Non-mounted, potless orchid?
 

Since the flower spike of my Wal-mart rescue phal (named Bijou) got cut off today, and the bark was so decayed it was practically soil, I decided it was a good time to pull it out of it's pot to trim out it's rotted roots and take a look at the healthy ones. I had to cut half the roots out (they were all mushy and white/brown), but there were some good ones left. Not to mention two new ones budding out.

While rinsing the roots, I started thinking of just tying some cotton ribbon round the base of the plant, and hanging it up somewhere in the house to let the roots dry out a bit and breathe for a couple days. Then I figured, why not just leave the plant like that permanently? It's not quite like a mounted orchid, don't need to spend lots of money on a cork bark slap, and I could just dip the roots in water every day, or every other day (it gets pretty humid here on Oregon's west side), and dip the roots in water with fertilizer as needed, then hang and leave it alone. No crown/root rot, and I can see ALL the roots which means my orchid can tell me when it's thirsty.

I want to give this a try, but what do you guys think? What cons do you see coming from this?

If you can keep up with the watering and if the orchid doesn't show signs of desiccation, then I would assume it's fine.

Here's one that worked. Some of you may remember this little dead catt from last year. Here is the current state of it's health. It is pushing another bud. There's nothing here but a little spagnum moss and this rizome. I've had others. It is a great way to grow some orchids. Phals are a good candidate.

You will probably have to water it at least daily (probably more in summer), depending on humidity and temperature; it would probably be best to do so by soaking it in a bucket of lukewarm water for 10-20 minutes so the roots get a chance to get properly hydrated. If the roots are still green when you plan to next water, (the velamen hasn't gone white again) you can usually delay watering.

I've done this for short period (a few months) and I think provided you can water enough it could work well.

I notice in the pictures above there is moss arround the roots and that will be a good way to help maintain the moisture levels.