Mounting on Ecoweb or Epiweb?

[tucker85]

Has anyone tried mounting orchids on Ecoweb or Epiweb? It's an artificial treefern type substance. I was wondering how well it works.

[RosieC]

I've used Epiweb here in Europe.

It was working well, but the plants I have on it (3 the same) are struggling but I don't believe it's down to the epiweb, but rather lighting and temperature problems.

It seems a bit odd at first, but then the new roots start growing all through the stuff and it seems to settle in well.

I recently put a new Den keiki on it and that has started putting roots through the mesh. That one is working well but it's fairly recent.

I actually want to start combining it with this stuff, made by the same people who make the epiweb in Europe. Hygrolon

Hygrolon holds a lot more moisture, but is not rigid enough for mounting. Someone here on OB was growing on it, can't remember who now. I was wondering about layering Epiweb for the rigidity with this for the moisture retention... but haven't got round to it yet.

[RosieC]

Here we are, it was Magnus who was using Hygrolon. http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ppy-roots.html

Not sure if that's available yet in the USA though, so maybe not much help.

I think maybe I wish Epiweb held more moisture, but otherwise it's a good mount.

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by RosieC

I've used Epiweb here in Europe.

It was working well, but the plants I have on it (3 the same) are struggling but I don't believe it's down to the epiweb, but rather lighting and temperature problems.

It seems a bit odd at first, but then the new roots start growing all through the stuff and it seems to settle in well.

I recently put a new Den keiki on it and that has started putting roots through the mesh. That one is working well but it's fairly recent.

I actually want to start combining it with this stuff, made by the same people who make the epiweb in Europe. Hygrolon

Hygrolon holds a lot more moisture, but is not rigid enough for mounting. Someone here on OB was growing on it, can't remember who now. I was wondering about layering Epiweb for the rigidity with this for the moisture retention... but haven't got round to it yet.

Thank you, Rosie. You gave me some very helpful information.

[Magnus A]

Hi Jeff

I have grown on Epiweb® for about 7 years in my orchid cabinet. I am now experimenting with gluing Hygrolon® onto Epiweb® to start growing more species from the Pleurothallis alliance.

My experience from the latest version of Epiweb. Have seen a significant development in Ecoweb over the last years.

- It is an airy material! That make it dry up very fast in dry conditions.
- It holds suprisingly large amount of water as droplet in the 3D mesh.
- If you have high humidity it dries very slow (Water droplets evaporate slow in high humidity).
- It does not break down.
- UV stable.
- Protect the roots as it is stiff.
- Can be hard to cutwithout proper tools.
- When you would like to divide a plant you just cut the mount into 2. Alot of negative argument against Epiweb® is that you can´t get the roots out when you need to replant/divide. But seriusly, you damage the roots extensivly in any material when you clean them from old degraded substrate. You do not need to do that with Epiweb® as it does not degrade.
- I use fishing line to sew my orchids to the Epiweb®.
- Pieces hook into each other, and mounts can easy be elongated by using melting glue.

But the best is that Epiweb® DOES NOT degrade, you can have it for 10th of year without problem!

/Magnus

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by Magnus A

Hi Jeff

I have grown on Epiweb® for about 7 years in my orchid cabinet. I am now experimenting with gluing Hygrolon® onto Epiweb® to start growing more species from the Pleurothallis alliance.

My experience from the latest version of Epiweb. Have seen a significant development in Ecoweb over the last years.
/Magnus

Thank you for all the good information, Mangus. I agree that it's almost impossible to remove a plant from any kind of mount. I've been using tree fern fiber. The orchids love it but, here in South Florida, it doesn't last very long. Cork seems to be a good solution but it's too dry for some of my plants. I think I'll give one of these synthetic products a try. Thanks.

[Magnus A]

Jeff
You can use a pruning shears to cut the material and "soften up" the edges if you want something "softer". You can also take some nice moss and rub it into the surface and it will grow and cover the mount if you water it and have it in a high humidity environment.
If you have trouble with degrading tree fern this is a good product to test.
/M

[DelawareJim]

Tucker;

I got a sheet of Ray's EcoWeb about 6 months ago to try. I mounted a piece of a Masdivallia I've had for a while to try as a test.

It hardly holds any water at all and what little clings to the fibres evapourates almost immediately. I added some living moss I got from some other orchid pots to help retain moisture and give it a more natural look and the moss dries within about half an hour. I've since moved it into a nursery flat with a humidity dome and the moss is starting to grow although the Masdie isn't doing anything.

Unless you want to try something mounted that likes it dry, you'll deffinately need a terrarium setup.

Cheers.
Jim

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by DelawareJim

Tucker;

I got a sheet of Ray's EcoWeb about 6 months ago to try. I mounted a piece of a Masdivallia I've had for a while to try as a test.

It hardly holds any water at all and what little clings to the fibres evapourates almost immediately. I added some living moss I got from some other orchid pots to help retain moisture and give it a more natural look and the moss dries within about half an hour. I've since moved it into a nursery flat with a humidity dome and the moss is starting to grow although the Masdie isn't doing anything.

Unless you want to try something mounted that likes it dry, you'll deffinately need a terrarium setup.

Cheers.
Jim

That's good to know, Jim. I thought it was supposed to hold some moisture. I'll need to rethink my strategy. I have some pieces of cork that look great and last for a long time. I was thinking about changing to Ecoweb because I thought it would stay wet longer. But if it doesn't then I can stay with the cork. I might try one plant to see what happens. Thanks for posting your experience.

[Magnus A]

Epiweb® Do hold MUCH more water than a cork slab and therefore it dries up slower than a corkslab, under the same condition.

There is no magic as it is the relative humidity, in combination with air movement that make water evaporate.

When an orchid is establisk in epiweb, the roots inside the material helps holding the water as the slab becomes less "airy". I suggest that you try one or two plants on the material and evaluate it under your condition.

/M