Psychopsis papilio flavum... Am I worried over nothing?

[Nlamr]

I have a small psychopsis, and Monday I went to water it, inspected the plant, and was happy to find it has a brand new growth (yay!). It was still on the damp side so I let it be. This morning I look at the plant and one of the leaves is turning yellow and has rotted from the base... 4 days ago it was fine, and the rest of the plant appears to be fine.... Is it a fluke or should I be worried?

[Ray]

We need a LOT more details - potting medium, growing conditions at a bare minimum. A photo would help, too.

[Nlamr]

Ok here is pics, one front, one back, one close up of where the leaf came out, and one of the leaf itself. I took it outside for better lighting for the pictures, it is not being grown in direct sunlight. Only issue I can think of is moisture, I have 4 plants in moss right now and all of them take about 10 days to dry out. Lightning for this guy is about a medium-ish (on the higher side of the ish).

[DeaC]

I may be wrong(again)but I thought Psy. had mottled leaves and very thick. Sure this is what you think it is?

[Nlamr]

Some do some don't. This is the all yellow form, I spent a long time looking for one for sale so I really don't want to lose it.

[Ray]

That may very well have just been an old growth that gave up the ghost, but generally speaking, I believe it is potted too deeply in a medium that doesn't "breathe" well enough. Combined, that might lead to rhizome rot issues.

[Nlamr]

Sooo, ok... I have read that these guys don't reallly like repotting, is there a quick fix to this? Can I just pull some medium off the top and give the remainder a little fluff? If not do I have to repot it in moss (I really don't care for it)?

[Roberta]

I have been growing Psychopsis since nearly the beginning of my "orchid career" well over 20 years ago. I have found that they like to be on the dry side. So medium-large bark would be much better than sphagnum. I'd take it out of the sphag, shake off what comes off easily, leave the rest, and pot into bark. Then it is much harder to overwater. Water every 2-3 days in summer, you can go longer in winter if the house isn't too dry from heating. They need watering, but really need to dry out between waterings. Use a good-quality bark such as Orchiata that doesn't tend to break down, so that you can go longer before repotting.(Also, if it doesn't stay wet, the bark will last much longer) Again, when repotting must be done, only remove medium that falls off easily, so that you disturb roots as little as possible.

[Nlamr]

Sounds good to me! Thanks for all the help!