Overwatered Leopard orchid Symptoms of overwatering include limp and wrinkled leaves, yellowing or decay, and general failure to thrive. When Leopard orchid owners see their plant’s leaves looking limp and shriveled, they can sometimes assume that is a sign that it isn’t getting enough water so they keep adding more. This just compounds the problem, so it’s important to look beyond the leaves to identify what’s happening with the roots. Healthy Leopard orchid roots are silvery green, green, or white and feel firm to the touch. When Leopard orchid has been overwatered, the roots will look mushy, limp, and brown or black in color. Rescue an overwatered Leopard orchid by cutting off any rotted roots with a sterile knife or garden shears and repotting them into a new growing medium. It is always better to avoid overwatering because it is possible you won’t be able to save your plant if root rot sets in, so be conservative with water to avoid this issue. Underwatered Leopard orchid Unfortunately, the initial symptoms of underwatering and overwatering are almost identical in Leopard orchid. Check the growing medium with your finger or a moisture meter to get a sense of how much water is being retained. You may need to increase the frequency of watering to get back on track with watering. Once again, the best way to understand the situation is to take a look at the roots. Underwatered roots look crisp, brown, and brittle. Healthy roots are pliable and green, so the difference should be obvious. Luckily it’s easy to revive a thirsty Leopard orchid, as long as the plant still has some healthy roots left. Trim off any dried up or dead root pieces, as they won’t be able to come back to life. Then repot the plant and water thoroughly. Within a week or two, shriveled and limp leaves should start to firm up and look healthy. If the leaves are too damaged to be revived once you water them thoroughly, they can be removed to make room for new growth.

Regardless of which type of medium you use, your Leopard orchid should be watered when the mix is mostly but not completely dry. This can vary depending on the environmental conditions, but generally it will be about once or twice a week in summer and as infrequently as once every 2 weeks in winter.

Leopard orchid is a epithet plant, which means that they do not grow in soil as most plants do. In order to grow a happy and healthy Leopard orchid, you’ll need to choose your growing medium carefully. Regardless of what your Leopard orchid grows in, the container needs to have plenty of drainage holes. Leopard orchid pots are specifically designed to hold a chunky potting mix with lots of ventilation compared to other plant pots. They also tend to be tall and narrow, allowing air to circulate around the center of the roots, not just the edges. One popular potting medium for Leopard orchid and other Leopard orchid is bark. It is generally sourced from fir trees and drains very well. Since Leopard orchid grows on bark in the wild, it makes sense that they would do well with a similar substrate when grown indoors. The disadvantage of using bark is that the plant needs watering more often since bark dries out quickly. The other common planting medium for orchids in sphagnum moss. Most commercially grown Leopard orchid specimens will be sold in moss, because it is lightweight, cheap, and it allows nurseries to water less often. Unfortunately, sphagnum moss is not very forgiving for those who aren't experts in orchids. Because it is extremely absorbent, moss runs the risk of holding too much water next to the roots, resulting in root rot. If your Leopard orchid is planted in sphagnum and you plan to keep it that way, be very judicious in your watering. Less is more when it comes to watering in general, and it is quite difficult to reverse root rot once it has set in. Watering your Leopard orchid from below is recommended, as this allows you to avoid splashing water on the leaves, stem, and flowers. To water from below, set the pot into a container of water and allow the roots to soak up moisture for 10-15 minutes. Normally, you can stop this process when the surface of sphagnum is wet. Drain thoroughly before returning your Leopard orchid to its normal location, as these plants hate to sit in water.

It is helpful to lightly prune this plant periodically during the spring and summer. When performing this light pruning, you should search for leaves that have wilted, become discolored, show signs of disease, or have died completely. Remove dead or damaged leaves by cutting their petioles, or trimming off stems that have died. This will increase the light and ventilation of the plant and help it to grow. Some gardeners also choose to remove the flower buds of the Leopard orchid. However, removing flower buds before they open is a strictly aesthetic decision that will emphasize the beauty of this plant’s showy leaves.

You can prune your Leopard orchid any time you notice dead, diseased, or damaged leaves during the growing season. Once you notice such a leave, locate an unwanted leaf, then follow its stem all the way to the bottom of petiole. Removing dead stems will increase the light and ventilation of the plant and help it to grow. you can cut its stem just above the soil’s surface to remove it. Such pruning can take place as needed during spring and summer. Also, this plant can bloom any time between spring and fall, and some gardeners choose to remove flower buds before they have a chance to open. Removing unopened flower buds allows this plant to focus most of its growing energy on its beautiful leaves. However, pruning in this manner does not necessarily influence the plant’s overall health.

Pruning the Leopard orchid is as easy as waiting until you notice dead or damaged leaves on your plant. When you recognize these leaves, equip yourself with a pair of sharp and sterile hand pruning shears. Hand pruning shears will work best as larger tools like loppers will not be well suited to the precise cuts you need to make. Once you have a proper set of pruning tools, locate an unwanted leaf, then follow its stem all the way to the bottom of petiole. Removing dead stems will increase the light and ventilation of the plant and help it to grow. Cut the stem just above where it exits the soil to remove it entirely. If you wish to stop this plant from flowering, you can use the same pruning shears to remove any buds before they open. Finally, you may prefer to just trim off dead or damaged portions of the plant, including deadheading spent flowers, to keep it looking its best. This can be done at any time of year. Diseased or damaged stems should be cut right at the soil line and removed completely. Blooms should be cut off just below the flower head.

Since pruning for the Leopard orchid should take place periodically throughout the season, what you do after pruning can vary. For instance, if you prune to remove selected leaves and stems from your Leopard orchid, you won’t need to do anything except continue your regular maintenance routine. At times, you may choose to remove healthier leaves and include them in a display of cut flowers and foliage. However, there is no crucial maintenance task to perform for this plant after typical pruning. The only thing to note is that when watering after pruning, you need to be careful not to touch the wound to prevent fungus from infecting the plant through the fresh wound. Placing Leopard orchid in a well-ventilated location will also help the wounds to dry out and heal in time. The timely replenishment of Leopard orchid after pruning will help the Leopard orchid to recover as soon as possible.

For your major pruning, use sharp pruning sheers that will make clean cuts to avoid damaging your plants. As you are pruning your Leopard orchid, step back occasionally to check the appearance of the plant to make sure it has the shape you want and that you are pruning it symmetrically. If the overall growth of the plant is weak, the flowers need to be pruned back in time for flowering to be able to save nutrients for leaf growth and allow the plant to grow more vigorously.

Leopard orchid requires about 3-6 hours of direct sunlight each day to thrive. However, it also needs some shade during the hottest parts of the day to prevent sun damage. Morning sunlight is ideal for Leopard orchid, but it can also tolerate some afternoon sun if the temperature is not too hot. To provide the perfect balance of sunlight, try planting Leopard orchid in an area that gets partial sun, such as under a tree or on the east side of a building.

If Leopard orchid is exposed to too much direct sunlight, its leaves may turn yellow, dry out, or even burn. You may also notice that the plant wilts or becomes stunted. To prevent sun damage, make sure to give Leopard orchid some shade during the hottest parts of the day. You can use a shade cloth or plant Leopard orchid near taller plants that can provide some natural shade.

If Leopard orchid doesn't get enough sunlight, it may grow tall and lanky, with sparse foliage. The leaves may also turn yellow or pale green, indicating that the plant is not producing enough chlorophyll due to lack of sunlight. To remedy this, try moving Leopard orchid to a sunnier spot, or prune nearby foliage to allow more light to reach the plant.

All plants rely on soil nutrients to facilitate their growth, and the Leopard orchid is no exception. However, it is not always a guarantee that the soil in which your plants grow will have all of the nutrients required. Fertilization and soil amendments help ensure that the plants in your garden not only have the basic nutrients they need but also that they get the nutrients that are specifically necessary to them. Leopard orchid needs fertilizer to ensure that its roots and stems continue to develop in a healthy way throughout the growing season. Fertilization will also help a Leopard orchid a set of leaves that looks fantastic, which is especially important for this plant since its foliage is its main point of ornamental appeal.

A Leopard orchid will need the greatest amount of fertilizer during the seasons in which it is actively growing. This active growth phase typically spans most of the months that make up spring, summer, and early fall. Once winter ends, you should plan to feed your Leopard orchid about once every two to four weeks. Continue feeding at this rate until the fall months arrive. Once fall arrives, you can reduce your fertilization rate, reducing the amount of fertilizer you give gradually until you cease feedings entirely in anticipation of winter, when the Leopard orchid will have far less active growth.

Throughout most of the year, including spring, summer, and most of the fall, you should continue feeding your Leopard orchid regularly. The only exception to this is if you notice that your Leopard orchid has received too much fertilizer or if you have managed to fertilize your Leopard orchid incorrectly, causing fertilizer burn or some other issue that you'll need to remedy before returning to a regular feeding schedule. The only time of year when you should not fertilize a Leopard orchid is during winter. If you grow this plant indoors in an area where the winters are cold, it will enter a dormant phase during the winter. Feeding this plant during its dormant phase is not only unnecessary and unhelpful to this plant's growth, but it is also very likely to cause fertilizer burn.

The fertilizer for a Leopard orchid has a specific blend of nutrients, each of which is present in relatively low amounts. An ideal fertilizer will have an N-P-K ratio of 3-1-2. However, a general-purpose fertilizer that has an even blend of nutrients can work well in some cases. Still, even when using a balanced fertilizer, the ratio number representing the volume of each nutrient should be at 10 or lower. The fertilizer you use can be either granular or liquid based. If you choose to use a liquid-based fertilizer, it is often best to dilute the strength by half. While there is not much downside to granular fertilizer, it is often most sensible to use liquid fertilizer, especially if you feed your Leopard orchid while you supply water.

The fertilizer that you purchase for your Leopard orchid will likely come with application instructions that you should follow in most cases. However, for a Leopard orchid, you should always fertilize just before or while you are watering the soil, as this will prevent the fertilizer from burning the plant's roots. If you use a slow-release granular fertilizer, you should sprinkle it on the soil and then provide water immediately after. If you use a liquid-based fertilizer, you should dilute it with water, apply it to the soil, then supply a bit more water. Diluting your fertilizer by at least half is especially important in spring and fall when the plant's growth is ramping up and decelerating, respectively.

Since it is advisable to fertilize your Leopard orchid every few weeks throughout the growing season, overfertilization is not often an issue. However, it remains possible for this to occur. If you overfertilize your Leopard orchid, you may notice accumulations of excess fertilizer on the soil’s surface and foliage discoloration. Fertilizer burn is the most common issue you should worry about when feeding a Leopard orchid. This issue occurs when you overfertilize, fail to dilute your fertilizer, or when don’t water during and after fertilization. In any of those cases, the fertilizer can draw moisture out of your plant’s roots, causing it to dry out. Often, fertilizer burn will manifest with browning and yellowing of this plant’s leaves.