Help with rootless cattleya
 

Hi everyone
I am wondering if this rootless cattleya is salvageable. :(
I have been trying to keep it alive for years. Thinking I was doing the right thing I put it into a large pot some time ago. Now after more research I find that, that was the wrong thing to do. Any suggestions on how to revive this cattleya (if possible) would be really appreciated.
Thank You

You probably have one more chance. Roots are stimulated by warm, humid conditions. They are damaged by drying out or by wiggling against media.

You could start by using a rooting stimulant. I like Kelpak. But don't wait for this if you don't have any.

I would use barely damp, not wet sphagnum moss in a pot. Tie the plant tightly to a stake so you can insert the stake into the pot and have the rhizome flat at the moss surface, without wiggling. Put the whole thing into an enclosure to keep the humidity very high. You want it very humid but not wet. You could use a large jar, aquarium, terrarium, translucent plastic storage box or vase. You could put it a large plastic bag, but keep the bag from touching the plsnt. Cover or seal the enclosure but not tightly; there should be air exchange.

Put it someplace warm, and in bright light, but with no direct sun. That would cook it. When roots begin forming be very careful not to damage them. Keep the moss barely damp, not wet. When roots are forming begin fertilizing. The plant hasn't taken in nutrients for a long time. I would use either a 20-20-20 type preparation or an MSU preparation. I would use tap water and not pure water to ensure the plant gets calcium.

Thank you estacion for your response. I will try your suggestion but I have a feeling this one is a lost cause.

Update on my set up to try and save this orchid. I have it in a 5 gallon aquarium. I have put wet sphagnum moss on the bottom of the tank (to help make humidity) and put a rack on top of that so the pot is not sitting in the wet moss. I have a 25 watt light in the tank which seems to help keep it warm and humid inside. I have the plant in a small pot sitting on top of the rack. I have tied it in place so that it will not move. When I checked on it today the top of the moss in the pot was very dry, so I misted it. Should I have done that? Also I have a rooting stimulant. Could I put some of this over the rhizome to help stimulate roots? Sorry the picture of the root stimulant posted sideways.
Any other suggestions anyone out there might have would truly be appreciated.

What works for me is....

If the Cattleya is rootless in the spring, I stake/wire it on top of lava rock (I had four rootless Cattleyas this spring...two I tried to grow in NZ moss and two that came to me without any living roots) and then just set it outside for the summer, watering as usual. Roots usually soon grow. For the ones that bloom once a year and I get in November (Cattleyas from the holiday orchid society give-away), I wire in a small basket pot on top of lava rock and put in a terrarium...not watering but the terrarium is humid. This keeps it alive until spring, when it will begin to grow (and is set outside for the summer and watered). Watering the lava rock provides humidity to the root area.

You can often fool Cattleyas with good grow-lights. Put them in a darker room and use grow lights for eight hours for a few weeks, then increase the time.