Advice on buying flasks/ seedlings mounted on live trees..

[mykl]

I'm in zone 9B (Central FL) and was considering getting a flask or two of seedlings and acclimating them to grow in our trees. From what little I could find, Cattleya intermedia or Laelia albida might be successful, year round candidates.

Any thoughts, impressions, perhaps even some successful growers experiences would be appreciated.

[estación seca]

Going directly from flask to tree would probably lead to the quick death of all the seedlings. They aren't colonized with the fungi natural seedlings have in the wild. These symbiotic fungi help orchid seedlings take up nutrients and perhaps water better.

A better approach would be to grow the seedlings from the flask using conventional techniques, then mount them on the trees when near flowering size.

[mykl]

Okay, that makes a lot of sense.

Thank you.

[katsucats]

I'm planning on doing something similar, bringing them outside but not mounting on trees. I would not bring them outside until they grow to about a 2.5" to 3" pot size. My experience is that anything smaller e.g. the seedling size from Maui Orchids, LA Orchid Connection or Orchids by Hausermann wouldn't be able to take the temperature swings. Some of the Maui and Miranda Orchids plants in 2" pots I put outside turned brown before I noticed (though some others are showing new growth). I imagine it could be possible growing outside if it's a mild climate and you put a timed mister up to it several times a day, shelter it from strong winds and use an 80% shade cloth, etc., cause I'm always thinking about how I can move these out. But at that point we're kind of in uncharted territory. Once they reach 3" pot size and up, most of my orchids can sit outside in the shade with limited maintenance (zone 10a, sunset zone 20).