Mounting on Charcoal--neos and sedireas

[Hakumin]

I recently came across these again. They're interesting because I don't think i've ever really seen these elsewhere.

In korea, mounting neofinetias and sedireas is commonly done on various interesting materials. While stone and wood mounts are popular and commonly seen, something i've personally almost never seen outside of korea is the charcoal mount. These are large dense pieces of hardwood charcoal that are often sculpted to look like mountainous landscapes.

While i'm not sure what kind of wood is used to make them, it might be interesting to try experimenting with this type of mount...I think i might have seen charcoal like this at the H-mart (korean grocery) before...

what do you think?









I'm not sure if i love or hate the mushrooms...it's a tad...ridiculous.

Image Sources:
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[Brotherly Monkey]

one thing I immediately notice about them is that there seems to be some medium between the plants and the charcoal, and that nothing is directly mounted to it.

This conforms with my past experimenting with trying to use pure charcoal as a potting medium. Which proved problematic because the heat the charcoal would absorb, due to it's dark color

[WhiteRabbit]

very cool!

[Hakumin]

Originally Posted by Brotherly Monkey

one thing I immediately notice about them is that there seems to be some medium between the plants and the charcoal, and that nothing is directly mounted to it.

This conforms with my past experimenting with trying to use pure charcoal as a potting medium. Which proved problematic because the heat the charcoal would absorb, due to it's dark color

I don't know about that--I've seen plenty of examples with the roots bound directly to the charcoal with only a small amount of sphagnum to retain moisture...

I've linked some examples here:

[Ray]

I would guess that long-term, it could be a problem, as charcoal is great for absorption, but poor at releasing what it absorbed. In time, I would think minerals and plant wastes would build up to harmful levels.

[Merlyn]

What I see are only seedlings or young plants. Where are the MATURE plants mounted on charcoal ? INOW, do they mature when mounted on c ?

That mushroom thing is too artsy-fartsy !

[Brotherly Monkey]

Originally Posted by Hakumin

I don't know about that--I've seen plenty of examples with the roots bound directly to the charcoal with only a small amount of sphagnum to retain moisture...

I've linked some examples here:

they might be keeping them at lower light levels. But mine did great all year until summer hit and I would start seeing root tips just shrivel and die, as soon as they came into contact. And noticing the same wasn't happening with the ones in leca, or volcanic rock, I felt the charcoal and noticed it was rather hot, even on cooler days

[Zoi2]

Originally Posted by Merlyn

That mushroom thing is too artsy-fartsy !

Those mounts are really stunning (other than the mushrooms).
Joann

[s.kallima]

Originally Posted by Merlyn

What I see are only seedlings or young plants. Where are the MATURE plants mounted on charcoal ? INOW, do they mature when mounted on c ?

That mushroom thing is too artsy-fartsy !

I share Merlyn opinion, the plants shown are only recently mounted on the charcoal pieces, I see no root growing into it...
I have never seen any plant growing on charcoal, even very old pieces in the wild, remaining of camp fires... I am not sure I would try to mount a Neo on it!

[Hakumin]

I know everyone seems to be doubtful of the suitability of charcoal, but all I can say that it is very popular in korea and I have personally seen at least one example where it has been long established. It was at an old country cafe last time I visited.

Otherwise maybe a few more photos. I guarantee that all of these have been mounted on charcoal. The blog entry for the photos three and four specify that it is oak charcoal. If you look closely, the roots have certainly established themselves in these photos and are supporting live moss as well.









Image Sources:

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