Mounting Attack.

[shahrezsyed]

It's very early for me to be posting this but I'm very excited about this so I'm going to do it anyways. I just got 4 large phals, a cattleya, two vandals and a paphiopedilum and was thinking about how to carry them from South Africa to Nigeria then after a week...to Pakistan. I've decided I'm carrying them to Nigeria as it is then I'm taking them out of their pots (except the paphiopedilum and then mount them all when I reach Pakistan. A large phal group mount and a cattleya mount. And a question for someone who would know. What would be the best, longest lasting wood around Lahore, Pakistan. I hope somebody knows...

[stonedragonfarms]

I'd wager that mounting on teak might be the way to go; I'm not familiar with commonly available woods in your area, but teak is often used for orchid baskets, plaques for epiphytic ferns, etc., so I'd give it a try. I've also heard of people mounting on mango wood, but I don't know about its lifespan. Keep us posted on how things progress and good luck with your plants,
Adam

[shahrezsyed]

If mango wood's good, I have tonnes of mango trees...lets see.

[Bud]

pack them well in a box while travelling....use the shredded paper around the leaves and roots and dampen them with water before wrapping them in newspaper arranged in the box.....
if you can find treefern slabs or coconut husks (they dont decay fast but retains water longer)you can save the pots and media and repot them if you are able.... the final destination of the plants is dry elevated area and orchids love humidity and heat.... you may want to invest in humidifiers and humidity trays....
good luck on not being found out by the agricultural customs police; they will thrash you plants if they find out you are moving plants from one country to another(unless you can prove to them you have purchased the plants from an indoor greenhouse environment where there is no bugs or virus infesting it) a citem certificate can also be helpful if you can get them from your sellers. Just dont let those customs people thrash your plants....

[BettyE]

Originally Posted by shahrezsyed

It's very early for me to be posting this but I'm very excited about this so I'm going to do it anyways. I just got 4 large phals, a cattleya, two vandals and a paphiopedilum and was thinking about how to carry them from South Africa to Nigeria then after a week...to Pakistan. I've decided I'm carrying them to Nigeria as it is then I'm taking them out of their pots (except the paphiopedilum and then mount them all when I reach Pakistan. A large phal group mount and a cattleya mount. And a question for someone who would know. What would be the best, longest lasting wood around Lahore, Pakistan. I hope somebody knows...

If you have cedar trees, I have found that cedar wood DOES keep away insects. This has been my experience, and I now only use cedar. If you do not have cedar, I believe that any hard wood would be O.K. Just my opinion...BettyE
P.S. The cedar will last out last both you & I...

[shahrezsyed]

Thanks for the advice bud and Betty I found a tree which is famous for lasting extremely long that's local. But I'll look for cedar.

[Bud]

also: I discovered that your country is slightly just smaller than California; mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north

if you happen to be in the temperate area then you might have a chance to have the orchids outdoors in the warmer months and indoors for the frost months....overall its best to have a large windowsill to accomodate your plants indoors just as I grow all my orchids

[BettyE]

True...it is much easier to grow inside. No insects to damage your orchids, plus the temperature, light & humidity can be controlled. The only problem that I had, was dropping the temperature enough to trigger flower spikes. My husband objected to 50 degrees at night, just to get the orchids to bloom........!BettyE

[shahrezsyed]

I'm growing indoors as well... I just need to get them home first.

[Leafmite]

Good luck!!!!