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Angraecum sesquipedale -- do I have issues?

Discussion in 'Issues, Disease and Pests' started by burtonr, Aug 30, 2012.

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  1. Aug 30, 2012 #1
    burtonr

    burtonr New Member

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    I got this ang. sesquipedale a couple of months ago and it seems to me to have settled in just fine. But I would appreciate a bit of advice from anyone who has worked with these.
    (This is the first time I am posting, so I hope I have got the picture thing right. I can't find a FAQ with best practice for this.)

    It is about 10 inches tall (25 cm) and about 16 inches (40 cm) from leaf tip to leaf tip and is in a 6 inch diameter pot (15 cm).
    I believe that is big enough for flowering size.
    It is pushing out a new leaf and in general seems pretty content in my conditions.
    But I have questions about some scarring on the two oldest leaves and also a query about the roots.
    One of the leaves has what looks to me to be sunburn, but I may be wrong.


    And I do not know what this is on the other. It is only on the last couple of inches of the leaf. (This is the underside view).


    It does not seem to be getting any worse, so I am quite relaxed about it, but thought I should get a proper opinion, or two!
    I also don't know if the slight twist in the leaves is just the result of the light angles it got while growing at its previous owner, or a sign of something else that should be giving me heart failure.
    Regarding the roots, the plant is fairly high out of the mix. I do NOT want to mess with this issue this year, if at all possible, since these guys are apparently notoriously sulky when repotted or have their roots messed with. But I would like to know if I am playing a fool's game by letting it stay so high and should just go ahead and repot?

    Thanks for reading this far. I am looking forward to any thoughts and advice.


    AS.jpg AS_leaf2.jpg AS_leaf1.jpg
     
  2. Aug 30, 2012 #2
    KellyW

    KellyW Orchid wonk Staff Member Supporting Member

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    Burtonr, the photos look good so you did everything right with the posting. First, let me say that I am not an Ancraecoid expert, but that doesn't keep me from having an opinion. The leaves with issues are the oldest and I believe they are just getting ready to drop as they normally will, probably by winter. If the damage was on the new leaves or you see it spreading to the newer leaves, then I would be concerned. As for the roots, mine has more aerial roots than yours and seems to be doing just fine. In fact I am considering putting mine in a wood Vanda basket (anyone have an opinion on that idea?). I don't think the exposed roots are an issue. Finally, I would agree that yours is blooming size and hopefully will have a spike start emerging within the next 1-2 months.
    Hopefully you will hear from some of the real experts... and they may disagree with me :confused:.
    Welcome to the forum.
     
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  3. Aug 30, 2012 #3
    T. migratoris

    T. migratoris Active Member

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    I think Kelly's right about the leaves. I wouldn't get too excited unless issues began to spread. I have a number of these in a variety of light & temperature conditions & it seems the happiest plant I have is hanging in the burn zone next to some vandas. It has aerial roots at least two feet long (they brush me in the face when I walk in the GH door) & they're growing ever longer at a good clip. These things can take a lot of light. Your plant looks pretty good overall.
     
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  4. Sep 2, 2012 #4
    oisifml

    oisifml Active Member

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    Many angraecum sesquipedale enjoy "towering" over their substrate. Without messing with the plant too much you can try to peek by removing a few barks to see id the roots under are nice, green and healthy ( or simply look under the pot maybe you will see some roots). I would not worry about the leaves if it does not spread to other leaves.
    My plant start its spike in winter and blooms at Easter. :)
     
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  5. Sep 3, 2012 #5
    Reyna

    Reyna Orchid Obsessed Supporting Member

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    Hi -- I agree about the leaves. Unless it is spreading, it probably isn't an issue. Very often plants are sunburned or even damaged a bit in transit. If it bothers you, you could always just remove those two leaf tips.

    I would not repot right now. If you are in the Northern hemisphere, the plant is transitioning from active growth to rest -- and it wouldn't do well. Yes, they can be just fine fairly high out of the mix. The key is to have good roots, regardless of where they are. Some people do grow them in baskets, but I never have. Not because it wouldn't work, but because pots has worked well for me and I haven't been inclined to change it. In nature, of course, they are epiphytes and so all or most of the roots are exposed.

    It might be a good idea to gently shift that top layer of bark just to make sure that the roots in the pot aren't rotted, but I wouldn't do more. The plant is blooming sized -- and sesquips either bloom in Dec or late Mar/early April. They only bloom once per year though, so your not having a spike yet isn't necessarily a bad sign.
     
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  6. Sep 5, 2012 #6
    burtonr

    burtonr New Member

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    Many thanks for all the replies -- I am mightily reassured. There is still no sign of any spread of the leaf discolouration, so I hope I am in the clear.
    The roots that I can see without too much disturbance look pretty good and I don't see any mush, so I will just leave them be for now.
    And the new leaf (you can just see a sliver of it in the top photo above) is growing quickly, so I am content that this plant has now settled down in its new conditions.
    Reyna, I am growing in northern Europe, so indeed we are heading towards autumn.
    But we have had rather a late summer and I am still getting some pretty strong natural light that I am giving this plant to try to get that leaf to full size before the gloom sets in and I have to resort to additional lights.
    It would be great to get a spike, obviously, but I am content to know that it is happy. Now I just need to try to keep it that way...
    Thanks again to you all.