I would say take it out ASAP. The longer you leave it, the worse it will get. If you replant now, the worst thing that would happen is the blooms shrivel and drop prematurely. I would do it now.

~palmsandsnow

The more I thought about it, the more I felt like that was the only thing to do. I noticed one of the bottom leaves was looking a bit yellow and leathery as well, and I didn't want to start losing leaves - the plant's stressed enough already.

I rinsed all the moss out (so. much. moss.) and got a good look at what I was working with.

Not pretty. Smelled like compost, too.

After cutting off the spikes (sadness!) and cleaning all the mushy, slimy bits here is what I'm working with.

Could be worse, I guess.

Advice for how to proceed from here? Do I have enough root left to repot in a tiny pot? The roots you see here are approximately 3" long.

I realize I'm basically talking to myself here, but have kind of a progress log going here, so I'm just going to keep on.

I potted it up in some orchid bark, in a little redneck planter I rigged from a plastic water bottle. I like that I can see the roots and have a big drainage hole in the bottom, and I can suspend it over something to catch the runoff instead of making a mess.

Maybe!

I live in North Carolina (zone 7b).

The sick plant is currently living in my sewing room, which has two east facing windows and gets filtered morning sun. Temperature is roughly 72 degrees indoors, approx 50% humidity.

Thank you for providing the info.

Your plant should be fine. It looks like you planted it in moss rather than bark. Maybe my eyes or monitor aren't working, lol.

You did a good job cleaning up the plant. The roots actually looked okay to my eyes. It is Spring, time for growth. I would place the plant in an east window, not direct sun and provide warmth. It should recover.

One other point. The pot or bottle you are using will probably cause the roots to grow outside. Phals grow on trees. They like air around their roots. If you leave it in the bottle, the roots will probably branch off and grow into the air. Better placement would be a pot with small orchid bark soaked overnight.

However, your plant should grow as it is now, but the roots will most likely grow outside the bottle.

Good work!

Jane

Thank you!

The medium is Better Gro Phalaenopsis Mix (a blend of fir bark, charcoal, large perlite, and "chunky peat"). I had a hard time getting a photo looks like it does in person. It's kind of difficult to see, but there is a fair amount of air space within the medium.

What kind of pot would you advise me to use? My thought process for choosing the bottle option was to come up with something relatively small (plant was originally potted in a 3" pot) and clear so I could easily monitor root health and moisture levels. I am open to moving it to something else, but I wasn't sure what size and type to go with!

You did everything right! The only thing I would do is a small holes in the planter's walls. Light and warm temperature will initiate new roots growth. For the future, in next cases like this it is better just unpot the plant, loose the moss bomb as much as you can and put a small chanks of bark in the whatever moss left. Push orchid back to the same pot (if it is a plastic liner cut some slots in it). Your drain solution is excellent!