mounts in dry environments

[Izzie]

I live in a pretty dry house in CO.
Indoor humidity is 20-30%, maybe up to 40% at night.

Are mounts out of the question for me? Can't have an orchidarium or large terrarium.
The most I can add is a small humidifier at night.

What orchids WOULD do well mounted in these conditions?


For instance, I have a small Den. aggregatum that just does not seem to be happy potted- but of course I've only had it for a little over a month. And have had a devil of a time figuring out how dry/wet it likes to be.

[Izzie]

Also, I have a really nice piece of volcanic rock (about football sized) that has what looks like a perfect niche for a plant- a depression about the size of a baseball.

Would any orchids like that? Or too dry? (I guess I could have a sphag pad attached.

[epiphyte78]

In my experience...humidity and water are somewhat interchangeable. It's dry here in inland Southern California and all my orchids are mounted. To help compensate for the dryness I water at night when temperatures do not fall below 55F. Nighttime is when the evaporation rates are the lowest so it allows the orchids as much time as they need to drink.

During the day my orchids are completely bone dry but the good soaking they received the previous night helps tie them over until the next time I water.

My growing area is divided into 3 areas based on watering frequency...less frequent, moderately frequent and very frequent. Some examples of the orchids in my less frequent watering area are Barkerias, Encyclias, Cattleyas, Laelias and Schomburgkias.

To help establish them on their mounts I'll keep them in the moderately frequent watering area until they have a decent root system and then I'll move them over to the less frequent watering area.

Regarding your volcanic rock...Dendrobium kingianum would probably be a good candidate. Sometimes at nurseries here I'll see Anthuriums mounted on volcanic rocks that are sitting in flat dishes filled with water. It's pretty much the same thing as semi-hydroponics. You could adapt that technique to work for most orchids.

[WhiteRabbit]

I have a few small mounted orchids - it's very dry here too. Some I have had to add more sphag to a few months after mounting the plant. In summer they get watered well at least daily - in extremely hot dry weather, water twice a day.

Plants I have mounted - Phal. deliciosa, Phal. violacea, Aerangis biloba, Neo. falcata, Bulb. lasiochilum, Den. bigibbum, Tolu. sylvestris. Except for the Bulbo, which I have only had about 6 months, I have had these plants mounted about a year (Tolu about a year and a half). The Phals and Aerangis were mounted after I had them a few months potted and going downhill. The Neo I have had a bit less than a year. All seem to be fairly happy, tho the Phals and Aerangis were rootless when I mounted them. They have grown new roots, tho not a lot. They seem to only grow during warmer months, and slowly at that. Haven't bloomed any yet. I know some people even add sphag for the hot summer, and take some off again in cooler weather.

Hope that helps

[Izzie]

Thanks for the ideas, I'll definitely keep this in mind from now on.