Question
I have nine orchids and most seem to be doing quite well.  I have three that arent though.  I did not know that you had to cut the stalks down until recently and i have had them for three months and each of the three that arent doing well had damaged flower stalks.  Two of the plants only have a single leaf on them, and the third is starting to turn yellow and the smooth leaves are getting all bumpy. The single leaved plants look like their roots are dried up and I have been watering them between 5-10 days.  all of the plants that are not doing well had damaged stalks either when I bought them or when they were transported home and I just cut the rest of the dead stalks down to the plants.  Is there a way for me to save my plants?

Answer
Al, we have a couple of unrelated issues here.  The first issue deals with the flower spikes.  Depending upon the type of phalaenopsis, old flower spikes may turn brown and die back.  This perfectly natural and doesn't suggest any problem with the plant's health.  These flower spikes can be cut off with impunity.  Other types of phalaenopsis retain their old green flower spikes after flowering. These old flower spikes may bloom again if the plant is healthy and the flower spike is cut off just above the second node (ie joint) in the flower spike.  In either case, a healthy plant may send up a new flower spike from it's base each spring.

You will note that I referred to a "healthy" plant.  This, I believe, is a second issue with your plants. It is generally recommended that the old orchid potting mix be replaced with fresh fir-bark based orchid potting mix after each flowering.  If this is not done, root rot may develop, the first visible signs of which are yellowing leaves and/or leaf loss. First step is to locate a good orchid potting mix that you can use.  This is usually based upon fir bark and has other ingredients such as perlite, charcoal, lava rock, etc.. Moss is generally not a reliable potting mix-- especially for beginners, because it may compress over time, limiting air flow and retaining too much moisture at the root zone.  You also will need pots with lots of drainage holes.  Remember these are not house plants in the usual sense.  They are jungle plants where the roots are often exposed to air.  By putting them in pots, we need to ensure that the potting mix allows air movement to the roots.  Moss and older potting mixes which have partially decayed, restrict that air flow and root rot results.  You should be able to see this effect yourself.  Unpot a plant with a yellow leaf or with only one leaf.  You will find roots that have collapsed and are "mushy". When root rot sets in, roots can no longer provide the needed nutrients to the leaves. When a rotted root serving a particular leaf, rots, that leaf will be lost.  Healthy roots are firm and turn green. If you have only one healthy leaf, there may be only one healthy root.  In orchids, roots not only conduct nutrients to the leaves and flower spikes, but they also photosynthesize.  Orchid roots turn green when wet because they contain chlorophyll.

I doubt that you can save the three plants in bad shape, but you might do well to repot the other six if they have not been recently repotted.  If you have not repotted before and are uneasy about attempting it, let me know I can walk you through the process that I use.