Question
Hey Jim,
I've had this white moth phal for about 5 months and it started with a long arched stem and 7 flowers.  Once all the flowers fell off, I cut the stem down but it never formed a new stalk.  Slowly the stalk started turning brown and hollow from the top down.  I tried to cut it below brown a couple times in hope of stopping it's death but it didn't work.  As you can see in the pictures, the stalk is brown all the way to the base.  The stalk is still firmly attached so I think it still has some life in it.

The leaves are large and firm, with a some yellow and black patches. Unfortunately, I had to travel with it and one of the leaves was crushed.  I cut off the dead half of the leaf and continued caring for it like normal. That leaf seemed to recover and is still all green.  Recently, another leaf started splitting with one side turning yellow and curling up so I cut a little before it hoping to stop the decay.

Today when I lifted the plant out of the potter, I realized that the pot is probably too small since the roots were bunched up tightly and many of them look rotten and mushy.   I think I should try repotting it, any suggestion on the size, medium etc??  

Is there anything I can do to rescue it?  What should I do differently?

I think there may have been times that it got too much sun, was over watered, and cold temps as it has been sitting near a window during the winter.  I think these things caused the problems, would you agree?

Overview:
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/brooker/orchid%20overview.JPG

Stalk:
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/brooker/orchid%20stalk.JPG

Leaves:
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/brooker/orchid%20leaves.JPG

Close-up of the black spot:
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/brooker/orchid%20leaf%20spot.JPG

Thanks for your help,
Adam


Answer
Hiya Adam,

Thanks for the link to photos!  They helped a lot!!  

At first, when I saw the photo of the entire plant, my initial thought was that it could be sunburn damage but after looking at the close-up it looks more like a possible fungal infection due to the watery appearance.  Keep an eye on it and if it appears to be growing in size, cut the entire leaf off to prevent it spreading to the rest of the plant.  One other possibility is that the leaf was in contact with the window at that spot and the cold caused the damage.  

Yes, I did notice some bad roots in the photo but also quite a few healthy looking ones.  When you repot it, try to reuse the same pot or a new pot of the same size.  The reason for this is because most orchids prefer being slightly rootbound in the pot.  As for what to use to repot it with, look for an orchid media that has some medium to large size bark pieces.  Leaves splitting may be due to low humidity along with the plant becoming too dry between waterings.  This usually does not kill the phalaenopsis but just doesn't look nice.  

Basically, the flower stem in the photo is a goner and you can cut the rest of it off leaving about an inch stump.  

Hope this helped.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.