Help! My first orchid, a phalaenopsis, has rot!

[nicolaluna]

Hi all,

What a community! Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful responses, I can tell how much you love your orchids! It's very encouraging.

So I followed all the advice, except for one thing- I was extremely sleepy. I took out the scissors and a lighter, and then forgot to do the actual sterilizing. I hope this will be ok; I guess the only thing to do is wait.

I found a few mushy brown roots which pulled off easily, and some leathery white ones which I clipped off. Most of them were green, and there are a lot of slightly leathery ones. Not sure how it can be both too moist (ergo the bugs) and too dry (ergo the leathery roots.)

I haven't been able to find any clear indication online of what the brown bugs are... anyone have a clue? They're extremely tiny, rust brown, move around relatively quickly, squish easily, and seem to be about the size and shape of this comma ,

Thanks again to all. I can't claim responsibility for the beauty of the orchid in the photos, but the colors are unique and I thought some of you might like to see! (The shoddy cell phone cam doesn't capture the shiny white striped petals, but captures the bright colors at least.)

N.