Question
Hi, I have a dying orchid. I am not sure of the species I received it from a friend who got it was a gift from a flower shop. A few weeks ago the leaves began to turn yellow and fall off. Now there are no leaves left and the stem is starting to darken and feel soft from the bottom up. At the top of the plant it looks as if it is trying to grow a new plant. The 2 leaves and 2 shoots are starting to wither now that the stem is dark at the bottom. I tried fertilizing it with orchid food when I first noticed that the leaves were dying. I am unsure what to do at this point and would love to save it. The only thing that I haven't tried is repotting it. Please help. Thanks!

Answer
Sheena, it is likely your plant has root rot. Chances of saving it are marginal as the plant has likely lost most or all roots. You could try repotting it in special orchid potting mix. As part of the repotting process, you will need to unpot your plant and check the roots.  Roots that are mushy or stringy are dead and need to be removed prior to repotting.  Healthy roots are firm and only these should repotted in fresh orchid potting mix. It is possible to have good roots, however, and still not save the plant. This is because the plant may have a condition called crown rot.  Both of these condtions (ie root rot and crown rot) result when the orchid potting mix is in a poor (decayed) state.  When that happens the potting mix holds moisture too long and prevents air from getting to the roots.  Advice for the future:  always repot your plant in fresh orchid potting mix as soon as you get it. Flower shops and garden centers generally admit that they don't repot the plants they sell.  On the surface, the plants seem fine, but, bad  things are happening in the root zone.  When root and/or crown rot has set in, watering the plant makes a bad condition worse so, in a pinch, grow the plant on the dry side. Finally, if there is root rot, the roots will not be able to use the fertilizer so don't feed a sick orchid plant.