Mounting Dendrobium Unicum

[Dalton]

Hello, I have a small Dendrobium Unicum. I got it in it's dormant stage and it really hasn't don anything since I got it in April, except fall out of it's media. It's now the beginning of September.

When I got it, it was in a very tiny clay pot and was potted in LFS. The guy had said not to do anything to it till it started leafing out. I told him the LFS was rock hard and should I water it occasionally? I was sure it was getting some kind of moisture being in his green house. I'm sure it gets some kind of incidental moisture the same way in the wild. Going into my lower humidity home environment would not naturally provide that. He said I could give it water every now and then. I would dunk it and soak the media once every 2-3 weeks. I've since heard it's okay to water them about that often during dormancy.

A few weeks ago, I was giving it a dunking and it fell out of the media. It looked like there were roots, but not many. They were all basically the small threads that are usually inside the root casing.

I took it to my next orchid meeting and received a slew of conflicting advice. The best advice I heard was that you shouldn't keep the roots wet, because with no leaves, there is nothing to use that water up, so it sits and rots the roots. Not knowing what I was doing, this made the most logical sense to me.

Like I mentioned above, though. I would think it would get incidental moisture occasionally and I do believe the green canes can photosynthesize, so I think while that advice was mostly true, I think it could benefit from a small amount of water.

They also said to just lay the plant on top of the pot of moss and keep the pot damp. Then it would raise the humidity right around the plant. I did that, but I also started giving it 1-2 mists with the squirt bottle twice a day. I think this is keeping it green while not over watering it. It isn't a silvery dried looking color anymore. I think, again not knowing what I'm doing, that this is a good place for this plant.

I think I got a good sign about my care recently, because while inspecting it, I noticed a pencil tip sized dot of bright green about a week ago. It hasn't done jack-squat, so I don't know what it is or if it'll start growing. I don't know if it's a flower spike or a new cane. I'll keep an eye on it and post pictures later.

The last advice I was given was that they don't like to stay wet and LFS is not a good media for them. They said to use something like small orciata and that's definitely a way to go. I was also told that mounting it was a good idea. I wanted to ask more about that.

I have a couple of mounted plants, but no mounted Dendrobium. How would you mount something like this? Would the mount be vertical, leaning back, flat with the Unicum sitting dead on top, does it matter?

I've never done a mount myself and I didn't know if growing direction played a key in it, specifically with this plant. Can anyone give me any advice on mounting it? Should I mount it, or should I pot it with the orchiata?

I did a quick Google image search and only turned up a few pictures of it's pot. Most turned up pictures of the flowers. I saw one mounted in a ball of moss and hung from a banana hook. I saw another mounted on a piece of bark lying flat on the table. I saw on where the mount was vertical with the plant strapped to the side and growing down. I also saw similar configurations in bark.

I'd appreciate the help as I don't have much experience with this plant and I'm under the hopefully optimistic guise of thinking it might be starting to grow again. Thanks everyone.

[stonedragonfarms]

I don't grow unicum, but I do grow the related lamyaiae; I have both potted and mounted plants--the potted plants will move up to mounts next spring. That being said, I'd find either a small piece of cork (2"x3") or tree fern (same size) and gently tie the plant to the bottom 1/3 of the mount. Fishing line or twist ties both work well; but I find it's harder to damage plants using twist ties (they don't get as tight, so they don't potentially cut into pseudobulbs as often) in my experience. Either way, tie across the base of the plant, where the pseudobulbs (canes) meet the roots--be sure to avoid any developing growths! Don't trim any of the roots, regardless of how they look--you will be using them as an assist in tying the plant in place. Give the mount a quick shake from side to side; if the plant twists, it will need to be better secured--it should not wiggle, other than what you'd expect to happen were it in wind (i.e. the mount and plant would move in tandem) It's nearly impossible to overwater mounted plants, with the possible exception of excessive watering at cold temps; after you've mounted, I'd water twice daily--water the entire plant generously in the morning (earlier is better) and again just before lights out, though just water at the root zone this time.
Please let us know if we can be of more help, good luck.
Adam


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[Dalton]

So when you say tie it to the bottom 1/3rd of the mount, you're tying the root against the bottom 1/3rd, with the canes running up the mount. You wouldn't tie it on top of the mount so that the canes are standing upright? Also, would you use LFS or would you just have it tied straight to the bark with nothing else.

Just as an FYI to everyone, this is in my room and humidity has recently been hovering around 49-55. Temps are low to mid-70's. If that info effects how you answer. Thanks.

[stonedragonfarms]

You want the roots to be directly against the mount; as they grow out they will adhere themselves to the surface. I would not tie the canes to the mount for 2 reasons: 1. you want air to flow around them (I could see tying them temporarily in place until roots take hold of the mount, though) 2. depending on how tightly you were to tie the canes to the mount, it is possible for the area behind the cane to stay too moist; this can potentially rot the cane. I don't use any LFS when mounting, outside of mounting pleurothallids; some will tell you to use it, some not. When I first learned about mounting about 20 years ago, the guy that taught me cautioned against using it, telling me that you want the roots to roam over the mount looking for water and to grow into the nooks and folds of the mount where water naturally collects; if you provide a pad of moss, the roots will stay in the vicinity of the moss, as it's reliably moist there. I suspect that your low humidity and cool temps may be to blame for not seeing growth--these guys are similar to nobile type dendrobiums in their cultural needs; ie a warm wet summer, followed by a cool bright fall/winter with great reduction of water to spur blooming (and new spring growth). Temps in my area are 78-82F during the day, down into the low 60s at night; rh usually sits between 75-80%, with an upswing about 10.30pm, about 1/2 hour before I turn out the lights (I water my mounts and most of my cattleyas/laelias at night)
Adam