Clay cup mounts

[KikaMaggie]

Hello,
I hope you are all fine.
This is my first experience with this clay cup.
I have mounted that mini phal that has not bloomed in the last 4 years. Hope it will bloom now.
Surprisingly for me I have to full fill the cup every second day.
Does someone know if it works?
Thank you very much
Have a nice week!

[Paphluvr]

I've never tried using these but in theory they should work. The terra cotta wicks moisture to the surface for the plant but the roots have plenty of air. Does the moss stay moist as well?

Was there a reason you chose this method over potting?

[KikaMaggie]

Thank you for your response.
I have seen this clay cup in an orchid centre and got curious about it, so decided to try.

[fishmom]

I have used a similar device, and I found that a build-up of salts appeared quickly on the outside of the clay. You might want to use distilled water if you don't have RO.

[Ray]

They are best for high-humidity environments, so that the water seepage through the clay body keeps the plant moist, but the evaporation is slow enough to avoid the buildup issue.

[WaterWitchin]

I have a clay wine cooler that I use that way. Works great. It's much bigger, so I only add water once a week. I use RO water, no mineral buildup. But it does grow some moss on it now, after a year or so.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

I have a clay wine cooler that I use that way. Works great. It's much bigger, so I only add water once a week. I use RO water, no mineral buildup. But it does grow some moss on it now, after a year or so.

I have one of those and was thinking of this. Do you fill it all the way?

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Dusty Ol' Man

I have one of those and was thinking of this. Do you fill it all the way?

Yep, right to the top. Drilled a hole on either side of top, looped a copper wire to it so it would hang. Mounted the plant about halfway down, wrapped a little spagh over top of roots. Voilà!

There are of course other ways to go about it. The wine cooler is meant to have the right porosity to begin with, similar to the old Kool Logs that used to be sold, or an olla irrigation pot. Finding the right porosity in a terracotta pot requires a bit more fiddling to make sure the porosity is adequate.