Sorry, guess by using the word "soil" I confused the issue. I believe
it's mostly peat.
In any case it's the same medium that another phal of mine is in. That
phal had over 18 blooms and bloomed for 7 months. It rested for two
months and now it's growing a new spike. So I'm not worried about the
medium.

Susan Erickson wrote:
On 7 Nov 2006 05:41:09 -0800, wrote:

I'm assuming that the roots of the plant I remove will probably die?
If that's so then perhaps I won't need to repot the healthy plant since
there really is plenty of soil.

Guess we'll see. Right now I'm enjoying the beautiful blooms and happy
about the 6 or 7 buds that are growing larger.

Jane -
The problem is the plant should NOT be in "soil". IF the Orchid mix
under the Phal feels like garden soil it is way past gone. You should
repot the phal to keep this one alive. You may loose a few blooms, or
you may not. Many phals respond, even when in bloom, to having fresh
mix. Sorry you felt you had to sacrifice the pink.

This bloom could be the plants attempt to set seed before it dies.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/orchids