A new Cattleya at beginning of flowering, repotted.

A dear friend, orchid lover, came to visit us a few days ago, I could not avoid to take her for a ride in the greenhouses of my fauvorite orchid seller: Orchids & More! We spent a very pleasant couple of hours wandering around, surrounded by the surreal atmosphere created by thousands of orchids of all shapes and sizes.
Was great fun and relaxing to try the heady scents of dozens of different Cattleya in bloom!

Cattleya hybrid biginning flowering
var. Sophro Cattleya Chian-tzy Angieko 4 seasons
(pictur of 27 November 2012)

I chose this Cattleya thanks to my friend who got one but with already opened flowers, the deep purple color and the citrus scent convinced me, so I looked for one for me too ...

Cattleya hybrid out of the pot,
state of roots, fungal disease
rot rot caused by fungus (Phytophthora?)
var. Sophro Cattleya
Chian-tzy Angiekoh 4 seasons
(pictur of 27 November 2012)

The premises were good, there were many pseudobulbs in the pot and the biggest carrying two nearly ripe buds and the root out of the substrate with its beautiful green tip was clearly in active growth. The plant was cultivated in a black vase so I could not see the situation of the roots inside but since the older pseudobulbs showed signs of dehydration, the youngest began to show a few wrinkles and the vessel was light I decided to water it the next morning . I put it in osmosis water for about two hours, usually dehydrated plants with a good root system show signs of recovery the second day after a long soaking, this Cattleya instead had no change, this fact, together with the loss of older leaf on some pseudobulbs, alarmed me. I decided to take her out of the pot.
I was right!
I found a tangle of rotten roots!

Cattleya hybrid out of the pot, state of roots

after 24 hours kept dry
var. Sophro Cattleya Chian-tzy Angieko 4 seasons
(pictur of 28 November 2012)

I cutted and cleaned a lot before I was satisfied, fortunately some roots remained alive, and the plants in the pots were two!
After cleaning I washed them with osmosis water and I let them dry upside down until the next day. The larger plant with buds had taken over and the poor little girl could not grow so I repotted separately: the largest in a mixed of bark and sphagnum moss and the little one in pure sphagnum moss.