Mike wrote:
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Does anyone know how tall a phal can get with all it's leaves? Mine
has 9 leaves and is getting pretty tall. As leaves eventually start to
die from the bottom, am I going to have a trunk to my orchid like a
palm tree?

Mike

Let me comment on this part of your post. Over the years, I've seen
several people ask what to do with all the aerial roots when they repot
their Phal. To my surprise (as first) they often received advice to just
leave all the aerial roots out of the pot. I figure this advice either
comes from someone who hasn't grown Phals for very many years or from
someone who doesn't plan to grow their Phals in pots forever.
Now, I understand the concept of roots adapting to medium (or lack of
medium) they form in. Aerial roots suddenly placed in a pot may not live
nearly as long as they would have, had they grown into the medium on
their own. If you are going to keep the plant in a pot, you need to do
it though. If you don't do it the plant would eventually take on the
palm tree look that you mentioned.
My oldest Phal is just about 30 years old now. (Unfortunately, it and my
other Phals all have that incurable disease that slowly kills them. So
that run will end in a year or 2 or less.) I often try to imagine what
that Phal would look like by now if I had followed advice to leave the
aerial roots in the air. Probably 3 or 4 feet of dead trunk with the
Phal plant perched very high above its pot.

Steve