That's a great story, documented with great photos. I joined our local society last fall. In April this year, at our spring show, one of the more knowledgeable members gave a repotting demonstration. She cut a rootless back bulb with a big, healthy leaf off a brassocattleya she said was one of her favorites, and threw it away. When the demonstration was over, I asked whether I could retrieve it from the trash and see whether it would grow. She said it probably wouldn't, because the plant had already pushed growths for the spring, but I was welcome to try. It had a fat dormant growth bud. I have a photo of the nametag somewhere but can't find it.
I kept it in my humid sunroom and spritzed it with water every few days. The leaf gradually wrinkled more and more. In late July the growth bud began swelling. Soon it lengthened and then pushed three new roots, each about a half inch long. I was planning on potting it up when the roots got a little longer. I soaked it for a few hours in my outdoor pond to try and get the leaf to fill with water.
When I pulled it out I found the fish had completely eaten off the new roots. The leaf was quite shriveled but the new lead still looked great. I set it upright in a window where it gets bright shade and kept spraying. Now, two weeks later, the new lead is pushing a new root. I'm still hopeful. In the photo you can see the bright green new root nub and the stringy brown core of an eaten-off root.
Good job so far.
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