Inner side of cork mount

[sunfire]

Is there any reason it would be bad to use the concave inner side of a cork slab as the mount side? It's rougher/softer and seems to hold more water.

Granted it's not nearly as nice looking as the smooth exterior bark side...

I'd basically like to sit the slab in a pot and set it up in the most stable way possible while preserving space in the pot.

[Roberta]

You can use whichever surface works best for your particular plant. What type of orchid are you mounting? How big?

[sunfire]

Cool. It's a small piece of Dendrobium loddigesii.

Originally Posted by Roberta

You can use whichever surface works best for your particular plant. What type of orchid are you mounting? How big?

[Ray]

In my raw cork bark experience, the inner side is much harder and smoother that the outer.

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by Ray

In my raw cork bark experience, the inner side is much harder and smoother that the outer.

That's what caught my attention at first. The outer side is rough and softer than the inner side.

[sunfire]

The outside seems more water repellent. I had it soaking in some Kelp pack which is why it is wet.

Originally Posted by Ray

In my raw cork bark experience, the inner side is much harder and smoother that the outer.

[Roberta]

I'd mount it on the "front" side... you have some nice deep grooves for roots to grab on to. A hint when mounting... Mount the plant directly against the cork. Then, if more moisture is needed, you can put a small pad of sphagnum on top of the roots. But having nothing between the roots and the mount encourages them to attach to the the mount instead of the moss.

[sunfire]

Just wanted to share how it is going. It has rooted in well and grown a lot since I mounted it. I'm still a bit worried about the stability of the cork in the pot but if I can get my hands on a pot clip I will probably stick that through the cork which will be perfect.

[Roberta]

Looks great! It has established really fast.