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Why Orchid Leaves Twist & Curl and How to Fix Them
16K views
Oct 3, 2024
When I was watering one of my orchids this morning, I noticed the leaf was bunched together, like it had been twisted. It wasn’t flimsy or limp, but sturdy and otherwise healthy. This curled orchid leaf was bothering me since I saw no exterior sign of pests or insects. What are some of the culprits to curling and twisting of the orchid leaf? The main reason orchid leaves curl is because the orchid leaf follows the light source when it grows. If the light source constantly changes, the orchid leaf will curl and twist, turning toward the brightest light. Another reason orchid leaves curl is the potting medium is loose, causing an unstable rooting system. Fungus problems and insects are the third and fourth culprits in why the orchid leaf curls and twists. Let’s look at these four reasons one by one. At the end of the article, I'll add 2 more reasons that may be occurring, but less likely. I hesitated to add them to the list, but decided to anyway since just because they're less likely to occur, doesn't mean they don't. So... on to the 6 reasons of why orchid leaves curl. If you want the full explanation of this video in writing, go to https://orchideria.com/orchid-leaf-curl/ On Orchideria.com, you can find more in-depth guides and all the access to our information, tutorials, guides, and much more... all for free! Happy Cultivating! ______________________ HASHTAGS: #orchidcare #orchid #Orchideria #AmandaMatthews _______________________
View Video Transcript
0:00
Sometimes orchid leaves can twist and curl like this one here
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It grows out straight and it goes dips down and up and around at the end
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It's not a straight leaf by any means. For example, like this one is straight
0:14
And it's still firm. I mean, there's resistance to it. It's not floppy
0:18
It's not weak in any sense. It's not dehydrated. So there's something else that's going on with this
0:24
So in this video, I'm going to show you six reasons that this happens
0:30
Now, a heads up, there are actually four reasons, but if you go through the four and you don't find what it is
0:36
I added two more that are less likely to happen, but also probable
0:41
So I added those in case, but they're mainly four reasons. Find out what happens, why this happens
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and more importantly, how to fix it, because we all want this straight, beautiful, healthy leaf on this side
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Hi, I'm Amanda Matthews. and if you're new to my channel, I help you care for orchids indoors
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since my environment, I can't grow them outside. The first reason, and it's not the main reason, it's just one
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so it's not an order of importance here, is that the orchid will follow the light source
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So if you're watering your orchid, and it's always faced one way on the shelf
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and you take it to the sink, water it, just let that water run through it
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put it back on the shelf, and turn it a little bit. Those leaves that were once faced, I'll use east and west, those leaves that were once faced east
1:33
are now facing west. So the orchid wants to keep their natural position. They don't like to be handled. They
1:40
don't like to be messed with. They do not like to be repotted. The less you touch them, the better
1:47
So when you put them back on the shelf, either they're under lights or on the window seal or wherever you have them
1:53
the orchid will want to maintain its original position. So if those leaves were slightly bent towards the light facing east
2:02
but now they're toward the light facing the west, they will curl back toward the source of the light
2:08
Now think back in nature why this happens. When the orchid in nature is attached to a tree
2:14
and I'm talking mainly about beginner orchids, so a phalanopsis or a moth orchid like this one right here
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it grows on trees. Those roots wrap around the tree, to hold on for life. They get up about two-thirds of the height of the tree so that they can get enough
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filtered sun. Remember, these will grow in forests where the leaves on top are very thick. So
2:39
not a lot of sunlight will penetrate and hit this leaf. So the leaf is always looking to maximize
2:45
that potential of light because that's how it gets its energy, some of its energy. So the leaf will
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always follow the light direction and some flower spikes will too. I put it one way on the shelf
2:58
and it started growing towards the light and then I moved the pot and it started twisting back
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to the source of the light. If you want a twisted crooked spike, I mean that that's to each's
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own beauty you can't discuss. But if you want a straight spike and straight leaves, keep that light
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source the same. If you take them off the shelf, put them back on the shelf in the same position
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House plants will do the same thing. If you turn the house plant, you know, like you have a piece
3:30
lily and you put it by the window and all the leaves are looking this way because the sun coming in and you turn it around all of a sudden the leaves will turn back to the other side They just looking for that light source So that the number one reason why the leaves can be twisting and curling
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Now you'll notice this in both leaves, on all the leaves actually, they will start to follow that light source
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wherever it's coming from. The second reason that your leaves will twist and curl in a weird position that is not what you wanted
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is that the potting media inside your pot is unstable. It's not providing the stability to really hold that orchid upright
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And the orchid is toppling or wobbling inside the pot, and it will topple to one side
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Now, the orchid thinks it's on a tree. So if it's feeling like it's wobbling
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it's going to move so ever so slowly, the leaves to the other side to counterbalance that
4:29
and stay on that tree. It's looking for stability. That's the number one thing that it wants in a potting media, stability
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So if your orchid potting media is very light and it's not holding that orchid upright
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those leaves are going to counterbalance that. They're going to move to try to find that stability
4:48
because they want to stay in one position. Of course, you will not see this from one day to the next
4:54
You'll see this over a course of a few months. Your orchid is starting to topple and those leaves are going
5:01
to side with it. Some phalanopsis orchids already grow kind of laying down to the side
5:08
but their leaves will support that and so will their roots. If that's where it wants to go
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the whole orchid will go, not just one leaf. So if your orchid is toppling over and that's the
5:20
natural position for it, do not try to change it. That's the way it wants to grow. Just let it
5:25
lie down and relax and just kind of slide through life. That's what it wants to do. The
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The third reason that a leaf will curl and turn and twist in unnatural positions is pest and insects
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No, I'm not talking about my cat in this one. I'm talking about smaller creatures
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For example, they will come into the orchid leaf and they will chew on the tissue
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They usually chew on the underside of the tissue, which is more tender. And they'll chew on the newer leaves, which is also more tender
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They love buds or anything that is in formation. If you have a cateleo orchid, it will be the most juiciest part for the insects to chew on
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And where that tissue in the leaf has actually broken, it will twist and curl
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It will become shorter. The tissues will contract. And therefore, it will turn and curl
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If you know you haven't been turning your orchid around in circles and making it lose it
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sense of direction. If you know that your potting media is stable and providing good stability
6:34
for your orchid or if it's not staked, you probably need to stake it. So if it's not those two
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it might just be pest and insects. And some of these insects are really hard to see. You'll
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probably notice a few white specks on the underside of the leaves, or it could be like a spider
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web or it could be fungus nats don't actually hurt the orchids so I'm going to skip those
7:00
It could be aphids. It could be scale bug. It could be thrips. It could be all kinds of insects
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So if you notice that your leaf is curling in one leaf or here and there and it not in a overall pattern You look at the underside of the leaf and really examine that leaf
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Take it to the sink, rinse it out. If you can soak the orchid, the entire orchid in a bucket of water, just drop it in the bucket and see what kind of crawls out of it
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Some insects will react to vibration. So if you tap your leaf, they will start sprawling all over the place
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But you have to really examine your orchid because sometimes they get in here and I don't know how
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They're indoor orchids, but they find their way inside. This will happen a lot more if you take your orchids outside during the spring and summer and autumn
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and bring them inside during winter. That happens a lot. And so before you bring them inside, give them a good soak
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You probably treat them with a preventive method of. pesticide, insecticide, bacteria side, any sides that you want to add to that to keep
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them actually free. The first three reasons that I mentioned are if the leaves are still sturdy
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firm, green, they haven't lost their color, they're still very firm, they're not dehydrated
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they're very, I mean they're resistant, you know, they just, if I try to bend this
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it will probably break, that's a firm healthy leaf. If your leaves are like this one
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and I'm using this one because it's dying off. If your leaves are floppy, they don't add any resistance and they're starting to discolor
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these are the next reasons for that specific item. The fourth reason is a fungus
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And what will happen on here is the fungus will enter through the root system and crawl up through the orchid, through the shilum
8:55
to get to the leaf. And here the fungus will feed on the moist nutrients and water supply and everything that that leaf has
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So it's going to dry up and curl through that leaf all the way back and it will take one leaf
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then the next leaf, then the next leaf, independent. It starts on the top, middle, bottom
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It doesn't have a pattern to it. It will take over the whole orchid
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And the fungus will feed on all the nutrients and water, and the orchid leaf will not
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So the orchid leaf will slowly die off in a state of where you think you're giving it fertilizer
9:32
you think you're giving it water, you're doing everything right. Put you back in the camera like that
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And then all of a sudden you don't know what's happening. So the fungus is the fourth reason
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It's kind of hard to treat once it gets to this point
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because it's already in the whole orchid as an entire plant. You can treat it with a fungicide
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but it's kind of hard to recover after it's gotten to that point
10:00
So if you see every single one of the other, of your leaves just starting to curl, twist, and die off and look like it's dying
10:08
And not just the older leaves. And you see the discoloration also in the leaf
10:14
The leaves start to become limp and flimsy. It's probably a fungus
10:19
The fifth reason that orchids will use will curl and twist in unnatural shapes is because
10:24
of overwatering. Now, overwatering can have the same symptoms as underwatering. So it's kind of hard to tell you
10:32
You might think that your leaves are going limp and twisting and curling in different ways
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And you think, oh, it's not getting enough water. So you water it more
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But then the roots can absorb that because they already rotted and decayed So that rot and that fungus and that bacteria just start spreading around inside the pot That is a huge problem because overwatering will also lead to over fertilizing
10:59
Because if you're fertilizing with the water that you do every week, that means it's getting a lot
11:04
more fertilizer than it should too. Now this will cause the tips to curl under, to curl in
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and that's mainly because of the overfertilizing, which just comes with the overwatering
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So it's kind of like they walk hand in hand. Once you have lost all those roots
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it's extremely, you can grow them back, but it is kind of hard
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There is a video up here about the spag and bag method
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which is to keep the orchid hydrated until it does grow enough roots
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It's risky, but it is an option. But once the orchid, has lost all its roots. It's just a patience game. You need to keep it alive until it can grow
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new roots. Number six is the last reason. And you'll notice very quickly, it's because you get
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a new orchid and you buy it either at a nursery or you order it online. Online happens a lot more
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And you take it home and you take that protective plastic off of it. Now, in some places
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they want space because they're in the business of selling things. So the more items they have
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On the shelf, the better it is. They don't want an orchid that has huge leaves to the side
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So let's bundle all these leaves up straight, wrap them around in plastic and keep them there
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After all, they think I'm going to keep this orchid for about a week on the shelf
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It will be gone, so no harm done. Right? Wrong. See, that plastic that keeps that orchid in shape, and so it immobilizes all the leaves just tightly up like that
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And you take that plastic off, these leaves do not bounce back
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Orchid leaves, I mean they will, but it's a slow process. These leaves will slowly start to go back to the original shape that they were in
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and that will take a while. So don't push those leaves down, you'll break them
12:58
But that twisting and turning of the leaf in an unnatural shape
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just is because they've been confined in that space. And online shipping is the worst because of this
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because they have to wrap those leaves tightly. they have to keep them protected during transport
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So it's normal that they will wrap them very tightly and these leaves can get twisted in a shape
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So the sixth reason is just transport or shipping or just being confined into that space
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and orchid leaves will not react as quick to come back and open up and be that beautiful orchid leaf
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down to the side that's straight. If you have had an orchid leaf that has been twisting
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and one of those reasons was not one that I mentioned here
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Please write it in the comments below because these are just, again, my ideas of what I've researched
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of what I've found. And I learned so much through your comments
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And that just makes it better for the whole community to learn too
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So please add those in the comments below. And if you like this video, please give it a like because that just helps me know what videos are working and videos are not working
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and you can add reasons to that too i do appreciate it all feedback is welcome and don't stop
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your orchid care here these are two more videos that i suggest right here you can watch them
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in sequence and i wish you the best in your orchid care happy cultivating
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