Did I mount my tolumnia properly?

[tim_r95]

So last weekend I was at an orchid show and I picked up a little tolumnia I'm pretty sure it's labeled william thurston "Robson" and it was in a little pot with some ferntree chunks, and I wanted to do something different with it. So I decided I would mount it to a piece of mopani wood I had left over from when I had my freshwater fish tank set-up. So I got it mounted on there in sort of a ridge in the wood, and I just covered the roots over with sphagnum moss. But, I've been looking at some pictures of other mounted orchids and it seems like a lot of them have most or at least some of the roots hanging out in the open air. Should I have done this with mine? I asked this on another thread about this orchid also, but I'm hoping some people with mounting experience can help out. So, I've been watering the little guy in the morning making sure the sphagnum moss is completely wet before putting it back, but it seems like every day the moss is completely dry by like the early afternoon. Should I water it more often?

[cbuchman]

That's a pretty piece of wood!

It seems like Tolumnias like to be dry right after they are watered. It's really important that they be dry at the end of the day. That said, they can't become desiccated, either! I try to mist mine at least daily and drench it every 2 days or so. I will probably need mist and drench at least daily, int he morning, of course, in the hot summer days.

I've mounted some of mine similarly and I think I might remove a strand or 2 of the sphag so that they dry a little faster. But I'm still watching to see if this is needed.

I also used florist wire to tie them to the mount since it is is nearly invisible. I know more people use fishing line, but I didn't have any. I've also used thin strips of panty hose as well.

I'm about to mount my last 3 and plan to use a little spahg for each one. I'm using a multiple branched piece of wood and I put a base on so it will stand on its own. Will psot pictures when I get organized.

[tim_r95]

That sounds awesome. I hope it works out for you.

[Bud]

that is a neatly mounted plant. your moss is alive, so I wont be worried about this....
Carrie is right, wait for the plant to dry then water....you are in Napa where the atmosphere is humid, you can hang this plant outdoors under the shade of a tree
I am an apartment grower so I spray my Tolumnias every morning and weekly soak it with fertilizer for 5 min