Cattleya-cutting

[wetfeet101b]

Have you tried potting it the normal way? (orchid pot with small/medium bark)

At this point, I would suggest that you just choose a method (any method) that you are comfortable with and leave the plant alone for a few weeks.
Changing its mount/potting culture repeatedly within a short period of time will do more harm to the plant.

[Shaydra]

Mine I'm trying with the old 'wrap-it-in-sphag-and-keep-it-moist' method - tho I just wrapped the rhizome and then stuck it upright in a pot surrounded with med bark mix. So far the leaves are just getting more yellow... I'm hoping for a surprise. It's been sitting around like this for about 2-3 weeks now. Actually lost one leaf....

[Cjcorner]

I don't know about where you live....I accidentally found out that by putting a small amount of sphagnum moss around the p.bulb and misting a couple times daily gives me roots on cattleya type plants, the trick is to take a piece of sphagnum moss and stretch it out so air can get through really easy. Good luck....you sound like you are pretty good at this already, some plants are just ornery I think.
Connie

[Aleksa]

Well, I really can't allow it to die! This is my first catt! NO WAY! It MUST survive!

I noticed small buds in a base of new growth, and I think that are roots! And this plant still have one healthy root!

[Aleksa]

Have you tried potting it the normal way? (orchid pot with small/medium bark)

At this point, I would suggest that you just choose a method (any method) that you are comfortable with and leave the plant alone for a few weeks.
Changing its mount/potting culture repeatedly within a short period of time will do more harm to the plant.

Yes, I tried, but the plant is not stabile in the pot, and is always falling. If i pot it more deep, then new growth is under bark, so i think that it must first make a roots, and then to pot it!

[wetfeet101b]

Yes, I tried, but the plant is not stabile in the pot, and is always falling. If i pot it more deep, then new growth is under bark, so i think that it must first make a roots, and then to pot it!

This is what I usually do for rootless catts:
1. Stick a wood or plastic stake into the potting medium of a small pot.
2. Tie the orchid p-bulb to the stake and let the bottom of the p-bulb sit on top of the potting mix.
3. When the roots grow longer, you can repot the plant so that the roots are under the potting media. Or you can just leave it alone and let the roots eventually dig down into the potting media.

The website I use to host my photos is down right now so I cannot upload any new pictures. But I will try to post some pictures of rootless, single cattleya divisions that I have to show you how I set them up.

[wetfeet101b]

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.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Hey John,

These photos look like a good start of an article on cattleya roots? Think about it?

Cheers,
BD

[Phyrex]

Does that mean that you can just chop off any old p-bulb and try to grow a new plant out of it?
Are old p-bulbs still used?

[wetfeet101b]

Does that mean that you can just chop off any old p-bulb and try to grow a new plant out of it?
Are old p-bulbs still used?

Only under certain conditions. One of which is that it needs to still have a viable foliar bud (dormant eye). Otherwise, no new leads will grow from the old pseudobulb.