Question
I've had my phalaenopsis since September 06, it's quite small and has only had four flowers since I bought it. Recently two of the flowers have died, and one bud fell off before it bloomed. There is also a brown spot on one of the leaves which seems to be eating away at the leaf from underneath (the spot underneath is black & rotten, where it's eating through to the top the spot on the top is just brown)
I'm really worried it might be dying, what can I do to help it? Is the heating in my home damaging it?  

Answer
Hello Julia,

If the brown spot is growing larger, it may be a bacterial infection.  Bacterial infections can be deadly to your orchid!  

My recommendation is to remove the affected leaf by cutting it off entirely.  Be sure to use a sterile cutter as you do not want to take a change of reinfecting it with the cutter that you may have used previously.  Try not to allow any part of the brown spot to touch or fall onto a healthy leaf as that might spread it to that leaf.  

Hope this helps save your phalaenopsis orchid plant.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.