Buds are appearing in October - can I repot?

[aliceinwl]

Maybe it depends on the background of the plant in terms of whether old canes will re-bloom? Most of the flowers mine pushed this spring were from the same canes that were in bloom when I bought it the preceding summer.

Edit: I just realized you were talking about old stalks not canes.

[Roberta]

Nobile-type Dens definitely rebloom on old canes, over a period of several years. I don't cut old leafless canes until they are shriveled, brown, and crispy. Anything green and/or firm stays. Whether to bloom on them or just use them for storage of energy and water, the plant is using them.

[Agrias]

Update: Didn't repot yet, decided to wait until after winter. Checked the roots inside the pot, they were green and more are growing...

Then today i woke up to this - winter flowers, -3c out, and many more are coming

[WeirdGuySeattle]

Personally, I repot anytime I think roots are rotting - doesn't matter if a plant is flowering, in bud, or if its growing, or if its dormant.
I held off on repotting an heirloom plant with 20 pseudobulbs that is over 40 years old and it nearly croaked on me (down to 4 good pseudobulbs) because I was too scared to re-pot the thing.
I've lost more orchids to root problems than any other reason, and all orchids - even ones that "hate repotting' have been improved by repotting out of media that has gone bad.
Fear of repotting is bad in my opinion. Just a little research on how to go about it and courage to do it will keep your collection thriving.
Snip the rotted roots, get as much as the old stuff off, and repot into something fresh appropriate to your orchid.

Its especially tough to want to repot your prized specimens for fear of damaging them! I am still trying to figure out how to handle those in a more permanent potting situation.

[Roberta]

If the medium is bad it is better to repot and risk setting the plant back a year or two than to lose it to rot. But if it is possible to wait for new root growth, that's certainly better. Blooming doesn't have anything to do with it... if new roots are starting, that's the time to do it, the flowers probably won't even notice. (Some orchids root and bloom at the same time) However, not repotting that Den. nobile hybrid was the right thing to do. It will start putting out new growth in the run-up to spring, and that will be the ideal time. (Can spring be far away?? )