Help overwatered orchid is dying!

[Cali]

Ok.. so this is my first orchid plant and I think it's dying because I accidently overwatered it even though I tried my best not to. I thought these plants should somewhat dry out between watering and so I was waiting for it to dry out but then the flowers started to wilt. I gave it some water and now I think I gave it too much. Three leaves turned yellow and fell off. There is one leaf that is starting to turn yellow. Here are my questions...

What am I doing wrong?

What can I do to help make it better?

Are these plants suppose to dry out between watering?

How do I know when to water it? Is it roughly about every 7 days? How much water do I give it when I water it?

[Lizgeo]

Do you let water drain completely before you place it in the container? If it is growing in moss, it takes longer to dry out than bark.

[cindiras]

You may want to gently tip it out of it's pot and check the roots. If the roots feel mushy, the plant has been overwatered and has rotting roots. Or was it exposed to a temperature change on the way home with you?

[Cali]

The plant was brought to my house as a gift so I'm not sure about the temperature change. The plant itself is potted in the container directly and there is no drain holes. It is grown in moss. The roots do not feel mushy, although I did notice some roots are even dried out.

So what do I do from here?

[ischel1]

Get it out of the moss...now. Trim away any black or broken roots. repot in orchid bark in clay pot...with a hole in the bottom. Trim off the wilting flowers. Moss has a tendency to keep the roots either too wet or too dry and not allow any air to circulate around the roots.There is plenty of info on potting Phals on the net. Just google Phal culture.
Good luck

[cindiras]

Cali, you can put the flower spikes in a vase after you cut them off the plant. They may fill out a bit for a week or two (or maybe not). If your plants roots are dry, they may be dead. Give the plant a ten minute soak in tepid water. Live roots will absorb water, the dead ones will get mushy so you will be able to tell which roots to trim off beforeyou repot.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

How did it go, Cali? Is it okay now?

Cheers,
BD

[Becky15349]

That plant needs more light too, I think...that corner looks too dark. How is it going Cali?