drewtoby:
I think that plant can be saved if you are interested. It has some short roots that look plump and not rotten. Leaves are dehydrated, but there is some green there. Here is what I suggest.
First step, plant clean-up.
1. Inspect the plant first. Are there any watery-looking brown places on the leaves? Brown watery spots are bacterial infections (skip the wipe-down in step 2 for now if you have bacterial infections). Do you see any signs of insects, including white fuzzy patches? You may need to treat for insects (a quick approach for now is to use a q-tip or artist's paint brush and brush rubbing alcohol (isopropanol) on any insects).
2. Except in the case of bacterial infections, I would wipe the leaves with a paper towel that is moistened with either rubbing alcohol, or with hydrogen peroxide. This cleans the leaves & hopefully kills any surficial bacteria or fungal spores.
3. You need a sharp blade (single-edge razor blade or X-acto knife are ideal; sterilize first, either flame-sterilize the blade and cool, or use household bleach and thoroughly rinse. You can use a very sharp paring knife if needed, but sterilize ). See attached edit of your photo, cut off part of the leaves wherethe yellow lines are marked. The idea is to cut outside the brown damaged areas, and into relatively healthy green leaf. Let the cuts air dry until they are no longer wet. While you are at it, if possible, pull off any dead brown plant material from the plant base; if you can't remove this without damaging the roots, leave it alone.
After the cuts are air dry, if you haven't wiped down the leaves with peroxide or rubbing alcohol, do that now.
Second step, hydration. The plant is really dehydrated, due to having few roots (not due to it being in bark, BTW).
1. Initially, I would try re-hydrating with short daily soaking of the roots, and only the roots. You don't want to have the plant soak for more than a half hour at a time. Get a cup, jar, or water glass, place the plant roots-down in the cup, leaves sticking out of the cup. Put just enough water in the cup to cover the roots and no more. Soak for up to a half hour, remove the plant from the cup.
2. If the leaves somehow got wet, use a paper towel to dry any water off of the leaves. Do once a day at least, you can do twice a day if time permits. Between soaks, you can set the plant back in the empty cup or jar if you like.
3. If you do hydration step 1 for two weeks, the leaves should start looking firmer and have less wrinkles (the wrinkles won't completely go away on these leaves, but the leaves should function, and new leaves will be healthy).
Third step, re-pot. Use a small pot. I recommend a 2-inch or 3-inch terracotta (clay) pot. Pot it in orchid bark, just covering the roots. Since there are few roots, you will need to SECURELY stake or tie the plant to hold it in place in the pot.
Finally, care and recovery.
Keep the plant in a shaded place. Not totally dark, but no bright light. When you water, do so
thoroughly, water at the sink, water flooding through the pot. Then,
don't mist or spray until it is time to water again. You should water each time like this, when the bark is nearly dry, but not quite.
Success will be achieved when the plant shows signs of growth (new roots or leaves).
Post pictures of your progress! Good luck!
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