Should I re-pot my Phalaenopsis?

[margoba]

I recently ordered a small Phalaenopsis. It arrived it good condition with two spikes of buds. It is in Sphagnum moss in a 2" clear plastic pot and the roots appear REALLY crammed in. I asked the vendor, and the reply was wait until it has finished blooming to re-pot it. But, every time I look at the roots, I cringe. I'll try to post a picture later today.

A couple of the buds have opened, but my guess is that it will be many months before it finishes blooming.

In theory, I have two options: re-pot or wait. However, I have come up with a third alternative: I could remove the plant from the existing pot but not remove any potting material. Then I could fill a bigger pot (say 3") with sphagnum moss, create a hole in the center, and just insert the existing root ball (plus existing sphagnum) into the new pot. While not ideal, this would allow the roots to grow with minimal disturbance of the blooming plant. As soon as the plant has finished blooming, I could do a full re-pot on it.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
-barry

[Mike H]

Most would say NEVER re-pot when in bloom. Remember these plants are epiphytes so they don't require any media technically.
The plant has adjusted to the conditions it finds itself and will take months to re-adjust if you change anything you describe.
When its done blooming, snip the spikes and do a re-pot, not before.

[margoba]

Here are a couple of pictures:

[cakedaddy]

It should be just fine in that pot while it is blooming.
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[Mike H]

Yes I agree with @cakedaddy, I have several Phals that have pots packed with roots and they send out multiple spikes and some over 20 blooms!

[margoba]

Well it's unanimous, I guess. I'll take to advice of you generous folks. But, it really hurts to look at those cramped roots. I do like the blossoms, however.

Thanks to all who provided suggestions.

[Mike H]

When you get a chance, fill out your profile page so we can see your location in the upper right corner of your posts in the future.

[margoba]

Done. Thanks for the reminder.