Orchid with floppy brown leaf

[kugup]

Hi. I am totally new at growing orchids. I got a phal about 4 weeks ago and this morning it has a leaf that is brown and floppy and losing water by the second. Cant post pics yet but have it as my profile pic. Please help. I am leaving on holiday for 10 days in 2 hours. Is there anything that I can do to ensure it doesnt die before I come back? I live in Singapore so its hot and moist here and my plant is in moss in a plastic pot. I read on another forum that you should not repot whilst it is flowering. We have one flower, which is still looking good. I have been watering about once a week but not too much since I read that the roots could rot. Desperately worried and any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[catasetum-ian]

hope my message catch you in time befor eyou leave for your holiday.
first primary differential base on the type of media it is in and especially in a PLASTIC POT, root rot and maybe crown rot at the affected leave area.
though it is not advisable to repot while flowering, but if your plant is suffering from root and crown rot, you would need to take the whole plant out from the pot, remove ALL the moss, removed all dead or black marshy roots, spray with antifungal. leave it to dry in windy, cool away from the direct sun.
you may need to remove that wilted leave, if it is soggy till the crown area and wet, most likely you are dealing with crown rot as well.
in extreme measure, the spike got to be removed so that the plat does not waste energy for the bloom but instead use it to regenerate new roots.
hope this helps...and happy holiday.

[kugup]

Thanks for that quick response. The leaf is still healthy and firm near the stem. Should I still cut it off? Dont think I have time to repot before I go. :-( Hoping for the best.

[catasetum-ian]

Originally Posted by kugup

Thanks for that quick response. The leaf is still healthy and firm near the stem. Should I still cut it off? Dont think I have time to repot before I go. :-( Hoping for the best.

if it is healthy near the stem , may opt to leave it. but sometimes i trimmed most of the large leave away while i am rescuing a phal to reduce transpiration, but all depends on the amount of root that is left.
maybe can try getting the entire plant out of the pot, IMHO, better than leaving the whole chunk of moss with it. best of luck