Question
A couple of months ago, my husband brought me home a phalaenopsis plant that he bought from a florist. It had only one stem and 6 leaves. The florist told him that we should not water it directly and allow the water to drain through, but rather lightly spray the moss daily and keep it in the bathroom or by the kitchen sink in order for it to have sufficient humidity (since we live in Phoenix). About a month ago we left for 3 months on business, and my mother is taking care of it for us. She mentioned to me that 3 of its leaves (at the bottom of the base) have turned yellow and limp and have fallen off, as well as a couple of the flowers and buds, and the root that was sticking out of the moss has shriveled. Are we watering the plant too often? I've read a lot of sites that mention that you should only water it once a week and no one else has mentioned spraying it. I was also reading that the yellow leaves might be due to crown rot? If this is true, will my plant recover?

Answer
Amber, watering frequency depends, among other things, upon the type and condition of potting mix. Moss can compact over time causing root rot because it retains water and will reduce air movement to the roots. I doubt that the loss of leaves is due to crown rot.  I recommend that you locate some orchid potting mix (Lowes and Home Depot garden centers should have it).  This potting mix is more chunky and allows more air movement to the roots.  One mix by Better Gro is specifically for phalaenopsis orchids but any orchid potting mix will be OK.  Once you have a bag of this potting mix, soak a portion of it in water while you unpot the plant.  Toss the moss and rinse off the roots.  The roots that are mushy are dead and/or dying and need to be removed before repotting. Use a plastic pot with lots of drainage holes in the bottom for repotting.  The dead or dying roots have lost their capacity to serve these leaves and you will need to grow additional roots in the fresh potting mix to regain plant health and grow new leaves.  Grow the plant indoors in an east window if you have one. In your situation, water weekly in the morning and place the plant on a humidity tray to compensate for dry conditions. You may also mist the plant, but do it in the morning.  With the proper potting mix, frequency of watering will not be as big of an issue.