Phalaenopsis potting vs. mounting question

[Paschendale]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Nearly all phals can be mounted and in fact do very well when mounted as they get lots of air flow to the roots. Once mounted (potted in an open form) you water them every few days as the roots dry out quickly enough that rot won't get much of a chance to start growing. I have hung bare root phals in my green houses from time to time and they have done very well. Let the roots grow any way they wish.

Got another question along these lines - I mounted an older phal with a good root system this past weekend (apparently the nylon thread I used to attach the plant to the mount was insufficient, as I found the plant laying in the sink this morning, but that can be overcome - try and try again). However, I noticed that the following morning that the roots looked pretty dry, so I quickly put the mount in the sink to soak for a bit. Should the roots dry out that quickly and is that healthy? I know it does need some drying time but I'm wondering if I just don't have enough humidity in the area for a mounted orchid to be a good idea. Or is it ok for the roots to get a kinda browish tinge between waterings? This mounting bit is new ground for me and I'm not sure if I've done something wrong or not.

I'd post a picture of it, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting the picture size down small enough to be able to post it - will have to pull it off my phone and play with the picture on my computer, where I have better editing software, but I have not had time to do that, yet, what with one thing and another.

---------- Post added at 01:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:38 PM ----------

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Say water it every 7 to 10 days. Leave it in moss. Just don't water it very much at all. Betcha it lives and flowers just fine. Try it. You'll be amazed.

When you say moss, do you mean the proper sphag? I am assuming so, rather than that nasty yellow-green stuff that my poor phal posted in the problem category was in. That stuff had rotted most of the roots on the plant by the time I figured out that something might be wrong in the way it was planted, so unpotted it and had a look for myself.