QuestionI took a phalenopsis plant from my friend recently, and all of its leaves are still green and firm, but the stem has completely withered. I was going to try taking off the dead roots and repotting it, but I wanted to double check with someone before I did that. Is there anything else I should try? I live in Michigan, and the plant is about six months old and has been kept indoors out of direct sunlight. I'm not sure how much it was being watered before, though.
AnswerI assume that what you refer to as the "stem" is really the old flower spike which bore the flowers. Depending upon the type of phalaenopsis, it is natural for that flower spike to die back after flowering and turn brown. At the time of next flowering, the plant will grow a new flower spike.
You could remove it at the time you unpot it to remove the dead roots and repot it in fresh orchid mix. The repotting should be done annually, so that is a good idea.
With fresh potting mix you don't need to be quite so concerned about overwatering, especially if it is a well drained mix. After repotting, I would drench the plant once per week and let it drain well before replacing it to its growing area.
Phalaenopsis are indoors plants that like a fairly constant temp of 65-80 degrees. They like humidity so you might consider placing the pot on a humidity tray. Phalaenopsis grow best in an east window sill where they can get some early sun.
