Orchid leaves have brown spots - disease or normal?

Are the spots mushy, spreading fast, or just sitting there without changing much?

Brown spots on orchids can be totally normal if they're just cosmetic - older leaves naturally develop some discoloration as they age, kind of like how skin changes over time. Orchids also get brown spotting from minor stress like hard water splashes, dust buildup, or even just rubbing against something. If the spots are dry, not spreading, and the rest of the plant looks healthy, you're probably fine and don't need to do anything.

The concerning version is when spots are mushy, wet-looking, spreading outward, or surrounded by a yellow halo - that's usually bacterial or fungal disease. You'll also want to check if the leaves feel soft in those areas. If it looks like disease, remove the affected leaves with a clean knife, improve air circulation around the plant, and dial back watering a bit since orchids hate sitting in moisture. Avoid getting water on the leaves themselves; water at the base instead. If spots keep spreading even after you change your care routine, a fungicide made for orchids might help, but honestly most of the time better airflow and drier conditions fix it on their own.

Brown spots don't automatically mean something's wrong - context matters way more than the spots themselves. The spot location actually tells you a lot: if they're on the lower leaves and barely changing, it's probably just age. But if they're creeping up the newer growth or the leaf feels papery and thin around the spot, that's when you'd want to look at watering habits or humidity, since orchids can get fungal issues when air circulation is poor or they stay too wet around the base.

I had an orchid that got brown spots on the lower leaves every winter, and it turned out to be nothing - just the plant shedding older foliage as it went dormant. The key thing I learned was watching whether the spots stayed put or if the whole leaf started turning yellow and mushy, which would've meant root rot or a fungal issue. If your spots aren't spreading, the leaf feels firm, and there's no smell coming from the soil, you're probably fine and just looking at age or minor water damage on the leaves themselves. Does the plant seem otherwise healthy - new growth coming in, roots looking pale and firm when you peek at the pot?