Whole coconut husk

[james mickelso]

Phal. Drill holes around the pot so that roots can grow out of them and attach to the monkey face.

[debrasoon]

Hi. From my experience, I wouldn't grow a den in coconut husk. It does break down after a while and then you will have to deal with having to get rid of the broken down medium and repotting in something else. I had a Den Sweet Dawn which I bought from my supplier a while back which was originally planted in a coconut husk, but had been transplanted to a larger pot without removal of original husk. I noticed the plant wasn't that robust and there was no new growth after the blooms dropped. After closer inspection saw that the entire root system wasn't well, no green tips, cause of the broken down husk. Had to do major repotting and removal of old media which is quite tough for the husk cause the roots get all intertwined. Have to soak, shake and be pretty rough. The plant is doing much better now and new root growth. I have a few small cattleyas which I purchased and which are also grown in Coconut husk. Will one day have to do major repotting when the husk material breaks down.


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[Hiester]

Originally Posted by Daethen

Vanilla would grow way too big and long for that pot.

I thought that might be the response. So this must be more like a drinking cup sized?

[RJSquirrel]

a 'pina colada' would go nice in there. I dont think it would grow though..

in fact I bet it would be reduced to nothing

[Subrosa]

Too bad it's not big enough for a Maxillaria tenuifolia!

[cpeters5]

RJSquirrel I _like_ that!

---------- Post added at 06:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:22 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Subrosa

Too bad it's not big enough for a Maxillaria tenuifolia!

I do have Maxillia tenuifolia. It is still in 2.5" pot. And it probably won't grow very big in my environment.

[cpeters5]

Originally Posted by Hiester

I thought that might be the response. So this must be more like a drinking cup sized?

Hiester, The outside diameter is about 7 inches and the hole is about 4 inches across.

One possibility is L. lundii I purchased a few weeks ago. I accidentally dropped and broke the pot last weekend. To my surprise, the bottom half of the pot is empty. The top part was filled with sphagnum moss, leaving several white roots hanging inside the empty space at the bottom. I haven't seen this potting technique before. It makes a lot of sense.

I am thinking of trying the same thing with the coconut - filling the top of the nut above the hard shell with sp moss or CHC and leave the space inside the hard shell empty, or with a layer of pumice rock added. There are currently two large holes, one at the bottom and one at the mouth of the monkey.

The outer surface of the nut can be used to grow some miniatures/climbers or even live moss for the looks.

Still thinking.

[nlm2951]

I will use for Den. With time it will deteriorate, I got a flamingo the body was made out of coconut and with time went bad, but if I see it I buy.

[cpeters5]

I finally decided on the L. lundii, because it just lost its old clay pot and need a new home. I applied the same technique as the previous owner's. I put the plant in the middle of the opening at the top and plug the entire hole with sphg. moss about 2-3 inches deep. Through open monkey's mouth, I can see several roots dangling inside the nut shell.

I also drilled some holes through the hard shell (but not all the way) to allow the roots to come in contact with the husk. Water should be able to easily drain out through a 3/4" hole at the bottom.

Hope the lucky plant enjoys its new home!

[Hiester]

L. lundii seems a very good choice. Since it typically holds the inflorescences close to the foliage, so I think it will look lovely when blooming.