Remounting an orchid without removing the old mount.

[Kevin_PR]

I have an Aerangis kotschyana that I got about 3 years ago. It was mounted on a cedar plant 1"x5". Most of the mount is covered in Thick roots and you can only see about 25% of the cedar plank. I wanted to give the roots more surface area to grow on so I mounted the plant, cedar plank and all to a tree fern slab.

Has anyone else done this. I don't see how I could have removed the cedar slab. Presently the wood is still in good condition but I fear that it will rot in the future and cause problems right at the base of the plant.

PS I love the "emoticons" on the OB Hilarious!!!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Show a pic and I can better advise, but for now, the only thing I can tell you is to wet the roots thoroughly and gently use the padding on your thumb to roll the roots off the mount. Do not use excessive force. If it does not want to come off, soak in water longer.

[Kevin_PR]

I need to invest in another camera. I will try that method. thanks

[Leisurely]

In time, the older parts of the plant will die anyhow. It would better serve your purpose to place the new mount more toward one side, in the direction of a new lead, so that when new roots are developed,they can grow into the tree fern.

[Edward Brookes]

I would advise you to leave the roots untouched & tie the old mount onto your new one. This is how I solve the problem with plants that have overgrown their mounts. It is very successful & causes far less damage than trying to prize roots off an old mount. Ideally one would try to use a mount of the same wood, but I can't see that the tree fern would be a problem in this respect. I have seen these plants in the wild, on quite thin, smooth barked branches, & always horizontal. I think the thickest branches colonised by the plants were some 6 to 8 cm in diameter, & dead with bark stripped off. This suggests that the wood mount would be a good choice over tree fern.

[Bud]

Trust your instincts, you are doing something right....I am scared to pry off established roots so I mount the whole thing to a new fresh mount and if the old one decays, it just get washed off when you flush the plant under the sink once a month....

[peeweelovesbooks]

I'm going to be the lone dissenter here. I have bought plants on mounts before, and I often see dead growths, dead roots, etc, and at that point, I decide to clean up the plant. I'd rather have healthier, smaller divisions than one large, messy big plant.

Without seeing pictures, I can't tell what the condition of the plant is.

If the plant is super healthy, then I think it's up to you. I had mounted some stuff on treefern and I did not like it at all, as it started to crumble significantly over time. I have also successfully pried off plants from a mount when they have outgrown it. You just have to soak the plant over and over until the roots are soft enough to gently dislodge from the existing mount.

[Edward Brookes]

I concur on the treefern, it does not work for me, but other growers have excellent results using it. I tried miltoniopsis on a healthy tree fern in the garden, & the roots would not attach - the plante were virtually bare root, & not thriving like the ones I saw on a live tree fern in a fellow grower's garden. I think you are right in removing the mount from a plant that is scruffy & not growing well on its old mount, so ultimately it would depend on that factor as to whether or not the old mount can be retained. Perhaps I am erring too much on the side of caution. A fresh mount will often be a great stimulus for an ailing plant.

[tropterrarium]

You could also just leave as is. Roots do not have to be attached to anything. They can just hang in the air. If the mount is still ok, you can hang it, and that's all there is to it. Depending on the plant, the roots may want to attach to other things, so there is a potential downside.