What is you favorite material to mount with and where did you get it?

[natasha]

MagnusA, epiweb does look good especially when naturalised. i'm sure would like to find any if available here. i don't have any mount here as the air is quite dry outside. can it retain water?

[ChasWG]

From what I've heard and read, Epiweb will not hold much water at all. It is a cool product bcause it is recycled plastics, but it is not a direct replacement for tree fern. Tree fern will hold more water than Epiweb. So to use it you need to water more often.

I have only mounted one orchid so far as well and this was my Brassavola cordata to a piece of Mopani hardwood that I bought at Petco. It was a huge piece that only cost me about $9. My Petco had many pieces rangeing in price from $4 to $25. I think mine was mistagged and that is why I got a deal on it, but still, $25 for a piece of beautiful hardwood is a killer deal.

[MuscleGirl'sHobby]

I'm going to have to check out Petco! I don't go there often at all since it's abit out of the way, and I get my kitty and doggy food cheaper elsewhere. But this is worth the trip!

[Magnus A]

For you that need information of Epiweb, in English: Epiweb

And before you try to talk the material down, please try it under good condition!

[GreenpinkE]

I'm with MagnusA, don't use Tree Fern. There's hundreds of mounts out there besides that. Be a responsible orchid grower when making your decision.

[ChasWG]

Mangus, I wasn't talking Epiweb down. I was stating a fact. Am I wrong? Does Epiweb hold water better that tree fern?
And I also did not say that people should use tree fern over Epiweb. I just stated that the wood product would hold water in it's fibers longer than a man made plastic matterial. That is all. So please don't put words into my or other people's mouths.

In fact I am planning on getting some Epiweb to try out on my own project.

Then I'll talk it down if I don't like it.

[RSS]

I've been using some Epi-web for a few months now and I'm still undecided about it, some plants seem to love it other seem to hate it. I thought a Laelia lundii would just thrive on it, but it did not like it at all.....Maybe I could try the clay pot with cubes instead of a mount.

As for my favorite material its easily aquatic quality driftwood, the heavy stuff that sinks. Use a little sphagnum and plant away, usually alot of little nooks to insert a mini into. The wood and the sphagnum both hold water pretty well and help wick excess water away very nicely. The better fish stores have it or there is always E-bay, although the shipping is a pain.

[Cowboys East]

Hey,
Magnus have you ever had to remove an established orchid from Epiweb for any reason? Pest, disease, dead roots, or something like that. I know it is an attractive media for things like bulbos but I wonder how the roots on my species Phals would take to it. By the way Magnus, please post some more pictures of your vivarium (orchidarium). I love the utilitarian look you got going. It is inspiring for us novice orchid growers.
Neil

[harrywitmore]

I really like cork and small sticks the best. I just mounted a number of things using dried Crape Myrtle wood. I like the look and I'm anxious to see how it does.

While I like the idea of EPIWEB I don't like the look. Most things I have tried on it seem to like it though. It's a bit pricey for large projects though. I'm not sure of the process to get the effect seen in the link. I've never been able to get much moss to grow on it but I probably don't know the correct method.

I also don't like the look of tree fern much but most orchids seem to like it.

I would like to use red cedar since I have tons of it but it seems that the orchids I try never seem to attach the roots to it even though it's old and weathered.

[gnathaniel]

Originally Posted by harrywitmore

I really like cork and small sticks the best. I just mounted a number of things using dried Crape Myrtle wood. I like the look and I'm anxious to see how it does.

...<snip>...

I would like to use red cedar since I have tons of it but it seems that the orchids I try never seem to attach the roots to it even though it's old and weathered.

Harry, I've got quite a few things mounted on crape myrtle, it seems to rot very slowly and holds up well over time. It's got very low porosity, so I like to mount things on 'crotch' pieces with the crotch filled up with sphagnum and then the orchid sort of straddling it. Once the plant's better established the sheer volume of roots tends to give it better water retention, but I still tend to use it mostly for stuff that likes to dry off pretty quick, like Brassavolas, encyclias, etc.

I've only got a few things mounted on red cedar, but they seem to be doing very well, too. The bark's a bit fibrous so it holds some more water, somewhat like I hear melaleuca (paperbark) is supposed to work. I was a little concerned that the sappiness might have an allelopathic effect on the plants, but so far I've seen pretty wild root growth all over the cedar. Not sure about how long they took to establish roots b/c everything I have on cedar I bought that way, but I've certainly seen plenty of growth since I got them. YMMV, though.

--Nat