Phalaenopsis orchid, yellow leafs grey roots

[May]

So, I am new with orchids and I bought an Orchid about maybe four months ago. Within a month all the flowers fell. The leafs have shriveled and slowly started turning yellow. It was getting better it seemed, but it is now getting worse. All the leafs are yellow brown or getting there. One fell off today, but it has two left.
I'm thinking it should be changed to a new pot? I have never changed it to a new pot since I got it. I have carefully removed out all the moss. It was moist, but not to moist or dry. Should I water it and let it drain? I'll be cutting off the greyish roots. I am unsure of how to re pot it. Should I buy more moss for the larger new pot or shall I get bark or soil and moss?
It kinda of looked like it was really tight in the container it was in with all that moss. Is that why it is dying? Could I be over watering it or not enough? It was in a see through plastic pot type container with holes around it. Here are a few pics on its current condition. I am hoping I can still save it.

[SlipperGirl]

I dont know if you can save it but you can try

I dont see any good roots so you may just have to cut all the roots off and put the plant in sphag and bag.

[May]

Thank you so much for the quick reply. Shall I put moss in the bag? I have never done that before.
I think there might be one okay root. Before taking out all the moss I thought there were healthy roots hidden under because of how green one was, but it was just the tip. It is firm up to half of it and then it is greyish at the top. Does this root have a chance or should I cut it off too?

[SlipperGirl]

Originally Posted by May

Thank you so much for the quick reply. Shall I put moss in the bag? I have never done that before.
I think there might be one okay root. Before taking out all the moss I thought there were healthy roots hidden under because of how green one was, but it was just the tip. It is firm up to half of it and then it is greyish at the top. Does this root have a chance or should I cut it off too?

Here is how I would do it, first you will need a pot put a little of moss on the bottom of the pot then tie the phals to a stake and put the orchid in the pot is should not be touching the moss and you should keep the moss damp not soaked and not dry. Also you will want to put some hole in the bag

Here is a pic of one of my orchids in a bag, let me know if you have any questions

[Abbie9]

Cut off all the brown/mushy/shriveled roots. Gray/white or green are still viable and could at least help support the plant for a while until new healthier roots have a chance to grow.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Imo, your Phal is very much dead. That tiny piece of green root is not enough to get the thing to regenerate, especially with both leaves gone - if you're trying the traditional way...

If you're well versed in mericloning, then yes, that tiny piece of green root has a possibility of getting you clones. However, I'm assuming you're not well versed in the "complicated" techniques of mericloning. I won't guarantee that if you mericlone the sucker, that it will have a high probability it could be cloned successfully, but it is possible.

That's my "second opinion", take it for what it's worth...

[May]

I had already done the bag thing. It does have two leafs still, they did not fall off. It had three one fell off. One is brownish. I think it may fall off, the other is green. What is mericloning? Should I keep it in the bag or try mericloning it? I would really like to save it, or at least try too.

[RosieC]

I'm sorry to say I agree with Philip. I try and save mine and don't give up for a long time, but I would be throwing that one They tend to either need healthy leaves (I think those remaining two are almost dead and could drop off soon) or healthy roots from which new leaves can grow, but the one bit of green root is unlikely to be enough.

Sorry to be so down, but if I were you I would console yourself by buying two replacements

If I had to guess, I would say that the roots of this rotted, then the leaves were not getting enough moisture and died as a result. Growing in moss can be difficult (though it's a matter of taste as some people do better with it than bark).

Mericloning is not really something you can do at home, it's done in a lab and needs a lot of expertise. It takes some cells from the plant and reproduces them. If you are not familiar with the process and don't know someone with the expertise then it's not really a viable option.

If I were trying to save an orchid, I would do as Abbie says and cut off all the dead root. Then pot it into a tiny tiny pot (an old yogurt pot or something very small, it should be only just big enough to contain the remaining root). These days I would pot it in lecca/hydroton which is clay beads, but in the past I've done this with bark. Cut slits in the sides of the pot, and rest it inside a bigger pot just to keep it upright. I then try to get it drying daily and I water daily. You should only water when it dries, but rescuing them works best when you can water very regularly with quick drying. I also water rescues with luke warm water and use seaweed extract to try and prompt root growth.

However having said that I really do think you could be wasting your time with this one. Really sorry