Question
I received a yellow phal as a gift in February.  From information I got on the web, I thought I was supposed to water weekly and fertilize every fourth watering.  I no longer believe this to be true...this week the blooms on my phal began to lose their color and all of them fell off.  I had left the phal in the decorative pot it came in, and therefore I believe the water was not draining well.  When I removed the dying phal from the pot, the soil/bark mixture was soaked and the roots were becoming pale with black spots.  The leaves are soft and mushy, turning yellow, and have block spots in some areas.  I have left the phal out of the pot to dry out, but today noticed some MOLD growing on the roots. The spike is now paling in color.  Is there any way to save this poor phal?

Answer
Hello Jennifer,

Oh my!  While leaving the gift phalaenopsis in the decorative pot may have looked really nice, as you have found out, it is not good for the phal.  The problem is with the fact there is no where for the water to go so the phal roots are sitting in water for a very long time, eventually causing them to rot.  

The advice you found on the web is fine for pots out in the open where the potting mix is exposed to air movement and thus slowly dries out by the next watering.  

Go to a garden center or nursery and buy a small bag of orchid mix, just make sure it is not soil but is made from loose chunky material.  Unpot the phal and remove as much of the old mix from the roots and also remove any roots that are soft and mushy as they are no longer alive.  Place about an inch of new mix in the pot then lower the phal until the bottom leaf is just below the pot rim and add more mix, try to keep the phal in the pot center.  Water it then place it in a warm shady location for 2 weeks, do not water it during this time but it is okay to give it a light spritz in the morning to help maintain some humidity.  

Are all of the leaves soft, mushy and turning yellow?  If they are, I'm afraid there is not much hope of saving it.  If they are, disregard everything above and think about getting another phal to replace it.  Sorry for being blunt, but I did not want to give you any false hope.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.