I had a small prolif on a seedling recently, it too had very small roots maybe a .5cm long but the scape was brown and dying back. I went ahead and cut it like suggested in the forums and inserted it in garden soil. For the first week or so it looked as if it had died.
however I noticed a couple days ago that it is putting up new green foliage. Patience is sometimes key...I will see if I can get a picture to share...
Good luck