Un-mounting and re-mounting?

[Becca]

Hi everyone, I am just full of questions and I love this board because I can just ask away! Here is my situation/question:
I rescued a dendrobium from a friend. It appears to be growing on/in some kind of a slab, possible fir or cork? I am not sure what they really look like. I would like to say slab, but it looks more like a chunk that is breaking apart and the roots are growing all over it and through it. And to add to the situation, it is in a pot plastic pot which was in a clay pot with a hole in the bottom. It appears to have come from the grower this way, it still has it's tag on the side of the pot and it was purchased from Costco but I do not know how long ago, maybe a year? So far I have opted to let it be, but I have been wondering if I should do something with it, but I don't want to damage any roots by trying to take it off of its current home Any suggestions?

[cb977]

Could you possibly post a picture? I'd feel more comfortable giving you advice on this is I could see it first

[smartie2000]

I picture would be helpful.
I'm thinking that it doesn't neccessarily need to get unmounted though...you say it's growing in a pot

[Tindomul]

Hi, is this what you have?

That is a picture of the slab, corky, spongy treefern thingy that the HOme Depot hade my dendrobium on. I finally got tired of it two days ago and put it under water. Once I did that I started carefully breaking the chunk away from the roots. I kept the chunks to use as media for the repoting.

[justatypn]

I recently repotted my dend which was exactly the same way. This type of slab is easy culture for vendors, keeps orchids moist and closest to there natural habitat. The type of wood used is unbeknown to me, but it pulled apart easy around the roots. I would never reuse any previously used media for orchid repotting.

[Becca]

Tindomul1o9,
Your picture looks almost like mine except mine is more broken apart.

Here is a picture of mine. Will this slab type of "stuff" it is on/in break down and cause root rot? It doesn't seem to hold water, I think I kinda like it and being in a pot allows me to not have to worry about having a place to hang it where I would have to worry about water dripping when watered. What works best for dendrobiums if I decide not to use this slab thingy?

[Tindomul]

Even in this case Cheryl? The media was not rotted, I just didn't like it, and decided to change the way it looked and the way it is used.

[Shadow]

It can live in it, but I don't like the appearance. I would repot it just to make it look nicer.

[smartie2000]

For me I wouldn't repot because of all the root damage, and because the plant will be doing fine growing on that thing. But its your choice, live fine whether you repot or not.

[cb977]

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

Tindomul1o9,
Your picture looks almost like mine except mine is more broken apart.

Here is a picture of mine. Will this slab type of "stuff" it is on/in break down and cause root rot? It doesn't seem to hold water, I think I kinda like it and being in a pot allows me to not have to worry about having a place to hang it where I would have to worry about water dripping when watered. What works best for dendrobiums if I decide not to use this slab thingy?

I'd soak the pot/slab for about 20 minutes and then carefully break that stuff away. It should break apart fairly easily. If any of it sticks to the roots, use a stream of water to gently wash away what's left. Then repot it in whatever medium you choose.