for Tindomul1of9: mounting info - Orchid Board

cb977 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-01-2006, 10:19 PM

One of the speakers we had at a recent meeting demonstrated repotting and mounting. It wasn't a very detailed lesson, but it seemed simple enough. He said to use something that is kind of rough or has something for the roots to grab on to. He had a really nice piece of driftwood, in sort of an L-shape. It had a lot of nooks and crannies in it. He had a rather large Catt (not in bloom) along with some moss and fishing line. He put a little patch of moss up on the wood first then positioned the plant, held it in place while he put a little more moss and then tied the fishing line around it. He said some people do it without the first bunch of moss, and some with no moss at all. He also had some Dynomite fertilizer and put just a pinch of that right into one of the nooks prior to putting on the first layer of moss. Of course, he's been doing it a long time and can probably do it with his eyes closed. The whole thing took about 2 minutes. I'm expecting to spend a bit more time when I do it and I'll probably be praying for an extra set of hands but I plan on giving it a try. How hard could it possibly be???

Tindomul · #2 (**permalink**) 05-02-2006, 11:36 AM

You are right. It can't be too difficult

. Its just one of those things I would like to witness being done before attempting it myself.
Is fishing line expensive?
Does the type of wood matter?
Will the orchid fall off if I do it?

Will I kill the orchid if I try to move it after it has been established on its mount?

Thanks.

cb977 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-02-2006, 11:56 AM

Hi. I don't think fishing line is expensive, but then again, I haven't checked into it yet. I did a search and found some instructions on mounting...I'm adding the link here:
http://www.clanorchids.com/mount.html

As far as what kind of wood, I did read something about not using pine because there's something in it that will kill the 'chids. I'm not sure if that's true or a myth, but just incase it is true, I'll be avoiding pine. I ordered a nice piece of driftwood from ebay and I now have my garage-sale fanatic friends keeping an eye open for some when they make their rounds.

Sandra Billeter · #4 (**permalink**) 05-02-2006, 12:50 PM

We bought a Den Anosmum 2 years ago and it came mounted on a cork bark slab about 8 x 6 inches. The canes are about 30 inches long and pendulous so it needs to be hung. It grew a keiki and I got the stuff and mounted it like the parent plant. I took the cork bark slab and put a ball of moss on it then put the roots on top and another ball of moss on top of them. I had bought 3 feet of coated electrical wire and wrapped that around the mounting to hold it all in place (like the parent plant had been anchored). It has worked like a charm and the keiki bloomed this spring as well as the parent plant. Just remember that any mounted plant will probably need to be watered more frequently than a potted plant. As to moving it, both of ours have been moved twice and there hasn't been a problem. Good luck!

Sandra in South Carolina

Tindomul · #5 (**permalink**) 05-02-2006, 09:41 PM

Thanks for the link, and the info. Its a good thing I just read that link otherwise I would have tried my hand at glueing the orchids to the wood. Oh boy.

Oscarman · #6 (**permalink**) 05-03-2006, 08:01 PM

Any of the orchids I have placed on mounts, are secured with fishing line. I think it is 20 pound test. It is inexpensive, works well, is nearly invisible and very strong. Most of mine are on cork with NZ moss and they definately need frequent watering - every 2 days usually.

cb977 · #7 (**permalink**) 05-04-2006, 04:26 PM

Thanks Dave. I'm looking forward to trying my hand at it. I'm waiting till after my trip to Redlands

in case I find a couple of miniatures that would work well on the piece of driftwood that I recently bought.

Oscarman · #8 (**permalink**) 05-04-2006, 10:32 PM

What exactly is Redlands? Is it an orchid show & sale, or some kind of orchids swap-meet? I have seen it mentioned a couple of times.

Tindomul · #9 (**permalink**) 05-04-2006, 11:10 PM

I'm curious too. Never heard of it.

Sandra Billeter · #10 (**permalink**) 05-05-2006, 12:30 AM

In the current issue of the AOS Orchids magazine, there is an ad for the "Redlands International Orchids Festival" at Homestead, FL, from May 19 - 21. The ad is on the 3rd page in from the front cover. We've never been to that one but I'm sure it would be neat to go!

Sandra in South Carolina