Mounting on wine corks?

[elibrown81]

I am a complete mounting NOOB, but have really been interested in all of the pictures and posts on the subject. I live in a small-ish apartment so space is a bit of a concern, and I thought the hanging mounts would really open up some unused space for more orchids! On to the questions.

1. I have been thinking about trying a mini phal for my first mount. Good choice?? or should I try something else.

2. I take many trips during the summer to pursue some of my other hobbies. Mostly weekends, but often a week or so here and there. What can you do with mounted 'chids when you are gone for a while?

3. Has anyone ever mounted an orchid on wine corks? I have a rather large stash of old wine corks that I have wanted to do something with for a while. I think that a sculpture of wine corks would be a really awesome looking mount, and would display some of the corks from some of my favorite bottles. Anybody think of any problems with that? And as far as preparation, after the "sculpting" is finished I think that I should soak the whole thing in a bleach solution, followed by a rinse and then a bath in a KLN solution. Does that sound appropriate?

Looking forward to hearing ideas from all.
Thanks

[isurus79]

I am in the process of converting most of my plants to having wine corks in the pots or baskets. For example, I have had my Catt amethystoglossas in pots with nothing but winecorks for media (for a few years now) and they are doing great! I usually use the wine corks for plants that like to dry off very quickly, like bifoliate Catts. On some of my other plants like need a little extra moisture retention, I use corks in the bottom of the pots and put some other media on top, like spag or wood chips, depending on the species' requirement. I think a straight wine cork sculpture with orchids would be really cool to look at, though I dont know that a Phal will be the best plant to mount on it, as they tend to like some moisture retention around the roots. I guess if you put a decent size wad of spag around the roots or could water a few times a day, it would be ok, but most people dont have time to water that often and the spag might detract from the aesthetic qualities of the sculpture. Also, I dont recommend using any bleach on your corks. Theres no need IMO. No diseases will be transfered from wine to plant and I would hate for your corks to absorb the chlorine and release it into your plant. Also, the tannins in the cork from the wine are supposed to be beneficial to the plants and I dont know how they would react to the bleach. Good luck! Post pics when you've got it all done! Im curious to see what it looks like.

[Royal]

Originally Posted by elibrown81

I have a rather large stash of old wine corks ...
Thanks

For a first mount, I'd suggest something that can take a drought. Phals are really cool on mounts, but might require a little more dedication.

As for your outings, I've always just soaked them bigtime before I left. Some put them in big ziplocks. Last time I left town, I didn't have time to do all that stuff, so I just tossed them in an open cooler, in the shade, then filled the cooler with some pre-soaked coconut chips I had laying around. It worked like a charm. It made me think about using this method to get them established.

[elibrown81]

Steve,

Thanks for your reply! I feel better knowing that someone has used wine corks and had no negative side effects. Good call about the bleach solution, I wondered about the corks soaking up chlorine and that not being so good for the roots. Interesting about the tannins though.

Royal,

I'm not saying I drank all the bottles that the corks came in
The bag idea is cool. I thought about already. Give the whole thing a good soaking before you left and then just bag it up.

Any thought on how long the cork should last? From what I've read here, once you mount an orchid, if you can avoid it, don't un-mount it. Sounds like that is a lot of un-needed stress on the roots. So if the cork is going to rot soon, it may not be worth it.

[cb977]

If you do decide to mount a mini Phal (nice choice, by the way ), mount it upside down so that no water ever has the opportunity to sit in the crown...works like a charm.

Royal has a great idea for helping them through the times you'll be away...I may try that one myself

I agree with Steve on skipping the bleach soak...it would probably be worse for the plant than the corks themselves.

let us know what you decide...and of course we'll need some

[flhiker]

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

[kiki-do]

I have people saving real wine corks for me all the time and use them in the pots of any type orchid. I too have a couple orchids in a hanging container with only wine corks as my medium. They actually like the sweetness from the wine residue and the roots love to burrow in. I never worry about corks rotting. I actually haven't heard of that, but that doesn't mean anything.
That is a great idea about the cooler. I really like that tip!
I think it's Andy's Orchids or J & L Orchids who actually mount many orchids on wine corks. You can check their website out and see how they do it. The more I think about it, I think it's J & L Orchids where I saw them mounted that way. They specialize in miniature orchids also.
All in all, if you have a small enough orchid plant, there is no downside other than perhaps needing slightly more attention. Let us know how you made out.

[kiki-do]

Dave, It's white wine for us during repotting, red for orchids! Always always always have both on hand.
Isn't that orchid growing rule #1?
If it isn't, then it should be!

[kiki-do]

Sorry, the site that showed orchids on a wine cork was Oak Hill Gardens. I look at so many all the time, I get confused!

[Andrew]

I mounted a Den loddigesii on a wine cork mount several years back. The wine cork itself didn't appear to have any toxic effect and the roots seemed to attach OK. The mount needed watering a lot more than normal cork mounts. I put this down to a combination of size and the smooth surface that allowed the water to run straight off. The plant grew and flowered but never thrived, probably because I couldn't keep enough water up to it.