Quote Originally Posted by Ellycin View Post
I can officially call myself an orchid killer. (It's not something I'm proud of seeing as I love orchids... possibly to death. ) The first phal I picked up lasted for about 9 months before it died off, I probably over watered it. So when I picked up the second phal, I was determined to not over water the poor thing. I watered approximately every 2 weeks depending on how wet the medium was. Alas, after 2-3 months, the second phal's stem rotted and died.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm either doing something terribly wrong or the store I picked up from wasn't keeping the orchids in good condition. I've also come to the conclusion that I really hate sphagnum moss. I'm afraid to purchase another phal orchid. I would love to try again but I just have a feeling that I'll never be able to keep it alive. Any suggestions?

Thank you.
well, agreed to what Connie said, great advice. no further suggestion right now but would like to give you some encouragement. don't give up, you are doing much better than me. my first catasetum didn't even last for a month!!! we made mistakes all the time but the important thing is to learn from it, i find internet browsing quite useful and off course, ORCHID TALK FORUMS helps!! members here are very humble and helpful.
but soon after learning more on catasetums cultivation, now i had 30 different types of catasetums alone, din mange to kill one for a very long long time and also able to help to revive some very poor conditioned catasetums i bumped into from time to time in the nursery.