Question
i have had  my orchids since 11/5/2011, i have one that has finished its bloom, i have cut it back and continue to ice it once weekly. now the base and its leaves are yellowing fast i have had to remove almost all of them and i can see the yellow all over the base of it. is there anything that i can do... do i need to repot this one now.... please help.. i love these plants and i am fairly new at gardening but him open to suggestions.

Answer
Denise, the surest way to kill an orchid is to ice it.  I realize that this is an idea that is being pushed by at least one commercial grower as a way to "simplify" orchid watering. Plant roots do not like to be cooled.  Cool and wet are the quickest route to root rot.  The other problem with this method is that it does not uniformly wet the orchid potting mix so there are some spots that remain too wet and others that stay too wet. Water plants only with room temperature water.  When you water, thoroughly soak the potting mix and do not water again until it is nearly dry.  The other factor is the type of potting mix.  Generally speaking, moss is not a good orchid potting medium.  It compacts restricting air movement to the roots, it can remain too wet or, conversely, when it dries, it is difficult to rewet.

Your orchid plants should be potted in a plastic pot with lots of drainage holes.  Use a type of orchid potting mix that contains some fir bark (Lowes or Home Depot may sell this).  Since dry fir bark repels water, you must soak it good before repotting with it.

I suggest you start with repotting the plant that just finished flowering. Once you are ready to repot, unpot your plant, rinse off the roots.  Healthy roots are firm and rotting roots are mushy.  The latter must be removed prior to repotting. Root health is the key to growing a healthy plant.