New Project for Me
 

I am just starting an "epiphyte tree" for out on the deck (Lord knows what I'll do over the winter).

http://firstrays.com/Pictures/driftwood.jpg

The glazed terra cotta planter has four drainage holes, so I covered them with masking tape and stuck pieces of 1/4" polyethylene tubing through them.

I drilled two holes horizontally through the base of the driftwood and inserted two very long lag bolts to provide some lateral stability, then after positioning it in the planter, I filled it with quick-set concrete, the kind you pour in dry, then cover with water to seep in and cause it to set. The damned thing weighs about 25-30# now.

Once the concrete had set (30-45 minutes), I extracted the PE tubing, so now it has drainage paths through the concrete.

I'm going to start with some tolumnias as well as tillandsias and branching neoregelias on the branches, and may plant something in the moss I'll place in the pot on top of the concrete.

Very clever and very cool!

Stage 1, with broms glued and tolumnias tied on:

Still deciding about something for inside the pot at the base of the driftwood. It'll have to be things that like sun...

http://firstrays.com/Pictures/Tree_Stage_1.JPG

Did you just tie the tolumnias directly on the branch? Or did you put some moss first?

Really nice.

Also, you may not like this look, but if you get aquarium moss (those grown on agar), and tie them to the branch, they will cover the area with green. It will look like a tropical tree with random epiphytes on it.

No moss - the tolumnias are tied directly to the branches.

I'm not doing the moss, as it will require decent humidity all year, and that'll be hard to do come winter.

It's a beautiful mount. I've always wanted to do something similar. Haven't because.... what the heck WILL ya do come winter? My problem would be having my beloved bull-in-a-china-shop husband to drag it to my basement growing area. :roll:

Do you think it would be stable enough to only fill like a third up with concrete, then put LECA or pea gravel, etc, to fill it rest of the way up? Then one could pour out the bulk of the LECA or gravel and it would be lighter to move? (As in I could do it myself instead of the bull?) Or not enough stability?

Keep us posted when it's time to bring in!

I think that'll depend upon the size of the base - low and flat, and you can probably get away with less concrete.

In this case, the almost hemispherical shape of the bowl and the jagged nature of the bottom of the driftwood required me to fill it to about 3/4 depth, meaning about 2"-3" from the top. With the windstorms we get here, I'm sure it will be stable, but I wonder about the adhesion of the plants Those tolumnias had better get rooting!

I figure in winter it'll reside in the heated room in the back of my garage (AKA "First Rays Stockroom"), covered in a plastic bag to trap humidity and lit with LED spots.

In other words, if I want to attempt it... choose a bowl to begin with that I can lift once adding some concrete. Good idea. Flat bottom of driftwood isn't a problem. Bull-in-a-china-chop loves chainsaws. ;)

Tipping over from wind has been my biggest concern for not attempting. When outside, all orchids are on a deck and situated at top of a hill. And it's Kansas. Wind, wind, and more wind.

You're not concerned about air movement for the Tolumnia if you cover it in a bag? Mine tend to not do well without pretty good air movement, and Tolumnia are exactly what I want to try the setup with. I killed one with kindness a few years back by displaying it in a very large cloche to keep humidity up.

---------- Post added at 09:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:58 AM ----------

In other words, if I want to attempt it... choose a bowl to begin with that I can lift once adding some concrete. Good idea. Flat bottom of driftwood isn't a problem. Bull-in-a-china-chop loves chainsaws. ;)

Tipping over from wind has been my biggest concern for not attempting. When outside, all orchids are on a deck and situated at top of a hill. And it's Kansas. Wind, wind, and more wind.

You're not concerned about air movement for the Tolumnia if you cover it in a bag? Mine tend to not do well without pretty good air movement, and Tolumnia are exactly what I want to try the setup with. I killed one with kindness a few years back by displaying it in a very large cloche to keep humidity up. Even though I removed the cloche from time to time, and had it blocked up a bit, it still started going belly up.

I have had my slab-mounted tolu’s in a plexiglass box for the winter. No issues

Well huh. I will try again. Keeping humidity up is tough for me. Sooner or later I need to put up a couple of walls. Just haven't decided how yet.