mounted orchids

[sunny]

can anyone advise me on how to mount orchids. i just bought some cats and dendrobiums from costa rica and i want to mount them. i have the mount and the moss but i don't know how to attach them so the moss and orchid will stay attached.

[PleuroPal]

I think most people use fishing line. Make sure it's really tight.

[sunny]

people say you can use panty hose to mount an orchid. but no one has said how you use it. also, what kind of wire do you use for the hanger. can you cut a clothes hanger wire and screw it in. will it hold

carol

[pale blue]

Originally Posted by sunny

people say you can use panty hose to mount an orchid. but no one has said how you use it. also, what kind of wire do you use for the hanger. can you cut a clothes hanger wire and screw it in. will it hold

carol

I saw them using pantyhose on an episode of the Kew Gardens series. You just basically cut the legs off and the top part with the elastic and tie it on. I've used it on an unruly large plant before and it doesn't cut into the leaves which is nice. The moss might be hard to mount with the pantyhose, but I imagine it will work.

Which color you get is up to you, personally I go with a natural nude color lol

[Becca]

I use fishing line. If you use it, just make sure you put a pad of moss between it and the roots where it will be touching the roots, that way it won't cut into the roots. Good luck!

[learning2letgo]

How can I mount an orchid? What do you use to mount orchids? - Orchids

Here's a fairly good "how-to" about mounting orchids from GardenWeb... Best of luck

[PleuroPal]

Sunny,

I apologize for not being more detailed in my first response. I was a little short on time yesterday morning. Anyway, I have done the coat-hanger trick before, and it works ok. I've also used the wire from old metal pot hangers - just cut it to the length you want and go from there. Ideally you might want to go to a hardware store and get some wire - 16 gauge would be about right. Drill a hole in the top of your mount just big enough to stick one end of the wire through, and then bend a short section (about 1/2 or 1/4 inch) of that end of it back onto itself so when you try to pull it back out it gets "stuck" in the hole. You can even tap it in with a hammer so it gets lodged in there nicely. Then just bend the other side 90 degrees and flush with the mount, put a little hook at the end for hanging and you're set.

As for mounting the orchid itself, I usually take a nice little pad of wet moss and affix it tightly to the mount using fishing line. Then I position the plant the way I want it, add a little more wet moss on top of the roots to protect them and keep wrapping it with fishing line (tightly) until it's secure. I'm not a big expert on knots, but I've found that three or four regular over-hand knots do the trick just fine.

Hope this helps.

P.S. The amount of moss you'll want to use will depend somewhat on the type of orchid being mounted and its moisture requirements. More moisture = More moss. Also, for orchids that like to dry out between waterings (like your dendro) you might want to use green tree moss instead of sphagnum moss.