So what do you do when. . .

[peeweelovesbooks]

So what do you do....

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when your orchid outgrows the mount?

I'm turning more and more to mounting orchids and, in the ones that are potted, using less and less potting medium. So, essentially, while not technically in a mount, they are essentially mounted in a basket.


The thing that concerns me is the age old question--what do you do when the orchid outgrows the mount? At some point, (depending on the size of the wood) the orchid is going to bloom out of every possible pseudobulb it can, so while the plant may be beautiful, there would be no more rooms for blooms.

Do any of you use LARGE pieces of driftwood to not necessary "mount" but place them sort of "live sculptures?" I'm seeing some gorgeous pieces on ebay and I'm tempted to start "training" some of my Laelias and large-ish cattleyas to grow on those.

The reason I ask is that I have several large-ish cattleyas and Laelias. I want to mount them but I am hard-pressed to find something large enough so that they can bloom and display beautifully for several years. I put a myrmecophila on an 8 x 12 cedar slab, and the thing is growing sideways out of it already.

Do you mount large orchids? how do you handle them?