I can see that would be a problem, Gigi. One way I have tried to solve that problem is that when I pot up newly rooted plants, those coming right out of the 100% perlite, I use my standard, customized potting media (1/3 coarse perlite, 1/3 Black Kow, and 1/3 milled sphagnum moss) but mix my orchid media in with that. The orchid mix itself is customized but it will have fir bark and/or cypress bark, horticultural charcoal, expanded clay, and coconut fiber chunks. I would use 2/3 potting media and 1/3 orchid media. That opens up the mix quite a bit and the mix doesn't retain too much moisture. I also use unglazed clay pots for this first potting, the size depends on the size of that newly rooted cutting. Thus the clay allows moisture to more readily evaporate from the mix. I don't know whether this makes any sense, and I know we each have our own way of growing those cuttings, but I don't seem to have rot as a problem. Needless to say, like y'all in Florida, we can get gobs of rain over lots of consecutive days, as we have the last three days. Once these cuttings are established, and that may only take 2-3 weeks, they will then be up-potted to a plastic pot.