Question
Hello! Our family is raising a orchid that produces white flowers.We barely give it water twice a week,or even once in three or four weeks,and if we watered it, we watered it soaking wet,but did'nt mind because there was holes under the pot. And put the plant under a place where sunshine comes in a bit,but not a lot. But I noticed today that one of its leaves got mushy and has a bad odor. I cut it out,because I was afraid it might involve the other leaves. What is the matter with it? What shall I do?

Answer
Ellen, the best practice with orchids is to repot them annually in a special orchid potting mix. I suspect that you have a phalaenopsis or moth orchid which are the most common.  Watering can cause root rot in a degraded or inappropriate potting mix as it holds too much water for too long-- even with holes in the pot.  You should be able to locate orchid potting mix at most garden centers including those at Home Depot or Lowes.  If you could send a picture, I might be more certain about this being a phalaenopsis orchid. Before repotting, seal your cut with a sulphur-based fungicide powder which you can obtain at a garden center.  Once you have it in fresh orchid potting mix, frequency of watering will not be as critical because the potting mix will drain better and allow the plant to dry out between waterings.  The usual frequency for watering is once per week.  If you have a phalaenopsis, you can repot it once per year at any time.  If it is some other tpye of orchid, the timing of the repotting may be more specific.  When you unpot the plant, you may find some mushy roots.  Cut these off as they are dead.  Healthy roots are firm.  Repot it only with the healthy roots.  Until you do the repotting , withhold watering as it is better to keep the plant dry while there is an active bacterial or fungal infection. It was good to remove the mushy leaf.