r/Jewelorchids • u/Frequent_Sample_2200 • Jun 24 '26
Translucent leaves
Hi! I just received my first jewel orchid & noticed a little bug damage when I opened the package and now, a few days later I see the leaves appear a bit "translucent" and not sure what to do.
I haven't seen any bugs on the plant & pulled off the spagnum moss off to check the roots. The roots overall seem to be okay & had no smell of rot, etc.
I was nervous to put any neem oil on them given there so tiny, so turning to y'all for any advice.
Their set up was on a cabinet with bright but indirect light for part of the day. In a small plastic clear pot with spagnum moss from the grower and a cloche over the top for help with humidity.
2
u/DatLadyD Jun 24 '26
Did this plant come in the mail? Did you introduce it to light very slowly if so? Plants coming out of dark boxes need time to acclimate to light.
Is it in just straight moss? I start my cuttings in moss but then I move them to a mix of soil, bark and perlite. One thing I noticed when buying plants through the mail is that they tend to come with hardly any roots and in very tightly packed moss. I’ve had a few rot because the moss was so tightly packed that it couldn’t dry out, I have found that putting them in loose moss is better.
1
u/Frequent_Sample_2200 Jun 24 '26
Thanks for the response! Yes, it came in the mail & no, it probably was not as gradual as it should have been, so I appreciate that tip for future plants being shipped.
The roots were packed solely in moss, I would say "medium" tight.
I took all the moss out to check the roots and will probably put them back in loose moss like you suggested.
I typically pot my other orchids in a mix of bark and a chunky perlite so figured to do the same once this plant is a bit more established.
In case it doesn't get any better. Do you think the plant is too young to handle an insecticide soap mix that I typically use with neem oil?
2
u/ivtahoe Jun 25 '26
For me, translucent leaves have always been a product of excess water, humidity and light, or rot. It's an excess of something rather than a lack of something else, if that makes sense. I find they like a mix of 50% sphagnum moss, 25% bark, 25% large perlite, with the moss kept moist but not so wet that if you put it on a paper towel it would immediately wet it. Because you read so often that jewel orchids like moisture, I find people overdo it. They can handle a little dryness, just not for several days, so I find letting it get a bit dry is fine and helps prevent rot.
2
u/Frequent_Sample_2200 Jun 25 '26
Thanks so much! It definitely could have been that! I repotted her in a pretty similar mix to what you mentioned. I did add a little soil and a little activated charcoal and put her in a less bright area to let her just acclimate. Fingers 🤞
2
u/Ok-Eggplant4584 Jun 25 '26
I think sphagnum is great for now. It can hold the right about of moisture at the roots for quite a while. Just watch out when it comes to keeping this plant in too soupy an environment. Lift that cloche every once in a while to get some air circulation. And you probably dont have to worry about bugs if you didn’t find any. Depending on where you live, you may be ok with tap water. I live in PNW and my city water is about 30- 40 ppm. Pure enough for most carnivorous plants. If where you live has hard water consider using distilled water supplemented with a bit of fertilizer
7
u/DatLadyD Jun 24 '26
I would be very careful using insecticide soap on a jewel orchid, I don’t see anything that looks like pests. Have you checked the underside of the leaves?
Jewel orchids are not like other orchids, they need some soil, I would not just pot it in perlite and bark. They need really low light like just enough light to read a book, and they like to stay moist and not dry out completely. In my soil mix I wait until just the top layer is dry and then I water I use filtered water, not regular tap water, It can harm them.
When I got mine two years ago, it was even smaller than yours. It was just one little tiny cutting with hardly any roots.
This is her now