Stem turning Brown? Is it dying?

[dooleycrew]

Bought an orchid about a month ago - the person selling me the orchid told me it was the dom (the type of orchid that starts with a d.. sorry its leaving my mind right now... over the last week the stem section of the plant has started turning brown at the top and progressing down. The flowers are wilted where the brown is, but the green stem still has flowers. I know that orchids go dormant- but I don't think they are supposed to turn brown!

Conditon of the rest of the orchid - The roots are growning out of the pot, the deep green leaves are still a deep green... seems the grower didn't put enough of a planting medium for it. I planned to repot as soon as it went dorment (something I have read)

I water about once a week, the plant has diffused light from a nearby window. I put it outside in the morning for some more diffused light, but not all of the time (every morning) The plant stays out about an hour at a time.. it is too hot in texas for the plant to stay outside long periods of time.

The dirt does not smell musty, but I suspect the plant has overgrown its pot, and / or is underwatered. I do not notice any bugs or rotting leaves.

Attached is a picture of my damaged part -

Also Attached is the orchid when it was new -

[digitalgate]

this look normal for the plant losing its flower spike. That is not the bad news.
The bad news is moving plant around is bad for the plant. They just stop growing when you do that. Second i am going to suspect you might have insufficient light for the plant. Unfortunately , this is a low light plant but higher than most phalaenopsis . Most likely it is going to be Dtps .... It cannot be grown in direct sunlight, or it will get sunburn. So a window edge with the sun at the edge would be good for the plant. Without the sunlight ever touch in the leave. As for watering , water when ever the potting feel dry to you. But feel dry to u , might be too dry for me. So a little difficult for me to describe the feeling. If you can use stick and poke and see if the centre of moss is still wet would be a good indication.

[dooleycrew]

Do I need to clip the brown off? Do I cut to the stem when it quits turning brown? Or do I need to clip the whole spike off?

What do these orchids like for a planting medium? I have roots growing over the sides of the pot, I think its telling me it needs a new pot...

[11Orchid126]

What Digitalgate says is a Dpts is short for Doritanopsis, a type of phalaenopsis. Yes, you can cut the flower spike down to where blooms are still good, and when it is finished, cut it down all the way.

These plants can take some weak early morning sun, otherwise bright light. They could be close to an east window, or set back a couple of feet from a south or west window.

They like to be watered and then almost, but not quite, allow to go dry again.

This type of orchid does not go dormant, needs light, water and fertilizer year round, although it does rest and build up for it's next blooming cycle.

These orchids can grow in bark, or sphagnum moss, whichever works for you. Now that you know the type of plant it is you can do some research on it. You can start at the FAQ at the top of the page.

[dooleycrew]

Thanks a lot!! - I will go ahead and repot this plant, move to my kitchen which gets a lot of light (overhead lighting) and find fertilizer for it. I will cut back the spent part.