Melissa, I suggest you do both your mother and the tree a big favor (your mother because the tree might even survive, the tree for the same reason, of course :0). Use some kind of strong pick or tool to get under the stone layer somehow once you've let a little warm (NOT hot) water sit on top for a couple of minutes. Do your best to make a chink in the stones, enough to get a piece of that layer up (it will be surprisingly thick... possibly 1/8") because once that's done, the rest will come up in easy chunks except for the edges, and dribbling warm water on them from e.g. a facecloth squeezed around (the point is not to water anything but the glue) it should eventually come off as well. You may want to just top up the soil afterward as small roots may now be exposed. I personally would take the opportunity, instead of 'refilling' with soil, to get the whole rootball out of that pot as the top lip makes that difficult to begin with (so the sooner the better) and have a new pot ready. What you want must have 1-2 good size drain holes which you can cover with a piece of a 25 cent square of plastic canvas from the craft (needlework) section of Wal-Mart), The pot could be about 1/2 to 2/3 the height of the brown one, but somewhat wider to make up for the loss of height - you'll be spreading the roots from the bottom, which you can crumble off the bulk of the soil from before planting into the new pot with a faster draining mix of mostly small gravel (natural color) from an aquarium store. The mix (no pebbles or anything else on the bottom except the plastic hole covering) could also have some Perlite (not vermiculite) in it for lightness, and little chopped up bits (1/16") of bark mulch making up no more than 1/4 of it all - not layered, mixed. That will allow water to drain almost immediately, rather than sit at the roots and rot them - so never let the pot sit directly in any water, but held above the wide saucer of it on pebbles. Make sure there is always water in there for humidity (much more effective than misting, which in any case is inappropriate for this tree, which is some kind of Ficus). Water only when about 1/3 or so of the mix is dry in the pot (use a finger or unvarnished chopstick to test for moisture) and then do it well so all the roots get some. Do keep it in a very sunny place that stays bright all day. If you really want to go further, choose a few of the skinnier branches to cut off right where they join the larger ones, so as to keep a more open and 'bonsai-like' style, unless your mother likes 'bushy''.

I'm a beginner to this stuff also, so take my word with a grain of salt... but I think I can address a couple of your questions. First off, if the pot has good drainage, I don't see the harm in continuing to use it. I'd assume peak growing season is spring to early summer, when it is throwing new shoots left and right. I believe regular potting soil is a bit too dense for bonsai... perhaps mixing in some clean sand or peat would help. And... to remove tight plants, I loosen the soil from the edges of the pot with a dinner knife (gently, careful of the roots) then pull the tree up from the base of its trunk. I don't know much about root rot yet (yikes!) ... Best of luck! Tortoise

Also, if you get fungus gnats (very common, they are these little tiny black flies) you may want to wet the soil (after they appear) with hot peppermint tea (not boiling but still decently hot) so you will kill the larve and the smell will drive off the gnats. I had that problem about a month ago and haven't seen anything since.

You have a Phalaenopsis. Care notes from the American Orchid Society are in the link. As to why your plant is losing blooms. Might be normal due to length of bloom time. Might be something in your care routine or something related to the conditions where you are growing your plant. Here is a link that might be useful: AOS culture notes