Phal stem turns black! Help!

[brutallica_bg]

hi,
I have a great share of misfortune with orchids this year.
i have a new problem now. I have had this orchid for 5 years and I have changed nothing in the way I look after it. It bloomed every year. And it looked healthy. And it looks healthy now. The leaves are fresh and green, after I repotted it a lot of new leaves grew. the roots seem to be healthy too. about a month ago a stem appeared and started growing. it was about 5cm long and with one very small bud, when out of the blue the bud turned yellow and withered. since the same thing happened to my second orchid this did not bother me much. but things did not stop at that point. the stem stopped growing, started turning yellow on the top and in no time turned black. now the "blackness" creeps down the stem. what do i have to do? is it very dangerous? only the stem seems to be in this condition. the plant itself seems healthy. can you help me?
thank you

[Leafmite]

Sometimes it is caused by water/rot/cooler temps. Water might have gotten in the leaves and not dried quickly enough. It is difficult to guess without pictures or information on how it is grown. Here are two sites with some information I hope will help:
Orchid Pests, Orchid Diseases
http://www.houstonorchidsociety.org/...ySueBottom.pdf

Good luck!

[brutallica_bg]

here are some pictures i just took. looking at them i feel a lil embarassed cuz i see there is dust on the leaves. im sorry lol. i clean it regularly with a soft sponge or a soft brush. but i was away for a week and there is dust again. anyways. btw, 10x for the quick response!!!
ps: while taking the pics i saw a fresh healthy-looking new leaf appearing...the plant seems to be healthy... i just cant explain this to me.

[SlipperGirl]

could you post some pics

[james mickelso]

Cut the stem and dust it with cinnamon. Just the cut end. Be sure you cut below the black part. If the black keeps going down the rest of the stem then cut again below and dust with cinnamon.

[Wynn Dee13]

Your spike looks like it died for some reason. Do what James said and cut the spike off with a sterile tool. I would cut into the green part too so you make sure you get rid of whatever is making it turn black. Then dab some cinnamon on the cut to keep germs out while it heals over. Was your house cold while you were away? Good luck!

[brutallica_bg]

No, it wasnt cold. there were ppl here. idk whats happening. this happens for the first time. i have had the plant for about 5 years. it blooms every year... without this year obviously
idk if the cases are somehow linked. my second orchid's buds all fell off. but the stems are... normal. now there is a third stem growing and i hope the new buds will be ok.
thank you ppl for the quick response! i hope this will help.
ps:idk if this matters... no... im sure it matters but i forgot to write it yesterday. when i touch the stem it is not feeling dry. it is... juicy? but not rotten. it feels like normal one. but it is just black..
thank you very much again

[camille1585]

I would cut it down all the way to the base. That way you're sure to have gotten all of it, and anyway it's pointless to leave a portion of stem. And don't despair, the plant may still bloom this year. Last year I snapped off a nearly full grown spike off a phal by accident, and a few weeks later a new one started to grow. If it really wants to bloom, it will!

For your other Phals it could just be normal bud blast. It's a pretty common occurence unfortunately. Have you moved it or let it sit in a draft or had a sudden change in temperature? That would explain it. And some Phals are more likely to blast than others, there's genetics involved too.

[brutallica_bg]

camille1585, thank you for the hope you give me!
no, i havent changed the places of both the plants. other ppl told me too that a cold draft might have caused the blast. idk if this is of importance, but the stems were old ones, from the last year. last year it bloomed and after the blooms withered and fell off, the stems did not dry, so i did not remove them.
anyways, there is a new stem growing now, i hope everything will be ok with it. and i really hope that the blackened stem will be replaced by a new one, as you told me!
i wanna say one more thing. i discovered this forum when my orchid problems began this winter about two weeks ago. and i wanna say to everyone who answered my help-cry, and to everyone else here that you ppl are cool! thank you very much! you are cool, lol! ppl who love flowers are cool

[Wynn Dee13]

If it was an old spike from last year it might just be naturally dying off. After my Phals are done blooming I always cut the spikes all the way off. This will allow the plant to rest and grow new leaves and roots and not let it branch and bloom again. I find it is healthier for the plant to cut the old spikes. The next flowering is usually better on a new spike than if I let the old spike branch. Good luck!