My 1st mounting projects

[Cjcorner]

Hey all;
Since some of my plants dont seem to like a pot, I've tried a few on some nice sticks. A tree down the road was recently cut down and had such a rough surface that mounting was a breeze. Now if only I had a couple more hands, it would have been even better.
My first one has made it a couple months without dying and inspired me to try a few others: Lc.Melody Fair 'Taida Beauty'


My second attempt is a tall dendrobium, called Burana 'Charming'


The piece in the bird house is another of the first that wasn't happy in it's pot.


And my favorite; Dtps. Leopard Prince


I let the sphag. or coc. fiber dry out before the next watering. Soon it'll be an everyday thing. I'd appreciate any suggestions....
Thanx
Connie

[Cjcorner]

Oops....the third one was the Dtps, the last was mounted on shells collected over by the VA awhile back, it is Enc. El Hatillo 'Pinta'....

Should have done the preview....lol....I have a wicker birdhouse that another piece of the Lc. up top was attached to after it fell out of it's pot repeatedly.

[Tednz]

Hi I prefer tree fern or what we call ponga and cork I do have some on driftwood,but during the summer months I have a watering system that comes on once a day and on the very hot days I put a hose over them mid afternoon.Also every time I water the fertilizer is 2 on the cf meter so they get a little everyday

[wetfeet101b]

They look good.
Those orchid varieties should not have any problems grasping those wood branches.

Although I am a bit skeptical about an orchid latching on to a sea-based medium. Is that a real oyster/barnacle clump on the fourth picture?

One suggestion on the first mount (purely aesthetic):
Cut the longer branches a bit shorter so that it can stand up on its own (like a tripod).
Then re-mount the orchids upright in relation to the driftwood. You probably will not need to do this. The subsequent generations of growths will grow upright anyway.
This will allow you to place the driftwood on top of a table once the orchid starts blooming and you will not need any additional brackets to support it while on display.
You will need just a good sized cork mat to protect the surface of your table and you have a nice living table centerpiece.

After the blooms are done, you can hang it up again in its preferred growing spot until the next blooming season.

Perhaps something like this:

Pardon the sorry state of my drawing - I'm not much of an artist on paper.
But I do prefer to sketch out my orchid mount projects so that I can determine the best cut and mounting position of the wood.
I also take into account the expected appearance and behavior of the plant as it matures so that it still looks like it belongs to the mount even after several seasons.

[Cjcorner]

I was trying to get them onto the stick so eventually I could drape them in the orange tree or lemon tree out back during the cooler seasons....sticks stay outside in my house. lol Sorry, clean freak female here.

[Cjcorner]

Sorry, yes the one is on a clump of shells. I believe they are called cat paws or something like that. Actually, the plant has already begun growing new roots that are clinging to the shells underneath the sphag. I don't believe the pic shows it after I added the sphag. I shoved it under the green ties and like I said there is new growth showing already. I was just trying something new.....

[Tednz]

Most driftwood is fine as long as it is hardwood and left out in the rain for a year to get rid of all the salts.

[Cjcorner]

Okay...why does everyone like driftwood so much?? I know of an excellant source, she also carries the strange pots made out of something that is very porous, fiber pots or something like that. What is the benefit of these surfaces when compared with say the wood from an avacado or orange tree? I thought the surface being rough was the important thing??? Am I showing my amateur wings too much?? lol

[ozorchid]

Okay...why does everyone like driftwood so much?? I know of an excellant source, she also carries the strange pots made out of something that is very porous, fiber pots or something like that. What is the benefit of these surfaces when compared with say the wood from an avacado or orange tree? I thought the surface being rough was the important thing??? Am I showing my amateur wings too much?? lol

Well driftwood just looks great!! and it adds to the look of the plants.
Personally, I use cork and treefern, with treefern being the weapon of choice as our summers are very dry here and need to keep water up to the plants.
I think you did a great job, just remember to keep plants true to their original growing directions and you will surely have an amazing collection.
Just wish I had your climate, all my plants would be mounted!!
Cheers

[Ron-NY]

I also like the look of driftwood...I try to use freshwater driftwood so I don't have salt to deal with. I also age any fresh cut wood mounts for a year before using.