Question
Hi,
I bought a Phaelenopsis in February that was nearly in full bloom, and it did well sitting on our coffee table inside all winter and spring.  It bloomed a little further, and then (coincidentally?) the blooms started falling off, starting with the newest.  They are now all gone, and the stem has become red then brown and the redness / dried brown is progressing down toward the base of the plant.  The leaves are still green and appear healthy, although more limp than they were when I bought it, and we hardly ever water it.  I'd really appreciate any advice you have - I've read a bunch, but still cannot tell if this is what to expect.

thanks!

Jason


Answer
Jason, the old flower spike is dying back, which is normal for your plant.  You may cut it off where it joins the plant.  Secondly, I recommend that you repot your plant in fresh orchid potting mix.  As a general rule, an annual repotting following flowering is good practice.  When you obtain your orchid potting mix, soak a potion of it in water and retain the rest dry for future years. Then unpot your orchid plant and rinse off the roots.  Before repotting, remove any roots that are mushy.  Only firm roots are healthy.  Repot into a plastic pot with lots of holes in the bottom.  place the plant roots into a clean pot and slowly add the wet potting mix until the roots are covered.  Set it aside to drain and do not water for a week.  Then, water once weekly until you have new growth.  At that time, alternate watering with feeding (1/4 tsp per gallon of water).
Your plant would prefer morning light from an east facing window, but if that's not available, give it enough light so that you hand will cast a shadow on the plant when held between the light sources and the plant.  It probably will not flower until next spring so, for now, concentrate on growing it well.  Finally, don't expect the limp leaves to recover.  They will eventually die and fall off because the roots that were providing nutrition to those leaves have rotted.