Mounting on clay pots issues

[Silje]

I think a lot of us has seen this picture...



...and gone 'Wooooow! That looks so nice!" At least I did. I just immediately got this beautiful picture of my fantasy growing space that has unlimited room and is in perfect condition 24/7, all year round. And I pictured rows of beautiful pots with even more beautiful orchids clinging on to them. Not a mealy bug or fungus spot in sight. Just happy roots and the correct amount of algae and moss to give it a bit of a wild flare.

One of the disadvantages of living on the countryside in the middle of nowhere in southern Africa is that orchids are hard to come by. But one of the perks must be that porous, unglazed clay pots are readily available and cheap. So I got a couple.



The first test was to fill them with water and let them stand over night to see if water seeped through and id they were still intact and had not turned into mud. Check. The clay pots were nice and sweaty in the morning.

The next test was to add a bit of moss (and here my lack of creativity and ability to make things look nice is clearly visible, but I'm a hopeless case and have given up on myself a long time ago)



And this is when things got a bit concerning and disappointing. That moss gets soaking wet.

I was initially planning on mounting an aerangis to this one since I struggle to keep them moist enough, but now I just put the pot aside to think about how else to do this.

Would it perhaps be better to just skip the moss altogether? Or replace it with coir which holds less water?

In the original thread, started by bumpman, where I saw this picture the first time, it looked like there was some interest in trying this and a couple of members bought pots to mount on. How did that all work out in the end?

Any recent and long-term experiences with mounting on clay pots are welcome.

(Maybe my pots are just crap and not really suitable for anything else than as dry decoration)

[Island Girl]

I thought the EXACT same thing when I saw that picture awhile ago! Lol, ME, with a perfectly clean grow-space... Ha!

I think you could forgo the moss... Or after you mount, just slip a piece or two under a couple roots here and there, but not an entire pad... I really think it would work.... I can't wait to see the finished project! After all, in that pic, there isn't any spag on the pots under the orchid roots, the only moss I see, is the lovely green sheet moss. Good Luck! and please update!

[Silje]

Originally Posted by Island Girl

I thought the EXACT same thing when I saw that picture awhile ago! Lol, ME, with a perfectly clean grow-space... Ha!

I think you could forgo the moss... Or after you mount, just slip a piece or two under a couple roots here and there, but not an entire pad... I really think it would work.... I can't wait to see the finished project! After all, in that pic, there isn't any spag on the pots under the orchid roots, the only moss I see, is the lovely green sheet moss. Good Luck! and please update!

Yeah, I think I will. I looked at the picture and noticed that there was no moss under the plants, but then I thought I'd still try with a bit, but it just soaks up too much water. The clay is just nice and moist, but anything on it becomes soggy.

[Edward Brookes]

some years back I persuaded a local nursery to order terra cotta cylinders on which to grow miniature orchids. The cylinders are closed at the bottom, & have holes at the top edge for wire hangers. They really work well,but the clay needs a long period of soaking to leach out mineral salts & binders. Some hold water longer than others, & so one can assess how often they need filling. Algae grows at the bottom of the wettest pipes, & can be a problem. I always add a little of the sheet moss when attaching the orchid. It soon spreads, & on a good pipe, covers it completely - looks really good, & suits the plants which need cool, moist conditions. I spray fertilizer on the outside ONLY,never adding it to the water inside the pipe - I don't want salts building up on the evaporative surface & killing roots & moss. A. scottianum has gone mad on these pipes, the dry ones are good for mini Catts, & I have a very happy Trias on a pipe which is completely covered in moss. E. polybulbon takes very well to the pipes, simply wrap it around again as soon as it is long enough. The plants on those pots in the picture look woderful. I agree about omitting sphagnum moss or other moss pads. Just a whisp of sheet moss added as you mount the orchids seems to be ideal. With the very wet pipes I've had, I tie the plant higher up on the pipe, so perhaps this would work on a pot as well. I tried coir fibre, it's ok on a dryish pipe, but rots very quickly on a wet pipe, so really I think it's not useful. In any case, small birds come & strip it all off for their nests - so now they have their own supply, without any orchide to hinder their work!

[AnonYMouse]

I still have 3 ollas so I'm willing to give it another shot but have to figure out which plants (minis) will have the best chance of success.

I'm not familiar with the plants in the picture. The blooms on one looks like gastrochillus or tuberolabium or something silmilar but the spreading habit looks like how some bulbo creep, are there any cool growing bifoliate bulbos with itty bitty pbulbs? The other looks like a fancy grass.

[Edward Brookes]

Silje, do not put yourself down, creativity is a matter, of curiosity, experimentation & enthusiasm. Go for it, explore & ENJOY!!

[tucker85]

I was very excited about this originally. I put three phals on ollas that I bought from Arizona pottery. The phals grew well in the moist environment but after almost a year none of the roots had attached to the pot on any of them. In fact the roots liked to grow about a quarter inch above the surface of the pot. I gave up and mounted the phals on tree fern fiber plaques where they're growing well. Maybe if something was added to the outside of the olla to give the orchid something to attach to. I really don't know but my ollas are sitting ideal now.

[Silje]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

I still have 3 ollas so I'm willing to give it another shot but have to figure out which plants (minis) will have the best chance of success.

I'm not familiar with the plants in the picture. The blooms on one looks like gastrochillus or tuberolabium or something silmilar but the spreading habit looks like how some bulbo creep, are there any cool growing bifoliate bulbos with itty bitty pbulbs? The other looks like a fancy grass.

I was also thinking gastrochillus or tuberolabium and I have no idea what the 'grass' is but the roots look orchid.

Maybe a bulbo would work? I don't know them at all, but I've read that some of them like really wet conditions. It should be something with roots that grab easily. I guess. Making an aerangis a poor choice since their roots mainly just hang.

---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:33 PM ----------

Originally Posted by tucker85

I was very excited about this originally. I put three phals on ollas that I bought from Arizona pottery. The phals grew well in the moist environment but after almost a year none of the roots had attached to the pot on any of them. In fact the roots liked to grow about a quarter inch above the surface of the pot. I gave up and mounted the phals on tree fern fiber plaques where they're growing well. Maybe if something was added to the outside of the olla to give the orchid something to attach to. I really don't know but my ollas are sitting ideal now.

If phal roots don't stick then aerangis roots will also not grab on to it. I was thinking it would work because they love moisture and can be drenched several times per day, but perhaps some kind of small, creeping type would work better?

---------- Post added at 09:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Edward Brookes

some years back I persuaded a local nursery to order terra cotta cylinders on which to grow miniature orchids. The cylinders are closed at the bottom, & have holes at the top edge for wire hangers. They really work well,but the clay needs a long period of soaking to leach out mineral salts & binders. Some hold water longer than others, & so one can assess how often they need filling. Algae grows at the bottom of the wettest pipes, & can be a problem. I always add a little of the sheet moss when attaching the orchid. It soon spreads, & on a good pipe, covers it completely - looks really good, & suits the plants which need cool, moist conditions. I spray fertilizer on the outside ONLY,never adding it to the water inside the pipe - I don't want salts building up on the evaporative surface & killing roots & moss. A. scottianum has gone mad on these pipes, the dry ones are good for mini Catts, & I have a very happy Trias on a pipe which is completely covered in moss. E. polybulbon takes very well to the pipes, simply wrap it around again as soon as it is long enough. The plants on those pots in the picture look woderful. I agree about omitting sphagnum moss or other moss pads. Just a whisp of sheet moss added as you mount the orchids seems to be ideal. With the very wet pipes I've had, I tie the plant higher up on the pipe, so perhaps this would work on a pot as well. I tried coir fibre, it's ok on a dryish pipe, but rots very quickly on a wet pipe, so really I think it's not useful. In any case, small birds come & strip it all off for their nests - so now they have their own supply, without any orchide to hinder their work!

Your pipes sounds great! Can you share some pictures? I will change my plan a bit and try with some live moss instead, and perhaps a couple of other of orchids rather than the aerangis and phals I initially planned to use.

[Edward Brookes]

I am afraid I have no way of taking pictures, my pension does not allow for items such as a camera! Please try soaking the ollas in RO water, change the water often & make sure the ollas are completely submerged. The clays contain all sorts of minerals, which I am sure is the reason for the roots not fastening down as they do (Immovably when you need to remove them) on clean clay. If you can, hunt down pots that are fired at high temperatures - if you strike gently on the side of such a pot, it will ring like a bell. Lower firing temperatures will not give the same resonance. Always soak all clay pots for as long as you can - mine go into my fish pond where the fish use them as caves & hidey holes.

[jesscorine]

hmmmmm my dad makes pottery for a living...I wonder if I could sneak $.05 worth of clay, a bit of kiln time and have my own pots!