You have a Phalaenopsis. You haven't killed it. Given good care it will grow another flowering spike. There is a mountain of information on this site. Just put Phalaenopsis in the search box at the top of this discussions page to find. Should be some very good complete culture notes written for Hawaii on the net. Here is a link that might be useful: thyme.tyger's orchid

Phals do not need a lot of light, nevertheless, I feel that if the phal in question were getting adequate light 8oz of water would be gone in a few days and the o.p. would not observe that "The soil/moss (whatever it is) is always moist...I don't think it has ever been dry". So, yes, in this situation of constant damp the phal is being overwatereed. I have to wonder just how well the light of the South window is being captured. If you find yourself adjusting watering to save your plant IMO you will eventually lose it anyway, it will just take longer. And the other poster was right. At watering time as much water as necessary to completely flood the pot and run through the drainage holes should be used then do it again! Then let it sit (in the light) for a week (plastic pot) or 3/4 days (clay pot) before watering again. H

Bear, it feels good to have success with orchids that could of died, doesn't it? Great job with yours too. Jodik. You have always had confidence in me and I really appreciate that. I hope to someday have penty so I can share a few with you, ones of course easy to grow outside a greenhouse, and I think the above are one of those:-) Thank you:-) Gary..I can't imagaine a Hurricane down there, but as for the weather, wowowowow! Your orchids must thrive no matter where you put them. Lucky you!:-) Thanks for your positive comments. Thanks all! I'll keep you posted. Mike

This is what I would do with that plant: Fill a bucket with tap water and let it sit overnight to let some of the chlorine dissipate and come to room temperature. Next day, soak the pant (in the wood basket) in the bucket. If it doesn't fit in the bucket, clean your sink very well and soak it in the sink with the bucket water. Soak for 30 mins or so. After 30 mins, the roots should have hydrated and softened a bit. With sterile scissors/pruners cut off any mushy or brown/dry roots. Healthy roots are white or green and should be plump with water. If you want to loosely tuck some sphagnum moss into the basket to help encourage new roots to grow you can. Or you can just leave it be for the time being. If your balcony has a spot that is shaded during the middle of the day, that would be an ideal place for this orchid to recover. It needs to come inside if there is a risk of frost or near-freezing temps. Water it daily. It can recover, but orchids are very slow growers (as in, they take years to do much of anything especially when in rehab mode) so don't expect it to bounce back quickly.