Question
I have a white phalaenopsis that was given to me in partial bloom. After a few
weeks, the tip of the stem began to yellow, which slowly continued down the
stem, and the flowers and remaining buds fell off.
I trimmed the stem halfway down the plant, below the yellowing area, but it
soon continued from the tip of the newly trimmed area. I began given a small
biweekly dose of Miracid 30-10-10 plant food. When the condition did not
improve, I repotted the plant from its plastic container to a slightly larger clay
pot, however the yellowing continues to spread slowly

Throughout, the leaves have been verdant and healthy, and the roots seem to
have no problem growing and spreading. Any ideas on how to
bring my plant back to health? I worry that once the stem has completely
yellowed/died it will spread into the leaves.

Thanks!
Kelly

Answer
Do not be concerned about the dying spike Kelly.  It is the natural habit of some phalaenopsis for the flower spike to die back and dry up. Future flowering will come from the base of the plant.  You ndicated that your leaves are healthy and that is good news.  Now that the plant has finished flowering would be a good time to repot it.  Get a bag of orchid potting mix and unpot your plant.  Clean off the roots and check for any dead or decaying roots (they are mushy) and remove them.  Repot the plant only with its firm healthy roots.  It may be that root rot caused premature loss of flowers in this plant so you need to be sure to check that.