How to Water an Orchid Mounted on a Log

[Wade Coleman]

I have an orchid that I just recently bought with the intention of mounting it on a piece of driftwood that I found. The wood is about a foot and a half long and twisted so it would be difficult to fit in a bucket to let it soak. I was wondering if spraying the roots once or twice a day would be a sufficient way to keep it hydrated.

[Ray]

If you really flood it well at each of those waterings, rather than just spraying the the roots, the wood itself will help retain moisture.

[Roberta]

One thing to think about... if the driftwood was found on the beach, you may have to soak it REALLY well (several times) to remove ocean salt before you put an orchid on it.

[estación seca]

That depends. It is very hard to water orchids on mounts sufficiently unless you have high humidity.

[Roberta]

If the mounted orchid is kept outside where it is easy to water, why would this one be any tougher than any of the other dozens (or hundreds) of mounted orchids that people have? I think that humidity in Hawaii is quite good... a lot better than southern California, where I have dozens... a sprinkler system for daily watering makes it easy. It also depends on the orchid - Catts are really, really happy growing this way (I don't even use moss, just the orchid directly on the mount) Pleurothallids are trickier since they do need to stay on the damp side... a pad of sphagnum over the roots pretty much takes care of what they need, again with daily watering. But none of mine get soaked.