Self-Contained Living Air Purifier / Orchid Mount

[slipperfreak]

This is very intriguing. Something I might like to try some day.

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

I'm not familiar with how something like this would do with other species of orchids. Maybe it'd work for Phragmipedium spp. since some of them, like Phrag besseae, are lithophytes that grow in seepage areas.

The literature states that attempts to mount slippers of any kind usually result in failure, despite the fact that many are indeed lithophytes. I have never seen or heard of a slipper successfully mounted, but if anyone here has one, share it with us!

I think this set-up would probably work best for epiphytes.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by slipperfreak

This is very intriguing. Something I might like to try some day.

The literature states that attempts to mount slippers of any kind usually result in failure, despite the fact that many are indeed lithophytes. I have never seen or heard of a slipper successfully mounted, but if anyone here has one, share it with us!

I think this set-up would probably work best for epiphytes.

This is very interesting to know!

I didn't know there was literature on slipper orchids being mounted.

What I'm referring to is not a dry mount. It is a continuously wet mount. I'm not sure what kind of mount the literature is referring to since I've not read any of it.

Is there a way to find out?

Drip zones are very, very wet. There is constant dripping of quite a bit of water. They're usually covered by a thin veneer of moss. Not to mention, they're usually around waterfalls.

This has been done for Disa longicornu and apparently Disa maculata as well. As some of us know, Disas grow very wet so Phrags can't be too far off. They can't be put on a dry mount at all.

This is what I mean:

Eric Harley | www.disas.com

[slipperfreak]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

This is very interesting to know!

I didn't know there was literature on slipper orchids being mounted.

What I'm referring to is not a dry mount. It is a continuously wet mount. I'm not sure what kind of mount the literature is referring to since I've not read any of it.

Is there a way to find out?

Drip zones are very, very wet. There is constant dripping of quite a bit of water. They're usually covered by a thin veneer of moss. Not to mention, they're usually around waterfalls.

This has been done for Disa longicornu and apparently Disa maculata as well. As some of us know, Disas grow very wet so Phrags can't be too far off. They can't be put on a dry mount at all.

This is what I mean:

Eric Harley | www.disas.com

There isn't literature on slipper orchids being mounted, but there is literature on slipper orchid culture that mentions mounting. Koopowitz (2008) states: "Irrespective of their wild nature, most slippers do well in pots but are difficult subjects to grow mounted. In fact, the latter is not recommended."

I understand the way this apparatus works; I am also fully aware of the plants' natural habitats. This particular reference never specifies whether "wet" or "dry" mounts are in question. All of the literature on slipper orchids that I have read either dismisses mounting or fails to mention it altogether. Mounting slippers is not a common practice, and I suspect there is a good reason for that.

"Continuously wet" is not necessarily a good thing. The fact that this unit uses a sort of fan to aerate the root zone is somewhat reassuring, but I am still not convinced that it would work for Phrags. It would obviously work better than a conventional dry mount. In this case, it may be less of a moisture issue (although I'm still skeptical about it even in this area) and more of a physical issue - most Phrags get quite large with age. How big of a unit would you have to have to support the plants? How well would the plants root on it, and ultimately would it be more practical to have a unit like this for Phrags, or would it be easier simply to grow them in pots in S/H? I guess only experimentation will answer these questions.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by slipperfreak

There isn't literature on slipper orchids being mounted, but there is literature on slipper orchid culture that mentions mounting. Koopowitz (2008) states: "Irrespective of their wild nature, most slippers do well in pots but are difficult subjects to grow mounted. In fact, the latter is not recommended."

I understand the way this apparatus works; I am also fully aware of the plants' natural habitats. This particular reference never specifies whether "wet" or "dry" mounts are in question. All of the literature on slipper orchids that I have read either dismisses mounting or fails to mention it altogether. Mounting slippers is not a common practice, and I suspect there is a good reason for that.

"Continuously wet" is not necessarily a good thing. The fact that this unit uses a sort of fan to aerate the root zone is somewhat reassuring, but I am still not convinced that it would work for Phrags. It would obviously work better than a conventional dry mount. In this case, it may be less of a moisture issue (although I'm still skeptical about it even in this area) and more of a physical issue - most Phrags get quite large with age. How big of a unit would you have to have to support the plants? How well would the plants root on it, and ultimately would it be more practical to have a unit like this for Phrags, or would it be easier simply to grow them in pots in S/H? I guess only experimentation will answer these questions.

Cool, cool.

I'm not 100% sure myself. I just threw Phrags out as a possibility for this kind of mount.

I follow you on the size matter, and I didn't take that into consideration.

I don't want to put words into Ray's mouth. But from what I gathered, it seemed like a two-for kinda idea.

growing orchids on a specialized mount + plant mycorrhizae as a natural air purifier = possible good business venture and fun product idea

But now that I think about it...

Unless the orchid is collected fresh from the wild and brought in in pristine condition (relatively speaking), or if they were raised via the symbiotic in-vitro method, orchids would usually not have mycorrhizae present.

In this respect, I don't know if the same air purifying principle would work.

In the case of orchids, the air purification principle may be with what cohabits the same micro-niche they come from, and with the orchids themselves.

For example, lichens, moss, or cyanobacteria. As insignificant as these organisms seem, they are actually some of the world's best bioremediators (bioremediator = biological organism that acts as clean up crew, air purifier, or recycler) - particularly cyanobacteria (the world's first oxygen producer and the most powerful).