First mount attempt

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

I read an AOS magazine from the early 90's the featured a couple in Colorado who lived around Aspen and they grew cats and phals mounted. I'm not sure phals can't grow a couple days dry. Maybe try something I do with my mounts. I drill bunches of holes into the mount. That holds water more efficiently than just moss. Also there is a substance that I've seen in florist shops that is made of gel. Maybe put that under the moss.

I've drilled the wood like you showed earlier in the post. The mounds are twice the size but this moss isn't compact either. I will keep an eye on everyone for a few days and weeks and tweak it as needed. I just can't water every day and the plants I have mounted don't like the chill of sh in my arid environment. Granted, even with my humidifier, which does a good job, I was having to water daily. Next step are automatic misting.

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[The Orchid Boy]

My potted phals don't get watered until they're cruchy dry and do great.

A lot of you say to put moss under the roots. I only put moss over the roots. I've had troubles with the orchids establishing when I put moss under the roots, although, my eventual goal is to remove the moss and ties from the mount, unless the moss is live and growing, so in my environment I use tree fern or cork and only mount orchids that like it drier.

[james mickelso]

Have you looked at the gel stuff? I had students on Phoenix that used it in their bonsai trees. Seemed to work well.

[james mickelso]

These haven't been watered since Saturday and they are crisp. Very crisp. Hasn't hurt them a bit. The larger one blooms twice a year. C. Intermedia. And this C. Gold Nugget blooms too and gets watered once a week. I know this isn't Clolrado but dry is dry. And once the moss on yours gets older it will stay wetter longer.

[Pilot]

Thanks for the pics. It's all an experiment, right? So I redid some of my mounts and I learned two things:

1. They were drying out really fast, within a day, and while the roots seemed ok I'm not sure it was a long term solution.
2. The mounts I did previously that already had more moss that was held in place well (snug but not tight) were healthier looking, even though they were different plants, I take this as a sign that a slight bigger moss mound for these mounts is likely a better option.

I'll keep an eye on things for sure....I don't mind dismantling a mount to check on the health of plants.

I redid my larger Bellina today and the roots looked good. So I didn't add more more but used netting to secure the moss instead of simple fishing line.



Also, these planks are untreated and have a bunch of holes drilled into them per the earlier suggestion to do so.

My smaller Bellina I should mention has been in a moss mount now for a few weeks and it threw a new leaf. The leaf seems very healthy. Now I'm looking for new roots! I see little nubs suggesting they're on their way.

[AnonYMouse]

I'm a little confused.

If you are using that much moss, what is the point of mounting it?

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

I'm a little confused.

If you are using that much moss, what is the point of mounting it?

Growing it nearly vertical instead of horizontal as in a pot.

[AnonYMouse]

Ah, ok.

I've seen something that might be an option for your conditions. Net pots, snug with sphag hanging perpendicular (they were M. caesia).

[HighSeas]

This is a great thread! I've been thinking about mounting some Phal's because I like the they look in nature. Thanks for the great pictures!

[Pilot]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Ah, ok.

I've seen something that might be an option for your conditions. Net pots, snug with sphag hanging perpendicular (they were M. caesia).

Can you link me to an example?