Question
QUESTION: Hello there, I have a pot of phalaenopsis in the office... and humidity here in this country is 90% but in an office environment... the air conditioner just sucks out all the moisture in the air. Flourescent tubes light the entire office.

Now, the pot has no drainage holes.. which means water cannot go through. That said... because of the absence of drainage, the person who works as the nursery told me to just wet the moss on top with a spray.. about once or twice in a week and that would be ok, since orchids die when there is too much moisture on their roots, he said.

So I bought a spray, and applied water to the moss once in a while.. but seems that the plant is dying. first the flowers start to wilt... then I watered more... now the most bottom leave turned yellow and dried up.

I water the plant about once every two days now... shooting the water at the visible roots of the plant... still it doesn't seem to help. all the other surviving flowers all wilted and are just drooping and hanging. The petals even look translucent somewhat. Please tell me what to do, and how can I save this plant. Could it be lack of sunlight?

ANSWER: Bernard, you need to do several things to protect your plant.  The firt of these is to get a plastic pot that has a lot of drainage holes in the bottom and is about the same size as the one the plant is now in.  At the same time you will need to find some orchid potting mix.  The latter can usually be found at garden supply centers.  Once you have the potting mix (which usually consists of fir bark, charcoal and perlite and/or tree fern) and you have a pot, you need to repot your plant. You will remove it from its current container and remove all of the old potting mix from the roots.  You will probably find a number of roots that have collapsed and are mushy.  Those are dead and need to be removed.  The new potting mix may be dry so you will need to soak it for at leasts 15 minutes before using it.  Once the plant is repotted, place the pot on a shallow tray into which some fine gravel has been placed.  Keep some water in the tray but below the level of the bottom of the pot.  This will increase the level of humidity near the plant.  If you wish, you could use a small fan to help pull moisture out of the pan.  You may water the newly repotted plant weekly.  

Moss may be fine in the short term but can compact restricting air movement through the potting mix.  It also can retain too much moisture some of the time and dry out too quickly at other times.  Thus, my recommendation to go to a more conventional orchid potting mix.

I also suggest that you get an area light such as a small spot light that can be placed in the vicinity of the plant.  You can find clip a clip on fixture into which you can screw a plant light bulb.  A 50 watt bulb should do fine. You can put this on a timer so it is on 14-15 hours per day.

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QUESTION: I would like to know WHAT is the cause of the flowers to be falling off and the yellowing of the bottom leaf?
too much water? too little water?
And what does the petals being translucent and drooping mean?
Thanks!

Answer
I believe the cause can be found at the roots.  I think your plant has root rot.  You can verify that by removing the plant from its pot and examining the roots.  Rotting roots are mushy, healthy roots are firm. That diagnosis is not only based upon the flower and leaf symptoms but the fact that it has been in a pot that retains moisture and allows no air movement through the potting mix.  Dying flowers become translucent and lose their substance before falling from the flower spike.  Drooping leaves result from loss of healthy roots that supply that part of the plant with nutrients.