First time mounting.

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by bloominloonie

clearly i'm new to all of this - so i will apologize if my observation/questions seem silly...

- i LOVE LOVE the idea of mounting my phal - but ... is that only for ppl growing in greenhouses or outside? otherwise - if growing inside a house year round - how does one go about watering it without making a huge mess... (especially since mounted phals need to be watered every day)... just curious really...

- does it matter what kind of wood i use (i mean - OBVIOUSLY i wouldnt use something silly like plywood *grin*) - but what is the best kind, and more importantly where can i get it...

- what do most people do with a mounted chid? hang it? are there other suggestions since i have ridiculously high ceilings and hanging them isnt an option...

thanks to all who read, and those who take the time to reply!!

here's a recent thread on the topic http://www.orchidboard.com/community...nted-phal.html
You can take the mount to the sink to water it.

You can mount a plant so that it can just 'set' on a surface - or prop the mount against something. Small ones can be hung from curtain rods. multiple 's hooks' can be used to hang from ceilling - or even a chain.
Some woods (conifers for example) have resins which sort of 'repel' other things from growing there so those need to be thoroughly leeched.
I like mounts that look nice to me and have used grapewood that I got at the pet store lol
Cork bark is also a good medium for mounting.
Treefern plaques.
You can mount a plant on an overturned clay pot (doesn't need to be hung)
I am sure people more experienced with mounting will chime in - but wanted to respond
For myself - I have had a difficult time growing phals, and just recently mounted a couple and both are doing very well since

[RosieC]

If I can pipe in with a watering question as I've just got my first mounted orchid. This thread has answered most of the questions I had, but I have just one more as I'm so new to this

Should I water by pooring water over it. Or should it be dunked for a short while?

Mine is a Miltonia spectablis (it's the summer project plant) and it has very fine roots. There is a small amount of moss just under the roots which absorbs some water, but not all the roots are touching that.

I'm just unsure whether running water over it will give it enough water, or whether it needs chance to absorb more than that by dunking it.

[bloominloonie]

clay pot?!?!?!? REALLY??? hmmmmmm that sounds interesting... like just plain old clay pot you can buy at walmart? i have looked at the thread you linked (actually looked there before coming to this thread) - and found it quite helpful - AND inspiring!! cant wait to try it. i also am curious (like rosiec above) as to what 'watering' actually refers to... dunking, spraying, showering etc....

thanks all for replying...!!

love texas style!!

ps - does anyone have pics of a phal mounted on a clay pot?!? im curious to see how it looks....

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The clay pot mounts are not the best or ideal mounts for beginners.

They're difficult to put and keep the plant in place, and sometimes they dry out way too fast. It's also not easy or convenient to water them without some sort of problem to solve. Most people set the clay pots in a shallow tray of water and let the water wick upwards. This sounds great when you read it, but in practice it will not always go the way you want it to. Some people are able to do it, but every time I've tried, it just bombs. Maybe I didn't do that one little thing that makes the difference between success and failure, but I haven't succeeded so far with the whole clay pot dealie.

Try wood mounts instead. Easier maintenance for someone just starting out with mounting orchids and they look better in my opinion. Although I've seen beautiful pics Magnus A put up of miniature orchids mounted onto clay pots, like I said, I had a hard time figuring out how he and others like him did it.

[bloominloonie]

i would think that you could place the overturned pot in a tray and just keep that well watered and the clay pot will 'suck' up the moisture and keep the plant watered? no?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

That's exactly what I did. Just couldn't do it well.

Either the tray was too small and the water wouldn't wick all the way up the pot.

Or the tray was too big and the pot stayed too wet for too long.

At times, the pot would be wet in patches.

I had to also keep an eye on them more so than I had to with the ones mounted on wood because sometimes they'd dry out too fast.

Maybe I also got the wrong kind of moss or don't have the right environment for the moss to flourish, cause they sure as heck didn't look as lush and beautiful as the pics from Magnus A.

I just got fed up. Couldn't figure it out. Sometimes, I just don't have time (especially when I start working - I often work long hours and have erratic and unpredictable start times). With an irregular and erratic schedule like this, I don't have the patience or the energy to futz around with this kind of nonsense. If anybody here has weird irregular work periods like I do, I have a hard time recommending the seemingly unpredictable method of mounting on a pot, (but then again this is my opinion, and I haven't succeeded with this method yet, so who really knows unless someone with long term success with this method chimes in and says otherwise).

Of course, I'm always welcome to a paradigm shift on this topic.

Unless there's an "idiot proof" way to do it, I'll stick to wood mounts and tree fern mounts.

Although I've been meaning to try out coconut mounts and Epiweb. Maybe later.

[WhiteRabbit]

I have seen plants mounted on pots - but haven't done it myself - thanks for the heads up on the watering issues king

As for watering 'traditional' mounts, I give mine a good shower under the faucet - the whole piece of wood as well as the moss/root area. I let it 'drip off' in the sink or tub before returning to its regular place

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

As for watering 'traditional' mounts, I give mine a good shower under the faucet - the whole piece of wood as well as the moss/root area. I let it 'drip off' in the sink or tub before returning to its regular place

Thanks WhiteRabbit, I'll give that a try.

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by RosieC

Thanks WhiteRabbit, I'll give that a try.

I also use a hand pressure sprayer for fert - tho you can pour that from a watering can as well

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

I also use a hand pressure sprayer for fert - tho you can pour that from a watering can as well

That's a good idea. Do you fertilise about once a week?