I always start my av leaves in water. I never tried to start them in soil. You might want to try a few that way too. Sorry to hear about your av. I hope it works!

I had one go bad from crown rot last week. The leaves hung over the edge of the pot, and the petioles were filled with water. It was nasty. I repotted it in a 3oz Solo cup, and put it in a plastic bag. I had already put one leaf down in soil and two leaves in water. It was a beautiful red fluted star (NoID). I don't know if it will grow from the crown again, but I started the leaves before it started to rot.
Why does it always happen to the ones you really like?
Good Luck, I hope your av recovers.
Lennie in Michigan

Good news : yes, they grow back from crowns ( I always decapitate store bought plants)
Bad news: unless you are ruthless, and chop every last bit of rot off, chances are, it will continue to rot. I've had plants go to mush, where I tried to root an entire crowns worth of leaves and the very tip of the crown. Everything turned brown practically overnight.... Others, that I was sure were beyond, came back stronger than ever before....

No knowing, just trying ;-)
Good luck!

Karin

Thanks for the info, Karin. I had given up on mine, and removed it from the pot, intending to pitch it. There were so many healthy roots, I decided to scrape the neck and I did leave two tiny leaves at the crown. I'm not sure I got all the rot, but maybe I'll get lucky. I checked my leaves in water, and I see roots starting to show. I have had good luck putting the leaf into soil when the roots are about 1/4" long. I'll give it a try soon.
Lennie

*fingers crossed* just have to wait and see