Mounting on wine corks?

[bodaciousbonsai]

This would be a great way to grow twig epiphyte. such as Tolumnia selvesteris,

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by bodaciousbonsai

This would be a great way to grow twig epiphyte. such as Tolumnia selvesteris,

I have mounted a couple keikis from tolu sylvestris on wine corks
they are doing just fine that way

[catwalker808]

A lot of orchids have roots that require lots of moisture yet appreciate good aeration. I have found that these roots do very well growing in chunks of cork bark. However, converting slabs of cork into chunks can be very tiring (breaking them by hand) or very noisy, disruptive & dangerous (chopping them with an electric miter saw).

In addition, chunks of cork from slabs are very uneven in quality. There are sound portions free from defects & there are crumbly portions which break down, can harbor pests & harmful molds. Wine corks, on the other hand are of very good quality cork & uniform in texture. In addition, there are a lot of used ones around.

So about 5 years ago, I asked my nephew, who managed a restaurant, to save me a bunch of wine corks. The corks were fresh & did have wine residues. I didn't bother to even rinse or soak them & planted some C walkerianas in plastic mesh baskets. For a few, I just tossed in the corks, but they looked untidy with very large uneven voids. Long cylindrical corks don't seat very well in a round container. So I stood up all the corks, which made them very neat, with even spaces in between. This also held the C walkeriana roots very neatly & snugly from day one. However, I basically had a large cylindrical cork block which allowed surface growth, but did not leave much space between the corks.

The wine residues did not seem to have any ill effects on the plants. The cork did not deteriorate either. However, having a nearly solid block of cork was very neat but a bit counterproductive to providing a spacious airy medium. The plant was fine as such for several years, until I finally sold it.

Be aware that there are new wine "corks" which are not made of cork bark, but some sort of plastic material. If they don't succumb to UV light, they may prove to be more durable & even better.

Oh, yes. Another word of warning. Be wary of giving excessive water & fertilizer to wine corks. You don't want them to grow into giant oak trees.

[richie]

Hi all,
I have just purchased a large and healthy flask of tolumnia seedlings and was thinking about mounting a few on wine corks, it would be much easier and cheaper then normal virgin cork slabs and i would cut them in half, so when they overgrow the small cork, they could be Re-mounted on a new slab with the little 'Half Pieces' of the wine cork still attacched. Small amounts of bush moss or spagnum moss would be mounted with them to stop them from drying out.
I was just wondering if the corks should be soaked in water or 'Liquid Fertilisers' to try and get that wine smell out of the corks, and help the plant aswell.

Good Growing, Richard Dimon.

[kiki-do]

Hi Richard,
I have only read your question/comment on this thread, so can't remember all the other comments in the meantime. I just wanted to say that I almost always add used wine corks, instead of charcoal for many of my hanging and other orchid pot bases. Someone I know who is an orchid grower for over 20 years told me that they love the sugar they get from the wine corks. I've also found that to be true. Their roots just burrow right into it. I've never had a problem using spent wine corks. I have had only great results. I have not mounted a plant on a wine cork, but my friend has and no problems there either. So take this comment for what it's worth, and happy mounting!

[richie]

Thanks about the Wine cork encouragement, will definetly be giving it a go.
Good Growing, Richard Dimon

[johnblagg]

Originally Posted by flhiker

Do you use white wine corks with Phals and red with Catts. or is it the other way around.

phals Merlow and catts like a nice chardonnay

[got ants]

Funny reading this post and seeing a wine ad at the bottom of the page,

How do you plan on mounting on the corks? Are you going to string them together (the corks)? Maybe wedge some sphagnum moss in between the corks to hold moisture a little longer? There was someone selling these wine cork plaques, but I can't find them right now, or else I'd post a pic or link.

[richie]

I use old stocking cut into strips for large mounts, but for small mounts i use fishing line. As for spaghnum moss, i find it good to mount orchids with it as long as the moss dosen't completly dry out.
Good Growing
Richard Dimon