Falling Over!

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by lornaheath

Wow! Wow! Wow!

So good of you to put all that info in for me. Guess where I'm off to in the mornin. (Its almost 10 pm here now - Damn!).

I am minding my Grandson for a few days tomorrow so he can troll round with me and carry anything that's too heavy for me. (The Wimp Gran).

You showed me some close up pics, but the two Orchids I am thinking of doing this with have quite substantial root systems so I am thinking now they might be too large to mount. I'd need half a tree! Your pics show small roots.

We will have to go to the other store to get some hanging hook thingies too.

You are good for helping with all this. You got me dead excited now. Fank U Hun.

Lorna
x x x

I would definitely read the mounted section on this board and have a look at some pictures and what other people do. Orchids tend to wrap their roots around stuff, so if you can find a piece that is large enough you could probably quite successfully wrap them around. They also use mesh, wire, etc., so have a look and find what works for you. My guys do have crap root systems (which was another reason for mounting them) that I'm trying to encourage recovery for. Too much time spent in big box sphag =(

[lornaheath]

I will read all that stuff Queen. Thank you.

I would be off to the shops right now if they were open. I needed to know that a piece of bark is not the same as a piece of bark and is not the same as a piece of driftwood. I would never have know any differences without your help.

I will read, and hope it doesn't confuse me.

If I have to use wire mesh, will I have to buy wire cutters and other 'Men's Tools?' Yikes.

Lornie
x x x

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by lornaheath

I will read all that stuff Queen. Thank you.

I would be off to the shops right now if they were open. I needed to know that a piece of bark is not the same as a piece of bark and is not the same as a piece of driftwood. I would never have know any differences without your help.

I will read, and hope it doesn't confuse me.

If I have to use wire mesh, will I have to buy wire cutters and other 'Men's Tools?' Yikes.

Lornie
x x x

I meant wire mesh to hold the moss and orchid ONTO the mount. Sorry I didn't specify that. I have also seen people that stretch panty hose over the mount and media to hold everything on...xD It's kind of ridiculous but also kind of smart.

Edit to add: I'd just buy wire cutters...but I think those are kind of essential anyway to have in your house (but it could also just be because I am the daughter of an engineer and will be soon marrying an engineer...<_<)

[lornaheath]

When I buy Orchid Seedlings from Malaysia, they come in a tiny amount of moss and they are kept together with some very fine green nylon netting. It's a bit like a bag that holds tangerines in a supermarket.

Would any type of those materials work then? That is really interesting and of course cheap!! I like Cheap!! I like FREE better, but Cheap is good too.

Lorna
x x x

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by lornaheath

When I buy Orchid Seedlings from Malaysia, they come in a tiny amount of moss and they are kept together with some very fine green nylon netting. It's a bit like a bag that holds tangerines in a supermarket.

Would any type of those materials work then? That is really interesting and of course cheap!! I like Cheap!! I like FREE better, but Cheap is good too.

Lorna
x x x

I don't see why not. I'd research it more, though, just because I've only ever mounted these two and I'm still fairly new in the orchid world (6 months). But if you can put pantyhose on, I don't see why you can't put nylon mesh on as long as it's not too tight and has air flow, which it would.

[lornaheath]

I am gonna go for tonite Sug.

Thanks ever so much for all the time and help.

Hey, when's the Big Wedding Day?

If I PM you my e-mail address can I have a couple of pikkies of the big day?

Lornie
x x x

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by lornaheath

I am gonna go for tonite Sug.

Thanks ever so much for all the time and help.

Hey, when's the Big Wedding Day?

If I PM you my e-mail address can I have a couple of pikkies of the big day?

Lornie
x x x

G'night. November 9th! ACK! It's too close...><!!!! And yes, I can send you some pics once I get them back =)

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Lornie, I do use mounting wire, pretty strong, and easy to use (not as easy as zip ties), you can get it in any store selling live plants and supplies, I got mine in our Home Depot. Zip ties are working fine as well though, I heard that even from profi growers:-) Or you can use fishing line, although I find that the most pain in the "tochas" to use and hate it:-) If you plant is bigger size, I would maybe go just for big wooden basket, and place it inside of it, let the roots grow through and around and do their thing, some sphagnum moss around and that would be it. You could hang it like it shows here on the hook at the top of your window, and when needed water just take it off and dump into the bucket with water to soak. Not sure if this would work for you?

---------- Post added at 05:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:49 PM ----------

FYI, I went today to Home Depot JUST to get some more wire, because I have orchids on it's way and want to mount them right away, and found in their seedling section one and only one Dendrobium Aggregatum, only for $12, had to get it, I had piece of cork left for mounting, so I did mount it like an hour ago. Used fishing line to attach moss on the bottom, than that yellow stronger wire just to old the plant before it will attach itself to cork, and than that thin mounting wire that holds roots and sphagnum moss, it is pretty simple, takes only like 15 minutes:-) I will attach some pics, and also the improved wall, you know I am into the MOUNTING:-)

[lornaheath]

Love the idea of placing in a basket better than trying to mount, but I love the idea of hanging it like Butterfly said. That really appeals.

Thank you Sausage for the new pikkies of your mountings. You know you said cork? Well is that instead of Bark? Is that more sterile perhaps? Just thinking could you use a chunk of polystyrene? Oh stop laffin at me. I don't know these things, that's why I have to ask silly questions Man!! Huh

Lornie
x x x

[catherinecarney]

I've started growing some of my phals and small catts on mounts. Easy to do for the summer when they're outside (I just put several hooks into the post that holds the porch roof up and hung them off of that), but inside is another story....

So here's my plan for when they come in for the winter: I have an obelisk type trellis that's about 30" tall that's in a 10" pot (which held my Epiphyllum cactus until the cat decided to munch on it, but that's another story). I plan to grow a fern or begonia (cane type??) in the pot and use the obelisk as the support for my mounted orchids. The pot with the dirt and plant will be heavy enough to be stable, and any water that drips from the mounts will land in the pot rather than on the floor.....

I used cork slabs for my mounts (found them in the reptile section of the local pet store) and secured the moss and orchids to it with U-shaped pieces of galvanized wire (sort of like big staples). I figure by the time the wire rusts out the orchid will have attached to the bark. The hanger for the mounts is a cup hook screwed into the top of the cork....

I also had a pretty nice piece of grapevine (nothing like needing orchid mounts to have an excuse to prune back an overgrown arbor) that I used to mount a small catt--I used standard cotton/poly sewing thread to wrap around the grapevine to hold the orchid and moss in place. Again, I figure by the time the thread rots away the roots will have attached to the grapevine....

Hope this gives you some ideas...

Oh, and "man tools" are fun to have--I just bought myself a table saw to go with the 1/2" drill and circular saw in my tool chest. Give me power tools over jewelry any day!

Catherine