Any experiences with mounting encyclia?

[DirtyCoconuts]

I have a few encyclia in small pots, plastic and terra-cotta. They are pretty happy and recently saw a nice vertical presentation on a driftwood totem.

Has anyone done a mount of an encyclia from an open potted situation? The roots are going to be so full of hydroten, bark, perlite and lava rock that I won’t be able to get it all off before I mount it. Will this present a risk to their roots? Any thoughts?

On my catts they like the debris in their “hair” so I have no issues but, having never done one of these, I wanted to ask how sensitive the roots are or if there are ways to make it grab hold (like sphag for a phal) ? I appreciate the help

[Roberta]

The secret to successful mounting is to do it just as new roots are beginning to emerge. Those brand new roots are the only ones that will attach to the mount. Don't worry about what might be caught in the old roots. Eventually they'll die off. They'll keep the plant hydrated while the new roots are growing, but it's the new ones that really count. Also... don't put any moss between the Encyclia and the mount - you want the new roots to attach to the mount not to other stuff, and this genus wants to dry out between waterings anyway. In fact, you should not need to use moss at all. (I put a little over the top of roots of Pleurothallids, which don't have pseudobulbs and don't want to dry out, but not with Cattleya tribe orchids) The other important thing is to make sure that the plant is held in place very firmly, because any wobbling will damage new roots and prevent them from grabbing the mount. Nylon monofilament fish line is great for mounting, but for larger plants I have found that a well-placed zip tie or two helps as well. (Not as attractive, but once the plant is well rooted they can be removed)

Position the plant with new growth toward the mount. (Initially it may look prettier with the new growth close to the outside, but that's not how you want it to grow onto the mount.) So... new roots just emerging, new growth and new roots toward the mount, no sphagnum, and attached firmly.

Cork, or any wood with a rough surface, any bark firmly attached, will work. The only caution with driftwood is to be very certain that it does not contain salt - if it comes from the beach, I don't know how rigorously one needs to wash it to get all the salt removed, but that would be critical.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Thanks so much Roberta. I am no stranger to the mounting process but it is so fun and challenging I am always learning and those are awesome tips.

I have never mounted one of these and I am a little confused about where to affix it (on the plant) since there is very little substantive plant. Almost completely round pseudobulb and then the grassy long leaf. Neither would easily hold a tie or fishing line. I have wrapped the old roots on other plants and then used that as the part I actually tie onto. Would that work here or are these roots too fragile?

[Roberta]

I don't think the old roots will give you enough strength. Can you provide a photo?

Once the plant starts to put out a new growth and a new root (don't even think about it until then) you'll have a bit of rhizome between the old growth and the new one. (Is there only one pseudobulb on the plant? A baby?) And you can loop around the base of the plant to utilize the roots without actually using them for tying.

[SG in CR]

The Encyclias that grow wild around here seem to be pretty forgiving of nearly anything except for too much shade and being kept too wet. I've literally torn them off of a tree, tossed it in the back of my pick up and tied it to it's new spot in my yard the next day, no problems. If it doesn't have many PBulbs yet you should be fine wrapping the string your using to tie it down over it's old roots. Don't worry about damaging them, better tight than loose. The PBulb has enough reserves to grow new ones when the time comes. If it has a few PBulbs I find the best way to tie them down is to run the twine between them and tie down the bit of stem connecting them. Then just use the twine to keep the old roots where you want them.

[DirtyCoconuts]

much appreciated advice!

the plant in question had two very nicely sized pbulbs and one new one coming in....i mounted it on a small wood chunk and it is developing nicely...i basically did loop some garden Velcro between the pbulbs and then one loop around the old roots