help with phal

[orchid133]

OMG
so last night one of the 3 leaves on my phal was completely yellow.. and fell off
tonight the other 2 are turning yellow.. i water it once a week like i should and have it facing the south window (im trying to make it rebloom)...
i dont know whats wrong with her.... the top where the moss is was still moist...

can anybody help?

[Ray]

Orchid roots need to breathe. When one waters - especialy with moss as a growing medium - overwatering can compress the moss and block the airflow paths, and suffocate the roots.

Another possibility is that the plant got too cold near the window, although that's less likely an issue.

[quiltergal]

Take it out of the pot immediately and check your roots. I would guess you have root rot and that's why it's dropping leaves like crazy. If it does have rot cut off all the black mushy roots with sterile scissors. Repot in new medium (I prefer coco husk chunks mixed with perlite and charc.), tent it with a plastic bag and put it in a warm lower light spot. If it has no roots left you'll have to got the sphag n bag route.

[orchid133]

i wonder if part of the problem was that it got too hot..
my appartment is fairly hot most of the time....
was cold for a day or two due to getting a tonne of snow and now its hot again (maybe it got shocked??)
the roots that are above moss appear to be fine..
ill have to go to home depot and get stuff to repot it....

[Ray]

In nature, phals mostly populate areas near the equator. Heat is an unlikely candidate.

[orchid133]

no no but the shock of it being cold in my place (we got over a foot of snow) and then the sudden heat..... i know they grow in areas that are very hot...

[Ross]

Please take Ray's advice and check the roots. It's very likely something is happening underground. Mine routinely get into 50s at night and the roots are very strong, green and thriving. How 'bout yours?