Here are the pictures of single bulb catts that I am nursing. Notice that the plants are just sitting on top of the potting media and not buried.

Single old bulb with one new growth bud. Most gardeners would probably just throw this away as scrap.


Close up of the same plant, showing the bud:


Another division from the same plant, but at a more advanced stage of growth:


Close up. The roots are aiming for the potting media and starting to dig down. Also, at this stage the roots are still very delicate. Even a gentle nudge from my fingers could break the roots.


Now these may appear to be overpotted. But this particular cattleya is a heavy rooter and the foliage grows fast and large. This size of pot gives it just enough room for 1 or 2 years of growth.

For comparison, here is a healthier division from the same plant showing two new leads on the right. It is in the same size pot as the other two.
The tallest new lead is about 4 weeks old and the shorter one is about 2 weeks old.