How to mount a Phal?

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by Paul Mc

LOL... Well, I went ahead and did this one upside down since I am spraying it every day with a water hose. I have it hanging in my basement along with my 70 some odd tropical plants to overwinter. BTW, it's the cornu-cervi if that helps.

You read my mind. Since mounted phlas need to be watered or misted almost daily it's probably a good idea to mount it upside down. I let a lot of my phal spikes grow naturally (I don't stake them) and the flowers always orient themselves properly no matter which way the spike goes. Good luck.

[Paul Mc]

Thank you everyone for the wealth of info! So I'm guessing I should move this guy into a brighter area now based on this thread.

[Bud]

right... Phals that are mounted should have the leaves facing the ground and put together with the bright sun loving vandas...
now thats something new I learned ...cool

[Gage]

Originally Posted by orchidsamore

Let me define upside down and right side up first. I was not sure what anyone was saying.

In nature they grow with their roots clinging to branches and the plant growing down from there.

When we grow them in pots that is upside-down.

Everything that is wrong with growing Phalaenopsis in pots does not happen in nature.

Plants grow over the side of the pots as they get old because genetically they grow down.

Aerial roots come out of the pots because genetically the roots grow up. When mounted they will adhere to the mount and in as little as two years you can cover the mount in roots.

You never need to stake a Phal flower as they can hold it very well themselves. I had a Phal mounted down with a 5 1/2 foot flower that did not need support.

Phalaenopsis can take very high sunlight when mounted. I grow several in my Vanda house to prove this point. At shows outdoors, I will often place them in direct sun for an afternoon. There is no chlorophyll in the top of the leaf facing the sun naturally, therefor, there is nothing to burn. For a million years the other side of the leaf has only gotten bounced light from the forest floor so it has evolved to be extremely sensitive. Upside down in a pot they burn rapidly. Mounted naturally downward they accept high sun.

Never any problems of over water as mounted orchids do not hold excess water.

No crown root issues as there is no crown to catch water.

They have a ridge on the leaf to hold them apart when growing downward. You never get them soft flopping on each other when mounted.

I have mounted hundreds and they continue to grow down unless they are in extremely low light. The flowers after the first year will often grow up for an outstanding look.

I have never seen a mounted Phal that is truly upside down. Everything I have seen puts the tips of the leaves facing downward or angled downward, but the side of the leaves traditionally referred to as the top is still facing slightly upwards or sideways at the most. My Phals always grow in such a way that the top of the leaves move to somewhat face the light, even if the plant is hanging downward. Maybe I am misunderstanding your description. Could you post a picture of a well established mounted Phal that exhibits the pattern you have described? I am really curious. Thanks for the new info!

[Paul Mc]

Ok, so I have a bit of a mixed update, lol...

While the leaves on my cornu-cervi feel good and somewhat firm and look generally healthy, I fear I may have goofed. It came packed in sphag and during our somewhat cold weather, so I left it alone for about 1 1/2 weeks to adjust to my temperature and environment. When I went to get it out of the pot and sphag, I accidentally broke several of the healthy roots and I think I may have broken a few more attempting to mount it.

For the most part, the roots appear to be healthy green, especially so when I water them. However, many of the roots (including some that I did not break) have died.

Perhaps I should have potted it first and then gradually moved it to a mount?

At this point, I don't see any new root growth. It has a somewhat thin pad of sphag underneath it. I did this because I figured coming from sphag it would help. Plus, the sphag is completely dried out by the time I water every morning.

What do you guys think? Should I leave it alone and just it adjust or should I pot it up quickly in my standard phal bark/perlite mix?

[Brenda Aarts]

Paul, my vote is leave it alone and let it adjust to the shock it's been through. I think Jerry has some very valid points, what we consider right side up in a pot is actually upside down when you consider how they grow in nature. I have 3 cornu cervis and they all seem to be resilient, though non of them mounted. Good luck.

[Daethen]

I would suggest putting more sphag over the roots. The roots you are working with now grew in a medium, sphag, and are not used to this much air. When I mounted mine, I put a large pad of sphag under it and then more over most of the roots. I have broken roots on potted plants and had them keep living, btw. I would say moving it now would just stress it more. My humidity is 50 or below most of the time at this time of year and I only have to water every 2 to 3 days. The new roots that grow in will be better adjusted to their mount, but add some sphag to it for now.

[Paul Mc]

Well, officially over half of the roots are now dead. I did add a huge ball of sphag around the roots (not tight though) to assist with the transition, as well as moving it to a very bright location.

Do you guys think I should try adding a little bit of rooting hormone and DynaGro ProTekt to the water solution for a while to see what happens?