Coelogyne barbata Lindl. ex Griff.
 

My Coelogyne barbata has grown a healthy spike but its older pbulb appears to be rotting (brown part feels soft). Is it worth cutting it out to prevent the spread of infection?

I wouldn't. Coelogynes tend to drop old pseudobulbs and they go soft. You can gently tug; it might come off. If it doesn't, don't tug too hard.

Thanks.

First pBulb has turned completed brown and second pBulb started to turn too.
Is this still normal?

Does not look so good., My first thought would be to unpot and see what is going on with roots. Surgery might be needed, but don't do it "blind". Look at the whole plant first.

Do you have it completely in sphagnum, or just a sphagnum top dressing? I grow my Coelogynes mostly in baskets, or if in pots, then just bark and perlite.

Moss used as top dressing only.
It is in spike now though.

New root growing.
Where do you suggest I cut?

Is the new root coming from the new pseudobulb or the old one? If from the old one, leave it and just watch. You could remove the completely brown one though. If the new root is coming from the new pseudobulb, you can still leave the browning one...is it squishy (like rotten) or just drying out?

---------- Post added at 05:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:23 PM ----------

By the way, when you repot, skip the sphagnum. The plant doesn't need or want it.

This is the interesting part. Most new roots are under the spiking shoot, but one is growing directly under the first rotten pbulb. What does that mean? The rhizome is not soft but is dark.

The rhizome isn't going to get soft... is that newer browning p-bulb soft? You could cut the oldest (very brown) pseudobulb and see what the rhizome looks like. That one is definitely not useful. Also, looking at the newer browning p-bulb, it looks like it was cut, a recent division. I would be inclined to leave that one alone, especialy since it has a new root. You may just be seeing the p-bulb die because of the dividing process,