Why isn’t anyone growing Catasetum mounted?

[DirtyCoconuts]

so here is the prototype in place.

i have a FEW things i'll do differently on the next iteration or second mount if this one takes

Catasetum mount by J Solo, on Flickr

i have not watered it yet in this picture (hurricane hitting tomorrow and i figured it easier to move a LOT of dry plants than wet) but it should be pretty wet

as i pulled the lower coir from the palm i found three other types of leaves and a half of a cockroach so i think the leaf litter theory might win the day here, maybe?

Catasetum mount by J Solo, on Flickr

[isurus79]

Cool stuff! I'm definitely curious to see how this turns out.

I gotta ask tho....why make a pretend palm and why not just attach it to the actual palm??

[hypostatic]

Oh! I've seen pictures of ctsms mounted on square wood panels on fb! I think the grower was in one of the more tropical Asian countries, where the orchids were subject to monsoon rains, and/or frequent watering

[estación seca]

See if you can make your next mount look like a Martini glass.

[Keysguy]

DC----- you get through Isaias OK?

[DirtyCoconuts]

Thank God, unscathed

I did treat it like a big deal as a dry run of my plant storage.... I have 60’ feet of hanging rack in the garage and I can move three shelves in there to hold about 2/3 of my plants to safety.

Not perfect but pretty good for peace of mind



Steve- I will do that eventually but I don’t like to “forever” mount any of my plants until I have two of it. I don’t plan on moving, ever, but I also don’t want to leave anything irreplaceable behind

In a few years, that coconut will be an orchid show!!! God willing

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

Thank God, unscathed

I did treat it like a big deal as a dry run of my plant storage.... I have 60’ feet of hanging rack in the garage and I can move three shelves in there to hold about 2/3 of my plants to safety.

Not perfect but pretty good for peace of mind



Steve- I will do that eventually but I don’t like to “forever” mount any of my plants until I have two of it. I don’t plan on moving, ever, but I also don’t want to leave anything irreplaceable behind

In a few years, that coconut will be an orchid show!!! God willing

Ah, very cool!

[DirtyCoconuts]

Originally Posted by estación seca

See if you can make your next mount look like a Martini glass.

E.S., that is exactly the goal...nice and wide and shallow..i want to have like 3-4 inches of debis all around and then free airspace.

this was made (hastily) with one rectangular piece of gutter guard...the next will be made of 4 square panels and 4 tall triangular panels to make like a folding satellite dish configuration....im just not sure how to affix it to the trunk. i have a few random SURPRISE new growths on some bigger guys and gals in the collection so one of them may be looking at guinea pig status.

i swear a my plants all look away when i walk by as if they are thinking, "keep it moving and don't pick me for any experiments!!" hahaha

[DirtyCoconuts]

okay so i can end THIS experiment with a partial success.

the mount has officially failed. as in, the palm i used as a spine was completely filled in by roots and just disappeared.

see below

Untitled by J Solo, on Flickr



now this means that this palm is a fail but the mount is not. here is what you cannot see. the plant, monn millenium has grown and bloomed like a boss on this mount. it went from one to three to eight bulbs in the time since i made it.


i have a few modifications to the idea and it looks more like this now.

not a true mount, more of a basket on a stick LOL

my plan is to move all my catasetum to this type for a few reasons. one- no work, with my current setup i have to add or remove the saucer and repot the plants if is or is not raining the right way. once they are mounts i have zero involvment aside from an occasional hosing. 2- it accomodates the pendant and upright blooms really well 3- i like the look of little catasetum bushes around the yard and this is more mobile than a pot



conclusion- if you have a humid enough climate then mounting is a great option