Life trees for orchid mounting - Orchid Board

Yourneedfulthings · #1 10-26-2016, 08:32 PM

Can anyone suggest tree/shrubs selection to grow inside a 12 ft. tall greenhouse. I am interested in mounting orchids on them. I keep the greenhouse above 55F / 60+ % humidity, UV glass 50% shade.

So far I have mainly orchids, few small citrus trees, olive, plumeria.

Leafmite · #2 10-26-2016, 10:10 PM

I grow small trees/shrubs in my home but I haven't mounted orchids on them. A good place to look for ideas is Logees. They tell you what height, temperature and lighting each plant needs and they have such a great variety that it you are bound to find something you love.

https://www.logees.com/

Yourneedfulthings · #3 10-27-2016, 07:55 PM

Thank you.
I have learn today from the Atlanta Conservatory that one small shrub that is good for mounting orchids is:
Medinilla magnifica and that is one plant Logees sales.

orchidsarefun · #4 10-27-2016, 08:09 PM

Hmmm. I'm looking at my medinilla now and I don't see how/where a mount could be placed. Medinilla have big umbrella type leaves. Probably best to visit a greenhouse and see for yourself the types of plants and shrubs grown. At Chicago Botanic Gardens they have used artificial 'trees' that they then bind Orchids to.

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Yourneedfulthings · #5 10-27-2016, 09:13 PM

I agree with you on the doubts about mounting. I saw few medinilla bushes at the Fuqua conservatory in Atlanta and do not remember any orchids on them. By email, personel there tell me that when they mature, the branches are stiff and smooth.
I wonder if the person that answer got the trees mixed up. The plant is nice enough to try as a adition anyway.
I may end up getting a thick plastic pipe and create a column cover with cork bark. It will take less room and probably acomodate more orchids.
Welcome any more suggestions.

Tindomul · #6 10-28-2016, 10:49 PM

I have a Dracaena (Dragon Tree) with a Phal equestris on it. I think they have a nice bark for smaller orchids.

katrina · #7 10-29-2016, 08:52 AM

I grow Medinilla and I don't think it's a good candidate because of the leaf issue already mentioned but also because it is actually an epiphyte itself, like orchids. So, it's not really a tree or shrub...just a bushy and big epiphyte.

In it's native habitat, Philippines, it does grow on trees but it can also be grown like a houseplant. It does well in a peat-based or Pro-mix potting medium. That's how I grow mine.

On top of those things, it's a pretty slow grower. I've been growing one for over 3 years now and it's still not more than 12" tall...bushy but not all that tall.

It's definitely a cool plant...I love mine!...and it blooms for months. Mine started in early/mid-spring and was still in bloom when the plants came back inside late Sept. The blooms were starting to go down at that time so I cut them off. Long blooming and a relatively easy grower.

If you choose to get one...THESE are the culture requirements I've been following since I got mine. Well, minus the misting. I don't mist my plants...I do water the entire plant (leaves and all) from time to time but I never just mist.

Leafmite · #8 10-29-2016, 12:26 PM

Fig trees (i.e. Fiscus carica 'Violette de Bordeaux') would probably work in your conditions. They grow fast, can be kept the size you prefer, and can take the lower temperatures (they might go dormant and lose leaves, which would be perfect for Vanda falcata). Home grown figs, I am discovering, are quite delicious. Pomegranate 'Nana' doesn't need the lower temperatures and would not get too large. If you can get a cinnamon cassia, that should tolerate your temperatures, too (verum/zeylanicum likes it just a little warmer), and it is a very pretty tree.

I grow some trees in the home (citrus, pomegranate, figs, cacao, cinnamon verum, bay laurel, coffee, etc.) and most of them can be kept to whatever size you want them to be with the choice of pot and careful pruning. The larger the pot, the larger the plant (except the cacao...it gets large no matter what size the pot).

Good luck!

---------- Post added at 12:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 PM ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tindomul

I have a Dracaena (Dragon Tree) with a Phal equestris on it. I think they have a nice bark for smaller orchids.

I had a nice Dracaena for many years. When my mother was desperate for a nice houseplant, I gave her mine. I thought that it was indestructible but she proved me wrong. I have been looking for one with the same leaf-pattern that the old one had, with a bit of red/pink.

Yourneedfulthings · #9 10-30-2016, 07:55 PM

How big is your cinnamon cassia? yrs.?
I have citrus but branches are not strong rnough to hold the orchids.
Figs, I like them, have 2 twenty yrs. Old in a summer home and produce more than 50 lbs. each every year.
Lots of work.
Realistically I think I have no more room in my glasshouse. Nice to dream.
Thank uou for the suggestions. I am adding two medinillas, cumingii and magnifica. Small ones, they eill take time to grow.

Fishkeeper · #10 01-03-2018, 08:52 PM

If you can find a palm tree species that stays smaller, that rough bark and the bushy bases of dead leaves are great for growing plants. I've seen even non-epiphytic ferns growing on the bushy area below a scruffy palm's leaves in Hawaii. There are a few species grown in pots that don't get past 5 feet tall, those should work.