share your experience, 👍

[@allyk7476]

Sorry this happened to your phals, just cut off the burned areas and they will be ok. Whenever I cut leaves on my orchids I put a little cinnamon on the cut areas to prevent infection. I clean my phals with lemon juice and water all the time.You just need a little squeeze of lemon juice diluted in a cup of water to clean the leaves then I usually rinse with water.

[@tapassengupta9922]

Thanks for great information and message dear. I have also faced this tragedy my friend. So will follow your advice and tips to get it recovery from the damage. Let's see how your tips works.. 👍🙂

[@lyndamodeste7902]

I am so sorry but it's a learning experience right, I only use rain 🌧 water on my orchids. I shower the orchids dry them off or put a fan on it if there is no wind keeps the 🍃 clean and nice. Works for me.

[@michaelmccarthy4077]

That is the interaction of sunlight and the acid in the lemon (most people don't know, but cutting citrus fruits outside in the sun can burn human skin, the reaction is that strong). It probably dissolved the cuticle (the outer coating of the leaf) initially and now a secondary infection has set in. Cut off all the damaged areas at least 1/2" below the yellow/brown areas and treat the cuts with cinnamon. What I might suggest in the future, after you clean with the lemon juice, wipe the leaf down a second time with plain distilled water. Diluted white vinegar (1 part vinegar to 4 parts water) is probably safer but then your Phals will smell like a salad. 😉 Bad luck, but could be worse!

[@o_o8203]

I use vinegar too, but I only dilute 1:1

[@bjparker92]

So you think it was the lemon mix and not the dishwashing that did the damage?

[@Georgeolddrones]

Love all the video you show. Excellent job 👍 More please. George in uk.

[@OrchidandKitties]

thank you for the video.this is very important to learn from each other.I'm so sorry for your loss.next time when do some thing new, try to do on only one and wait for the result for few days.thanks again for the video.

[@Kobisashi]

Oh, how sad. Sorry this happened. I had seen several videos online about the use of lemon on leaves and with watering. I decided to try using a very diluted amount of lemon on the leaves. Just tonight, I decided to clean the tops only with 30 drops of lemon to 200 ml water. They look good after the cleaning. I did not clean under the leaf because I heard that was bad. I also added water to the plant roots at 3 drops of lemon to 200 ml water to get a bit of acid in the pot. That was added at 2 tablespoons of the mix, two days after the plants had been surface watered. Than I added 3 tablespoons of clear distilled water to the top of that. I guess I will see what happens after a couple days.

[@starlover]

I used pure lemon juice before two weeks but nothing has happened course I keep my orchids indoor

[@tapassengupta9922]

Also waiting for some new tips for my Catelia and some Venda Archid dear. Hope will get something new and secret tips to make my orchid healthy 👍

[@patricialmt5272]

I also noticed they don’t have a good aeration. I think more holes are need it in that plastic pot for more aeration and good drainage..

[@erictan1242]

Thanks for your sharing.

[@lindad8967]

So sorry to see your orchids, are you going to cut those leaves off. Linda

[@narak2share]

It did happen to me as well when I bought a phals. But I used only water to wipes out the leaves, did like 3 times within a week and those white spots had been gone and never come back.

[@jackhagenaars165]

Plants are very forgiving,and Phals are survivors. They,ll be back,with lots of love!

[@kathymacomber5115]

So sorry but sweet for you to share this

[@LeahPurtee]

I’m sorry for what happened to your babies. Me I used water with dawn dishwashing soap but I always rinse it after. But still, sometimes I also burnt their leaves. And I never use lemon juice because even my skin couldn’t tolerate it 😂. I have a very sensitive skin. Anyway, happy growing to all of us orchids lovers!!! 😃

[@anafrmboca]

Hi Blanca Sorry for your orchids. They look very healthy. I clean mine with a very little mayonnaise mix with water. It leaves the leaf shinny and no marks but I only do this when Iam bring an orchid in. Your orchids look like it’s sun damage. Maybe the sun and lemon juice is to strong. Hey I used to use lemon on my hair when I used to go to the beach and I had beautiful natural highlights. Lol. That’s how strong lemon could be. Ana

[@chatocruz5309]

Oh my!!!! Thank you for the video. That is what happened to me too😭😭😭😭😭

[@vivtran5970]

mix 1/2 Avocado Oil and 1/2 water, put in spray bottle and use that to clean any house plant leafs include Orchids ;-) your plan will thank you. Good luck

[@lauramadalina6788]

Oh so sad, try cutting the damaged leaf into the good tisue then put some cinammon on the cut so it dries it out

[@maggiecaceres5376]

Did u live them in the sun after the limoncellos ??? I clean my with a paper towel n water😃

[@elizabethtesfay8727]

Thanks for keeping it real. I just saw a Video about using lemon juice for orchids. I was about to do it to mines. I was saved by the bell. Thanks I will not be using that method👎👎👎👎

[@SHARONSHORTOrchidsandGarden]

It must be diluted before using. They'll growing new leaves no worries happy growing.

[@JC-se6jg]

I tried that trick with the lemon juice and it did the same thing to my orchid leaves 😭 hopefully it recovers

[@reginalee9096]

Thank you so much for sharing

[@reynamedina4497]

Ohhw So sorry😕 I hope you didn't throw them away and trying to save them 🙏

[@Rogerswoodworkx]

I use blue dawn soap, with peroxide, and water an so far it looks good... But I did wipe them down after words.

[@checkplease7735]

Why did you do the underside of the leaves that's why they had the rot and burns YOU NEVER EVER CLEAN THE UNDERSIDE OF THE LEAVES unless you have a pest infestation

[@donnacone4714]

I read from a professional that u use mayonnaise but I’m afraid to try. But I will on one leave on one that isn’t my best! Thank you for video’s

[@jonmccullum8692]

I'm shocked,... I do this from time to time, and I have never had this happen

[@vivtran5970]

mix 1/2 Avocado Oil and 1/2 water, put in spray bottle and use that to clean any house plant leafs include Orchids ;-) your plan will thank you. Good luck

[@araceliarroyo76]

Ola blanca this is too sadly too see👀 I’m use lemon but the thing is you use too much I’m only like four drops and a napkin and then I’m spraying water because for orqueds olwes little is the best 💐blessings for you and thank your for sharing your video

[@jacquelineblacker1077]

Acid and sun? I'm not really a Phal person, but I'm interested in how this might affects other orchids as well. Also, I am in St Petersburg and saw your Instastory and I am curious as to what you moved inside and why? xoxo

[@blancasorchidgarden]

Jacqueline Blacker The strange thing is they weren’t in the sun.. I learned my lesson. I moved those inside temporarily because my son was having a party... they are already outside.

[@mariankaye1772]

I also have not had a good experience using diluted lemon juice to clean my phal. leaves. 😢 Never again.

[@kathylittlemorecom]

@@mariankaye1772 Me too, which is why I just watched this video.

[@cholotg9177]

Excellent job😍👍

[@vivtran5970]

mix 1/2 Avocado Oil and 1/2 water, put in spray bottle and use that to clean any house plant leafs include Orchids ;-) your plan will thank you. Good luck

[@ImCarolB]

Yikes! That's just awful! One thing I can think of is never put the orchids in direct sunlight with any lemon juice on them. Lemon juice will bleach anything in the sun.

[@jessicacarter5606]

Thanks for the info I was thinking what I could do to clean my phals too, but I'll just let them be. Sorry about your phals, we have been really getting the heat these days in Florida. I hope that it cools down soon lol ❤😊

[@vivtran5970]

mix 1/2 Avocado Oil and 1/2 water, put in spray bottle and use that to clean any house plant leafs include Orchids ;-) your plan will thank you. Good luck

[@MrAlesoreus]

Yikes, painful video to watch :o( Thank you for sharing, far from an expert here but my spidey senses were off the charts as I was listening to you describe the use of citric acid on such a delicate organism. I read the comments below from people that actually have successful results and its just not something I'd want try on my ladies. I find that hydrogen peroxide 3% works just fine for me.

[@marlener1224]

The Lemon water works great but you used too much lemon. I use only a few drops of lemon juice to to a half cup of water .

[@FalunDafaUncensored]

Some pot is too tight root rots can happen some people used mayonnaise and water for other hard shiny leaves.

[@sherryfar1880]

I was told never to wet the underside of the leaves

[@christinasgarden7759]

This is so sad.I use leaf spray or sunflower oil.I never had a problem!

[@vivtran5970]

mix 1/2 Avocado Oil and 1/2 water, put in spray bottle and use that to clean any house plant leafs include Orchids ;-) your plan will thank you. Good luck

[@MsBabyShac]

I really feel for you and them :'( - indeed lemon juice and sun exposure can cause a chemical burn. While this might work for some people it seems they tend to dilute it or it's possible they are indoor growers where there isn't a lot of sun exposure.

[@mimosveta]

another potential issue might be that she cleaned the undersides of the leaves. typically people cleaning with lemon juice, clean only the adaxial side of the leaves as there are organs that might not enjoy being cleaned on the abaxial side, like stomata and whatnot.

[@rachelbensabat7474]

i heard of rubbing with banana peel also milk

[@mainlyvandas214]

Sunburn :( happens to the best of us!

[@FalunDafaUncensored]

I don’t think you should lemon and dish soap if it looks like that.

[@francesrodriguez3305]

I clean my leaves with banana peel and also with coconut oil.

[@naay495]

I also tried this but I diluted the lemon juice a lot more. Maybe the acid was too much for the leaves. Also be careful to apply anything on the undersides of the leaves, its much more sensitive since it has no waxy cuticle. Only wipe and clean the upper sides. I hope they will recover, don't be too sad. It happens to all of us. Hugs :)

[@vivtran5970]

mix 1/2 Avocado Oil and 1/2 water, put in spray bottle and use that to clean any house plant leafs include Orchids ;-) your plan will thank you. Good luck

[@VicariousAdventurer]

Orchid trigger warning

[@AndrewLoui]

OMG! It’s the formula people uses to kill young weeds. Water, dawn plus vinegar.

[@orchidlover5858]

hi there diva,new friend here. i watch your channel love it. thank you for the tips as well...i may try the lemon methods too thanks heaps.. i subscribe your channel too X

[@zaigabre]

It looks like it’s fungus infection 😢

[@zaigabre]

It’s surprisingly lemons 🍋 can do something like this 😭🤯

[@blancasorchidgarden]

Unfortunately yes😥

[@suesue2271]

😢

[@danigalbreath3694]

Leave cleaning 101, never clean the under side of leaves, but even with water. Sorry you did so much damage to your plants.

[@sunshineart.2000]

Thank you, but very long, annoying until you get to the point.

[@ionasilva7560]

😭