Question
Hi, I have a yellow phalaenopsis indoor orchid that I was given as a gift and I'm really worried about its health. I really don't know much about plants at all and am at a loss. The bottom leaves have turned yellow and limp and have come off. The four flowers at the top were blooming nicely but now are closing up. I have not put it in direct sunlight, but am afraid that I have overwatered it. It's in what seems to be a ceramic pot with one hole at the bottom. I really want to try and save it, please let me know anything I can do to help my plant. Thanks so much!

Answer
Hello Phoenix,

From your description of the condition of the phalaenopsis, things do not look promising I'm afraid. But I'll give it a try with some suggestions on what to do. I will give you two different things to try, your choice.

First, stop watering it and wait until the potting media becomes almost dry then water it by soaking only the pot in lukewarm water for 15 minutes, remove it and let the excess water drain before putting it in a warm shady place. While you are waiting for the media to dry out, get some medium sized orchid bark, new pot that is slightly smaller than the one it is in now, a good sharp cutting tool. Once you have everything at hand, soak the bark overnight in water, scoop it out and allow the excess water drain off. While it is draining, lift the phal. out of the pot, clean off all of the old media from the roots, check for any soft mushy roots and remove them as they are dead, hopefully there will be a few firm live roots.

Place about an inch of bark in the new pot, position the phal in the center with the lowest leaf at or just below the pot rim then fill around it with more bark. Gently press the bark down to compress it then add more until the pot is filled. The bottom leaf should be just above the bark when done.

If, by chance, there are no live roots left after trimming off the dead roots, you can try what is popularly known as "sphag-n-bag". Place some barely moist sphagnum moss in a large ziploc bag, place the entire phal in the bag then close the bag. Place the bag in a warm shady place. Once a week open the bag for a few minutes to allow an exchange of air, remoisten the moss if it has dried then reclose the bag. Hopefully in a month to several months you will see new roots grow. Once they are over 2 inches long you can put it in a pot as described above.

I hope you are able to save it.  Good luck!

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.