The orchid mix never seemed to hold enough water and I could not get my finger into it to judge the moisture so I over watered, and the plant began to shrivel.  I pulled it out of the mix and found that the roots were rotted.  I started it over in my regular mix, where it quickly rooted and formed a peduncle.  I was very excited, but the excitement was short lived; the peduncle fell off and the plant went downhill rapidly.