Why Orchid Leaf Tips Turn Black and How to Fix It

Blackened orchid leaf tips are also called scorched tips by some orchid growers, and there are many explanations for what causes scorched tips in orchids. This article is a summary by an experienced orchid grower of the causes of blackened orchid leaf tips based on his own experience.

I believe the cause of scorched tips in orchids is mainly the speed of the plant's own metabolism. For example, with high humidity and suitable temperatures, growth is fast, and this may be why orchids do not get scorched tips. But the dry climate of the north makes it very hard to keep orchids from getting scorched tips.

So the way to avoid scorched tips is to grow the roots as well as possible. This can be done with Cymbidium goeringii (spring orchid), but it is very difficult with Cymbidium faberi (Hui orchids), because Cymbidium faberi has long leaves, and as the sap circulates it leaves some harmful substances stored in the leaf tip area, and over time this causes scorched tips.

Of course there are ways to try to avoid scorched tips in Cymbidium faberi: use light fertilizer applied frequently, and do not use too much fertilizer, otherwise haste makes waste. Try to change the growing medium once a year, and each time you change it, gently rub the roots under the old pseudobulbs with your hands in water, which will remove the harmful salts attached to the root bark surface and restore the orchid to vigorous life.

If you want the orchids in a greenhouse to have no scorched tips at all, you can add a water curtain to increase air humidity, add heat in winter (15°C-30°C), and add some chemical elements that stimulate rapid metabolism in orchids, but this not only goes against natural laws but also greatly reduces the orchid's stress resistance

You can't have your cake and eat it too, haha!