Mounted plants in the home

[Piper]

Sure thing, Val! That's a great way to secure mounted plants. I wrap sphag, or sheet moss (the sheet moss doesn't hold as much moisture, but is much easier to work with on mounts) to help retain root moisture on mounted plants in my home (since I don't have greenhouse humidity).

Aleksa, don't assume a humid environment makes up for watering needs. They're two different things and fussy plants want the right amount of each.

McJulie

[Becky15349]

I've never thought of using panty hose! Brilliant! I have some mounted plants from a reputable CA grower and the plants' roots are just secured with fishing line; they don't really look like they need much else...just make sure you wrap them well with the fishing line, and you should be okay! :-)

[lyngarc]

I have 5 mounted (3 bought, 2 I mounted) and have had mixed luck. All are in the greenhouse with 40-50% humidity and get sprayed off at least once a day. My Citrina (bare root) looks good, lots of bulbs and leaves and roots all around wood, but no blooms in 3 years. My tiny little Mexican Laelia has a tiny bit of original moss (sure it needs to be replaced) and always looks thirsty but had 2 5" stems with a total of 10 blooms a month ago. One of the Dens (also bare root) bloomed last year but looks sickly this year. How often and how do you fertilize your mounts? - lynda

[orchid-man]

I have 5 mounted (3 bought, 2 I mounted) and have had mixed luck. All are in the greenhouse with 40-50% humidity and get sprayed off at least once a day. My Citrina (bare root) looks good, lots of bulbs and leaves and roots all around wood, but no blooms in 3 years. My tiny little Mexican Laelia has a tiny bit of original moss (sure it needs to be replaced) and always looks thirsty but had 2 5" stems with a total of 10 blooms a month ago. One of the Dens (also bare root) bloomed last year but looks sickly this year. How often and how do you fertilize your mounts? - lynda

for the Citrina the 40 - 50 % humidity is not high enough, over the past 12 mths my greenhouse has not dropped below 70%.Watering is done by misting the plant 3 times per day 3 times per week for 2minuites at a time and 2 times per day for 2 muites for the other days.On top of that the plants get fertilized about twice weekly from spring to early winterfrom a hand held waterer/fertilzer wand.

the above scheduale will be toooo much water for the Mexican Laelia


Hope this helps you

[lyngarc]

Orchid-man!
Yes, it helps! I only get to see my orchids on weekends and they tend to get treated the same way which, I well know, is why I'm lucky to get blooms now and again. I'll step up water on the Citrina and hopefully will make it happier. I can mist 2-3 times a day when I'm home and will ask my husband to pay a little more attention when I'm not there. How much is the right amount for the Laelia? Thanx -- lynda

[orchid-man]

Orchid-man!
Yes, it helps! I only get to see my orchids on weekends and they tend to get treated the same way which, I well know, is why I'm lucky to get blooms now and again. I'll step up water on the Citrina and hopefully will make it happier. I can mist 2-3 times a day when I'm home and will ask my husband to pay a little more attention when I'm not there. How much is the right amount for the Laelia? Thanx -- lynda

if you think it needs water come back in 2 - 3 days

[cherublace]

An inspiration!!!

[Phillip C]

Julie,

What a service you offer to those us who love minis. I would suggest using a stick that is fairly new, that is fresh, and removing the bark. You can still soak the stick for 12 -14 hours with a healthy dose of you favorite insecticide if you are worried about bringing in bugs or other nasties into your home. A drop or two of Pysan(sp) wouldn't hurt either. I have some mini's mounted all sorts of mounts. (great job with the fishing wire - I commend you. My eyesight isn't quit what is used to be and the 2 pound test I have is just too small for me). I have mounts on cork, tree fern stuff, sticks and thin planks as well as chunks of small wood. I would caution about using sticks that appear that they may begin to rot soon. With the humidity (if you have it), and the frequent mistings and the wettish moss or spag., the limb will begin to rot. I have that problem with two of my mounts.

Again, thank you for sharing the process with us, it has been great to see some one mount some plants. PS, in addition to those mentioned mounts, I have a couple on some sort of plaster/ceramic stuff that look real nice.

Phillip C.

[cumulo]

It does not take much space to have mounted plants if one chooses the right species or hybrids. We grow and bloom some mounted species on sticks hanging off the side of the cockatiel cage, and this includes encyclias, Broughtonia, Euchile, Shomburgkia, and the tiny vandas formerly called Neofinitia. This is a good location for the plants because of the western light, and because it gets attention as much as twice per day for misting. The plants get taken down a couple of times per week for a flushing, followed by light fertilizer twice per month, and followed by another flushing rinse the same day and at least 20 minutes after the fertilizer (20 minutes is sufficient time for the fertilizer to enter the roots on a mounted plant.). This prevents salts buildup on mounted plants, which is very important for many of them. I suspect that some of the plants that grow just yards from the ocean and from the Caribbean may be briefly salt tolerant, due to some selection for survival in their environment, but recall that frequent fog and showers part of the year helps them survive that. Some other plants become deciduous under the drought conditions, and do all of their growing for the new season within about 2 months of rain right after they bloom, so pick plants that fit your conditions and you might find some that accept mounting quite well. Look especially at those which have natural xerophytic conditions for their parents.

[phalspital]

Santy heard me...California burl driftwood collected by my beautiful niece from the far northern beaches of Mendocino. I soaked each piece for 3 weeks in umpteen changes of water. Planted this tiny miniphal that I bought from Wally World for 3 bucks. The whole affair is only 4 inches (10 cm) long. It has a natural bowl that holds this little treasure just fine!! As she had just finished blooming when I bought her, I'll probably have to wait a year for her to get settled and produce another spike...the ornament is about 1/2" diameter.