Cutting Phal Main Stem (Not Spike)

[KristenJ]

Hi everyone,

I'm repotting two of my Phals right now. One recently suffered from some fungus/rot and has lost many of its roots (orchid I'm holding in the picture). The other is doing okay (orchid in pot in picture).

My question is about cutting the older parts of the main stem when repotting. One orchid has no more roots coming from the main stem. I am wondering if it is okay to cut the older parts of the main stem off before repotting. If so, how do I go about cutting the piece off?

For the other orchid, there are still a couple of good roots on lower parts of the main stem. It's currently growing a bunch of aerial roots from the top of the main stem. I am wondering if I should just repot this one with the main stem below the surface.

Thanks for any help!