Question on watering mounted Phals.

[Kai]

In a few days, (when I receive the cork bark I ordered) I'm going to be mounting a smallish phal. It will be my first time trying to mount, and I've been doing a lot of research. But I haven't been able to find anything about how dry I should let the mount/moss/roots get between waterings. The plant will be in an area with 50% to 60% humidity, though I plan on adding a cool mist humidifier to the area. Thanks in advance.

[camille1585]

I don't know exactly how dry they need to get, but my mounted ones are allowed to dry out so the sphag is crispy to the touch. Some other orchids don't like it getting that dry, and need to be a bit damp all the time. At this time of year, that means a lot of watering! We've been having 30°C weather lately with 65-85% humidity, and I have to dunk the mounted orchids twice a day despite the high humidity. That might also be partially because I also have good air circulation on them, so they dry fast. In slightly cooler weather, I dunk every morning and mist heavily in late afternoon. In the winter, I dunk every 3-4 days usually, and mist in between.
I think I'm going to add some more sphag to the mounts so they don't dry out so darn fast, and then remove it in the fall.

[Kai]

Thank you Camille, that is exactly what I was looking for.