phal flowerstem concern

[Newbiegreenthumb]

So I have this phal that I bought at the local grocery store and it was very healthy. It had two sprays of pretty small purple flowers. The flowers dropped, which was normal, and so I cut one of the stems back to the first node before the first flower to see if I could get a keiki to grow (or at least some more flowers), but the end of the stem where I cut it has turned black.
And the other stem, which had more unopened buds and thus took longer for the flowers to drop, the little sheaths where the flowers come out have all turned black and the sheaths along the nodes are turning black as well.
So to make a long inquiry short, What is going on here? Should I just cut the whole stem off or what? I'm afraid it might be rot, but I don't have a clue what from...
I'll attach a picture to give you an idea of what it looks like.

[orchidlady]

Any wound or cut to the green part of a plant can possibly result in a fungal or bacterial infection. This can especially be true if there is high humidity with poor air circulation. If it appears to be an infection, I would cut it back and apply ground cinnamon to the cut area. Cinnamon is a drying agent and cuts down on the chances of infection starting. However, it should not be used on roots.

Susan

[Newbiegreenthumb]

Okay, should it be fine after that or are there other measures that I should take?

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Follow Susan's advice and keep an eye on the plant. If the blackness on the end returns, then it is best to remove the entire old spike leaving about one inch next to the base of the plant. Usually the spike will dry out and can be cut off 'brown' and you should not have trouble. To decrease the chances of fungal infection, increase air circulation around the plant and water only the potting medium.

Cheers,
BD

[Newbiegreenthumb]

So, I did some investigating around the roots only to discover that there weren't many...

The plant has a severe case of root rot... which was odd for me because the plant itself looks very healthy. I think that the bark that it was in got waterlogged. Because it was pretty wet still when I took the plant out and it had been a few days since I had watered last.
Pretty sad. I took all of the necessary measures to care for it and I repotted it into some fresh medium that would dry out faster, (I love watering my orchids, maybe a little too much). So hopefully all turns out well. I'll keep y'all updated.

[hannah]

I know that watering your orchids can seem like you are loving them, but overwatering hurts them! I water mine weekly and when I repotted some the other day I was really surprised how wet they were around the middle of the root ball even though I hadnt watered for a week. I havent watered since and feel really lucky I didnt kill them with kindness! Hope urs is ok =)