Help with neglected orchid

i have just come across an orchid my mother was bought around this tim last year for her birthday. it was beautiful when she got it, though regret i do not know the full name of it.

i have just come across it again and found it in rather poor condition the stem is quite long and crooked toward the top. the leaves, only few of them, are large and seem healthy but droop down as if wilting and strange tentacle-like sprouts are rising up from the soil. ar these suckers? should they be removed? i assume it will nee repotting, as the pot it is currently is is extremely small!

if anyone has any advice on how i could improve is condition and hel it flower again, even if it isnt flowering this year, it would b appreciated :)

thanks all!!

Stepping way out on a very small limb, I'll guess that you're referring to a phalaenopsis - assuming the "stem" is where the flowers were, and the leaves are somewhat flat and fleshy, alternating more-or-less in pairs and emanating from a central "base".

If I have guessed correctly, the "stem" is the old flower spike, and I would recommend cutting it off at its base.

It is typical for the leaves of a phal to droop somewhat, and as long as they're not flaccid and wrinkled, they're probably OK.

The "strange tentacle-like sprouts" are likely aerial roots, and their presence is a really good sign.

If it has been in the same potting medium (it is NOT soil) for a year, it's a reasonable bet that it has started to decompose, so the plant should be repotted. Orchid potting medium should hold moisture, but must also contain a lot of open space to allow the roots to "breathe", as much of the respiratory gas exchange occurs through the root system - far more than in terrestrial plants.