Can't tell if my phal can be saved

[nmf]

Hi! I guess I'm not actually a beginner because I am about to ask questions about an orchid I have owned for 8 years but I might as well be a beginner...

I got a white phalaenopsis orchid from Home Depot about 8 years ago. I didn't know much about it other than that it was very pretty and did the minimum reading on it to care for it and it was fine for a long time. It was never a very large plant but it regularly grew new leaves and new spikes with a fair number of large healthy flowers about twice a year. I would re-pot whenever the roots got out of control, cutting off any dried up or mushy roots. I usually used an orchid potting mix that looks a lot like peat moss.

About two years ago, it stopped growing. No leaves, no spikes, no new roots. I never changed my care of the plant. After some inactivity, I did some reading and decided to change the potting medium from the soil-like medium I had always used to a special orchid bark mix. The plant HATED that and lost most of its roots and some leaves. So I switched back to a sphagnum peat moss.

Maybe a month ago, it finally dropped one of its two last leaves. I repotted it and it only had two thick short roots left.

Here's the good and bad news right now - I realized it was in a huge pot since it has now become such a small plant and repotted it into a smaller clay pot tonight (I promise I don't usually repot this frequently, I'm just trying anything to make it better right now). The remaining leaf isn't doing very well but it now has a small new root since I last looked at them.

So I guess my question is - Can a phal with one sad leaf and three stubby roots be saved? Is there a way to speed up or encourage new roots? Obviously I'm not going to be getting flowers from it any time soon but I still want to save it if I can.


And now for something completely different- I finally bought a second phal this weekend. I've been without a flowering orchid for years now and I know my old one isn't anywhere close to flowers.

Anyways.. It's just another one from Home Depot. But I am curious because it is called a 'Just Add Ice' orchid and the watering instructions tell me to put three ice cubes into the pot once a week. Does this actually work? I can see how the slow melting would help the soil absorb the water better but putting ice on the plant's roots doesn't seem very good for it.



Sorry for the rambling. I appreciate any help that's offered.