Tree mounted my Stanhopea tigrina!

[Kostas]

Hello!

Last weekend i went to my Pyrgos garden and finally managed to mount my Stanhopea tigrina on my Olea europea tree,along with 2 Zamia pseudoparasitica higher up the trunk! Here is a picture!


Unfortunately the picture isnt the best and you cant see all the plants i mounted(the Stanhopea tigrina is visible but you can only see part of the Zamia pseudorasitica's leaf in the photo,the lighter colored one among the dark green leafs of the olive tree ,just above the first branch)but i will take many more of them and the irrigation setup i use to water them,next time i am in Pyrgos!

They are watered by a micro-sprinkler for 4minutes every night. I hope they like it and establish well!

Btw,can i use organic granular,slow release fertilizer to fertilize them? If yes,how much would you use?

Thank you very much in advance!

I hope you liked it!!!

[Wjs2nd]

Sounds cool, just hard for me to tell by the picture. What did you use to wrap the orchid to the tree?

[Zoi2]

Cool idea, can't wait for more pictures!
Joann

[Kostas]

Thank you very much both of you for your kind comments! Its hard to appreciate it from this picture from sure,bad angle and too far. I will take better ones this week if i manage to go to Pyrgos,as planned!

I have tied the Stanhopea with rubber,tube like,plant tie that is made to expand with the pressure of a growing tree trunk and not hurt it. I will probably have to leave the ties there for quite some time as the moss will be difficult to stay put on its own...I will try to grow natural,native epiphytic moss so that i dont have to have ties but i dont know how that will work out and how fast will the epiphytic moss grow or even if it will establish there

[WhiteRabbit]

Looks great!

[Fernando]

It looks fantastic, but will you do in winter? What are the minimum temperatures there and - as I think it is also the rainy season - how will you keep the plant on the dry side while resting?
My Stanhopeas want me to take them inside or under shelter in winter! But it looks so gorgeous...!
Regards

Fer

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your replies! I am glad you like it!

Fer,
I wont do anything in winter as its supposed to be hardy to my zone. It will only see 0C or -1C,1-2 time in the winter, at the coldest time of the night,just before sunrise and then the temperature rises again fast! Its on a tree and obviously under tree canopy which protects from frosts. I wont do anything to keep it dry. The trunk is leaning and even though its going to get rained on a lot,its mounted and drainage is great,which hopefully will prevent any rot problems. Well,hopefully...I guess we will find out after this winter...

[mujacko2002]

Originally Posted by Kostas

Thank you very much both of you for your kind comments! Its hard to appreciate it from this picture from sure,bad angle and too far. I will take better ones this week if i manage to go to Pyrgos,as planned!

I have tied the Stanhopea with rubber,tube like,plant tie that is made to expand with the pressure of a growing tree trunk and not hurt it. I will probably have to leave the ties there for quite some time as the moss will be difficult to stay put on its own...I will try to grow natural,native epiphytic moss so that i dont have to have ties but i dont know how that will work out and how fast will the epiphytic moss grow or even if it will establish there

Mabuhay!

I sometimes use rubber bands and the best of all...old stockings.

[thakshila smith]

Will you be able to get some coconut fibers or husks to wrap the roots. they will last two years but exellent root promoter . And I am in a doubt that those too long rope can damage the tree trunk. Sqeeze some wood pieces among the ropes bandages.

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your replies and ideas!

What i used seems to be working fine so far and my Stanhopea grew very well! I went to Pyrgos again a little more than a week ago(forgot to take pictures unfortunately till i was leaving...) and the new growths it had got awesome looking from somewhat crinkled and water stressed they were at times while it was potted! Now it cannot even been told that they were every water stressed! It seems to be loving it so far but we will be able to say for sure after winter is over and spring growth kicks in...

The rubber ''rope'' i used is made to not damage tree trunks but be stretchable and breakable from the tree's growth. I wrapped it lightly around the moss i used for root cover but tied tightly and firmly the orchid and its roots to the tree trunk so that it has good contact and anchors itself faster. The reason i have the moss lightly wrapped is to have it fluffy and not with constricted areas from the ''rope''.
I do have coconut fibers but i think moss is more like what covers their roots in nature. I plan to grow live epiphytic moss on the tree so that i can remove the ropes that hold the dead moss on the trunk and are certainly unsightly and unnatural looking.

Does anyone have experience growing epiphytic mosses on tree trunks or on wooden mounts? There are some local epiphytic moss species i plan to go collect some spores and starter material from but i am a little worried of not getting it grow and establish well enough to get rid of the ropes in 1-2years...

Thank you very much in advance!