Wooden baskets engulfed by large cattleyas - is Repotting even possible?

[piping plover]

Thanks so much Roberta for your steadfast advice! You are a reliable lifeline in the middle of my crossroads with these repotting dilemmas I find myself in

Originally Posted by Roberta

Damaged/cut roots might branch and they might not. They certainly won't do new tips at the cut. So preserve as many as you can. Pretty much, it'll be the new roots from the new growth that will have long term survival, and new branches of old roots if you get any. I find that dealing with overgrown plants like this is often a two stage process... I get the plant repotted, keeping older but firm pseudobulbs and associated roots to give the plant energy to make the new growths and new roots, then in a couple of years when it is starting to climb out of the pot again, I can whack the older pseudobulbs and their by-that-time reather dead roots, to get the plant down to the desired size of all good growths and roots. Remembering that whenever you change the medium, roots adapted to the old medium will die off. Staying within the same medium type (bark to bark rather than bark to LECA for instance) will minimize the loss of old roots.