Repotting neglected Paph advice pls

[Entwife]

Hi all, any advice on repotting this guy would be welcome. Do I remove the old wilted and yellow leaves? Can I keep them together and put them back in the same pot (after cleaning)? I can send pics of the roots, but I wanted to share these first. Thanks for any instructions!

 

[Kalyke]

Those elongated plants are strange looking. How many plants are there? Yeah it would be a good idea to show photos of the roots. The leaves that are still alive look good. The bottom leaves will die off if they are too wet. How much do you know about orchids?
It's possible that it is one plant. I do not see why someone would put a group of plants together This is why I have asked if you know anything about orchids.
Is the orchid putting out roots? You would know if it has fresh root tips. Do you have basal "leaves" (plantlets) starting? That is the best time to re-pot unless it is an emergency. But don't repot if it is putting out a flower (unless it is an emergency).

I think I would determine the state of the plant (one plant? More than one plant?)
Repot. (There are reporting guides out there, and you can watch some Youtube videos of people specifically re-potting paphs). Use clean new medium and a clean pot. (Nothing says you can't use the same pot, clean it and soak it in a diluted bleach mixture). Make sure not to rub the roots. They should be light brown and fuzzy.

If the long growths are healthy looking (which they seem to be) just allow them to remain that way until you have studied it further to figure out why they are that way. Maybe someone else can answer this.

 

[Paphluvr]

For the peduncle to be bare for that height above the mix takes several seasons of neglect, so I think we can say the mix is definitely broken down and in need of replacement. Good roots are probably going to be iffy. I never remove any leaves but dry dead leaves, which I don't see. The chance of successfully repotting it as a single plant is probably small as it will be hard to get all the growths at their optimal planting depth. I also think that you will find it falls apart into several pieces when you unpot.

 

[Kalyke]

Thanks paphluvr. I had seen the peduncle situation before in trouble shooting type articles, but could not remember what it was called.

 

[Paphluvr]

Thanks paphluvr. I had seen the peduncle situation before in trouble shooting type articles, but could not remember what it was called.

I actually misused the term. The peduncle is the stalk of the flower. In this context I should have said elongated 'stem'.

 

[Entwife]

Hello Kalyke & Paphluvr - thanks for your replies! There are 3 separate plants, the last has a baby fan growing. I am a beginner and yes these were sadly neglected for quite a while. I was hoping they could go in one pot due to limited space. Thank you!

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[Kalyke]

Could they be elongating like that because they are not getting enough light? Repot them, by all means, but I think there is a problem because that is not how paphs look. Perhaps if you get the light right, you will start getting less elongated plants.