(also posted in the Mounts forum)
Well after researching the mounted orchids forum for any and all info I could gleen from what other people have writen on the subject I finally decided to try and mount 1 or 2 of my smaller orchids.
I have three plants that I'm thinking of mounting.
1) Phal. stuartiana (which is starting to open it's first blooms for me!)
2) Neostylis Lou Sneary 'Bluebird'
3) Brassavola cordata
I have seen two of the three of these mounted by other people here. And I have been told by folks here that the Brassavola really wants to be mounted. And then there is the wonderful Phal. stuartiana. The pictures I have seen of this plant mounted really are pretty neat. Also there is my Neo. Can that one be mounted, or better yet, should it be mounted? I know where to get another small stuartiana that could use a good home. Maybe I'll do that one mounted and keep my first plant in it's pot that it seems to be happy in. Hmmmm...
So that's what I have for plants that I want to mount. They are all smaller in size and each have good root systems.
As for what I want to mount the plants onto, I have two different mediums I want to try.
First, the classic hardwood mount. I went over to PetCo today and found a really nice piece of Mopani drift wood designed for use in a freshwater aquarium. It comes from Africa. It's a large piece measuring 17" long x 15" wide x 8" deep. It has lots of nooks and crannies for plants to rest in and roots to crawl all over it. I was thinking that this larger piece would be a great spot for my Phal. stuartiana as it will get fairly large some day and the flowers tend to go everywhere with that plant. Or maybe even two smaller orchids.
And then there is my own creation that I made in about 3 hours. I saw a link in another post in the mount forum talking about using Epiweb over a formed structure.
Epiweb
I read all the way through that site and thought it was pretty neat. Now I don't want to grown freakishly rare mosses and ferns like that guys does, I want to grow a cool mounted orchid on some and maybe some more common mosses to make the mount look cool.
I don't have the Epiweb yet, but I know some folks who sell it here (Ray) that I'm sure would help me out.
Here is the underlaying structure and internal watering system.
This is my first effort in building anything like this. My wife and kids think I built a metal cactus or something. I see it as a sculpture that isn't done yet.
It is PVC covered metal wire that is cut and shaped to look like a tree branch. Soon it will get covered with Epiweb for the plants to mount to. The base is a piece of slate that I found in the tile department at HD. The internal watering system are bits from the drip irrigation aisle at HD as well. That will get hooked up to a small pond pump and the whole structure will sit in a base of water as it's resavoir. I have not yet tested the pump and spray system yet, but if it doesn't work, I can always just gut that and still use the mount with a spray bottle in my orchid enclosure.
So, what'cha think? Again, I have never mounted any orchid in my life, so any advice using either system would be helpful.
Thanks!
Something new for me (not an orchid, yet)... help needed
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