If kept in a continuously humid environment, a rootless Cattleya that is not diseased and still has sufficient stored energy can survive long enough to send out new roots or new growth that will form roots. The humid environment might be a greenhouse, which I assume is what people have in mind when they talk about a keep-it-dry method. They arenÂt watering the plant, but the relative humidity is high. ThereÂs also the sphag and bag method, which is basically a mini greenhouse. A rootless plant is kept in a plastic freezer bag that has a layer of moist Sphagnum moss in the bottom. Neither of these methods alone are a sure bet. The plant will become weaker and eventually more dehydrated, which is just what it does not need while trying to recover. To ensure success and to make it happen quickly, you give the plant what it does need - water, light, and nutrients. For a few hours each day, or overnight each night, set the plant in a container of water deep enough to completely cover the rhizome. Even without roots, it will absorb water. And if you include water-soluble nutrients when you do this, they will be absorbed also. One of the simplest and most directly beneficial foods to use for this purpose is honey. Dissolve enough in the water to make it an amber color, rinse the rhizome off when youÂre done, and itÂs that simple. Plain sugar works also, but it promotes mold. When itÂs not sitting in water, put the plant in the bag with the moist sphag and hang it directly under a fluorescent light or set it in a pot of wetter sphag and put it in a sunny window sill. The Cattleya will not die before new roots or new growth and roots form.

Wow that was a lot of rot for one small black spot and it is very close to the meristem growth point on top.I don't have much hope for it, but one never knows.. I think that you might have put your plants back in the soil too soon. The roots have bruises from the handling and both need callusing. Take your baby out and get a fresh cut and put cinnamon on it and then let it callus in the air for three days . Take the other one out and callus it for 3 days in the open and let the roots heal . THEN put Baby in the gritty dirt and do not water it, MIST it till you have roots. Don't water The large patient for a few days. They can go with out soil and water for awhile. It is the rot you have to worry about. With that scar, you have to be sure you have a good callus before you start watering and I would water very carefully. Succulents root looking for water. They do not root because of water. They can not take in water if they have no roots. They are not like cuttings of other plants that love to root in water, drinking the water through their cut stem. I start watering gently when I have roots. I am sorry if my response is confusing. I sure wrote that last one very badly. It comes from doing 5 things at the same time and having people tell me to Come hear , go there in the middle of writing and the telephone ringing and working in my shop on four pieces of furniture with all different problems.

I do not think that water on the leaves would cause such large burn spot. That belief is disputed by some studies with negative results. Plant was likely not acclimatized to sun. Another possibility is that it could be oedema (more I think about it more it looks like it to me) - roots taking up more water faster than what can be used by the plant and/or transpired by the leaves. All that extra water build up will cause cells to stretch and collapse. Make sure there is drainage hole in any container. It could be drilled btw...well draining potting mix is important as is good air circulation. Don't over fertilize if sing fertilizer. If you let plant sit in poorly or non-draining soil, damage could be much worse than loosing flower stalk. But I don't think you will at this stage, it is still very small. JMO.

The contrast between "people time" and "plant time" can cause the grower some anxiety and frustration until the grower realizes there's a distinct difference and makes the adjustment by giving in to the idea that a plant has its own ideas about how long it should take to bounce back from adversity. Fortunately, the best form of resolution is usually no more complicated than procuring a few more plants so they can work as a team to satisfy your need to nurture. SOIL: I have perlite so I will add in more of that. Not sure if this is a bad idea, but I do have gravel I could mix in If you decide to include some gravel, use it in the bottom 6" of soil where it will displace the organic fraction of your medium that would normally be filled with water. This is a form of ballast. Don't use it as a layer, just mix it half and half with the bottom 6" of soil where the perched water table (excess water) resides. This in itself will reduce the amount of perched water your soil will hold by 1/2), and my neighbor has bark in her backyard that she said I could have some of to mix in if that's a good option for now? Depends ..... all bark is not created equal. Size and type of bark is very important. BALLAST/WICK: In reading through your posts I understand there are several ways to set these up, but I have an extra terra cotta and plastic pot so I figure this might be easiest? You mentioned covering the drainage hole in this post That reference was to the overturned pot you would be using as a form of ballast such that the rim of the pot would be down and the drain hole would face up. You don't want soil to drop through the drain hole in the ballast pot, so cover it. , but I also noticed [here[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/dealing-with-water-retentive-soils-dsvw-vd~1415041) you said another option would be to leave the hole open and put soil underneath so that it acts as a wick. That is the pot-in-pot technique where the main pot is nested into another pot and rests on top of the soil in the lower pot. This soil acts as a wick. If the soil in the lower pot is deeper than the ht of the perched water table, ALL perched water should move from the upper pot into the lower pot. For this application, there should be nothing over the drain hole(s) in the upper pot - the one the plant is in. Would you suggest one over another in my situation? I would go for the pot as ballast + the gravel in the bottom 6" of soil as added ballast, and even a wick if you like (in the lower pot). I have two options for pots to put inside as ballasts, but I'm not sure which would be the best option. The terra cotta pot looks like it may not take up enough room to help with limiting PWT, but the plastic one may be too large? The plastic one is great - cover the drain hole in it. Ideally, there would be an inch or so of soil above the ballast pot. Fill in the sides with the 50/50 gravel soil mixture up to the top (former bottom) of the overturned pot - cover it with an inch of soil with no gravel - set the plant on the soil - fill in around the edges. As long as you're taking steps to eliminate perched water, it doesn't matter how large your pot is. You can put your plant in a 55 gallon drum if you like, w/o concern you'll be over-potting. ...... once I repot the plant into the better mixture and add the ballast, should I water the plant again or hold off given the amount of moisture already present in the soil? Plants do best when the soil is evenly damp/moist - never wet/soggy. Skip watering if your entire soil mass is moist. Keep in mind, with the steps you will have taken to eliminate perched water, over-watering shouldn't be a problem, as long as you're reasonable. You're making a soil serviceable that otherwise wouldn't be considered as such by a very large fraction of effectual growers, so it's best to try to minimize potential limitations. Use a 'tell'. If possible - site your plant away from heat sources, but in a warm spot with plenty of light. If possible, use a room humidifier and keep humidity in the 45-55% range. I keep my basement grow room at 55% by using a combination of home-made passive evaporative set-ups and 2 ultrasonic humidifiers. I have a R/O water system, so almost never have to clean the humidifiers. To eliminate potential for bacterial issues, I add an ounce of H202 (hydrogen peroxide) every time I refill the reservoirs. Al