Question
Thank you for your prompt and thorough reply.

I have a few more questions to clarify with you to make sure that I do everything right. Should I cut the spikes down or leave them as they are (healthy and green but without buds or blooms)? Where the crown broke there is some black mush. Is trimming this off enough or do I need to treat it in a special way?

Thank you again for your assistance. Hopefully she can be salvaged...

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Followup To
Question -
Wayne,

I received a healthy phal as a gift this past Feb. It was purchased from a reputable grower and ultimately produced 9 flowers on 2 spikes (4+5). About a month ago one of my previously healthy leaves turned yellow and fell off. I thought I was not feeding the phal enough and increased the frequency that I fed her from once a month to every other week. I left for my parents' on Wednesday and returned tonight (Monday) to discover that another leaf had turned yellow and fallen off. When I went to remove it from where it was laying in the pot, I bumped another leaf, and the crown and remaining two leaves fell off! :-( It was quickly evident that crown rot is the culprit. My question is how do I save the phal? Is it even possible?

Note: (1) When I left for my parents' the blooms were already dropping and only three remained. All have now fallen off. (2) She is potted in a plastic pot measuring 6 inches in diameter at the top with drainage holes on the bottom, and in a mixture primarily of sphagnum moss with occassional pieces of bark.

I'm very upset about this and desperately hope that I can salvage the phal. Thank you for any advice you might have.
Answer -
I believe the problem is more likely root rot than crown rot.  I would immediately unpot the plant and check the roots.  You are likely to find a number of roots that are mushy (and therefore dead).  Remove all mushy roots and parts of roots. A potting mix consisting largely of sphagnum moss is likely to compact-- preventing air movement at the roots which results in root rot.

You can attempt to save the plant if there are one or more firm healthy roots but, without leaves, there is no guarantee that it will recover. Repot the plant with its healthy roots in a stansard orchid potting mix which you should be able to purchase at a garden center. You should soak the mix for several hours and then drain well before use. Be sure the crown of the plant (ie where the leaves originate) is at or slightly above the potting mix.  Set the repotted plant on a humidity tray and do not water until you see new root or leaf growth. You may reduce the amount of light on the repotted plant as it has no leaves to photosynthesize at this time.  You may mist it as you feel the need-- mornings are best.  Patience is a must as it will take several weeks to see any signs of recovery.  Under the best conditions, if the plant produces new growth, it may be a couple of years before it has regained enough strength to reflower.

Answer
I would leave the old flower spikes on the plant.  On occassion I have lost all of the leaves on a phal which never grew new leaves but new plants grew on the old flower spike (called Keikis) which develop roots and can be removed and potted up as vegetative divisions.  Sometimes the old flower spike will naturally dry up.  Which it does is genetically programmed into the plant by its parents.

Try trimming off the "black mush" at the point where you have healthy green tissue.  The wound should seal itself but watch it anyway.  The black area sounds like a bacteria l infection and we want to be sure that hasn't spread into the plant tissues.  Try to keep the area dry after removing the tissue. If it reoccurs, I would again remove the affected areas and use a powder fungicide on the wound.  I use powdered sulphur but there are other powdered fungicides on the market that spread on the wound.