First attempt at a mount. - Page 3 - Orchid Board

bil · #21 02-10-2016, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smittensd

Very nice! The more mounted orchids I see, and get I'm sold on them. Very nice greenhouse set up also!

Thank you. I took a hard look at several of my smaller catts which just weren't doing well, and they are all up on mounts now. Spraying 10 mounts isn't much more work than spraying 5, so what the heck.

Plus, it means that if I take 10 off the benches, that gives me space for 10 more orchids. Bit of a no brainer, really.

Now, one point. I hate working with monofilament fishing line, and prefer braided line. It really is useful to have a reel in the house. Heavy duty sewing? It is thin, UV resistant and despite looking as it you could snap it with ease, will take maybe 15 pounds force.

NEVER EVER TRY AND SNAP IT IN YOUR FINGERS. If you do you will cut yourself to the bone.

It does have its problems, but these are more than outweighed by the advantages. On a mount it is practically invisible, and it's very problems, that you need to use specialist knots are an advantage.

First off leave a long tail as you will find it easier to tie knots. Now the problem with this is that if you do a reef knot or a double granny, the knot will come loose. So, use that.

I start off by picking the spot where I want the wrapping line to start and end. I put a double loop around that bit of the mount, and then I tie a double granny/reef. I donn't bother tying it tight, because you just can't. However, once it is tied, you take the tail and the reel in seperate hands and pull. The knot will slide just like a slip knot until it has pulled tight. Then you tie a 3 or four turn granny. ie instead of a simple under and over, you repeat that 3 or 4 times, and then pull tight. That will lock the simple double granny and stop it unravelling. You can repeat that if you are paranoid. You then tie the mount on in the usual way, but I would suggest that every time the line crosses the roots or rhizome, you put a small amount of moss there to cushion it as the line is a bit like cheese wire. Finally wind down to the start point and repeat the simple double, tighten it up and add the 3 or 4 turn granny to finish. To cut the braided live, you either need specialist scissors or a sharp knife. Simple scissors, no matter how sharp are useless.