Sequoia Bark

[drtd]

Anyone ever mount onto whole pieces of Giant Sequoia Bark? It seems nice and water retentive, and I've seen it used as a ground media, but how is it for mounting? Does it degrade fast?

-Danny

[drtd]

Well, I decided to try it anyway. I tossed a few Dendrobium nobile keikies on some chunks of Sequoiadendron gigantium outer bark. They came out looking nice and the bark holds moisture like a sponge. We'll see how well they last :-)

[WhiteRabbit]

Cool - let us know how it goes!

[drtd]

Well, after a long anxious wait, both dendro keikis have new growth and new roots emerging! The bark works fairly well, but I don't see it as being a very good long term mounting solution as it tends to get a little crumbly after a while. I also tried a side by side comparison of chopped Sequoia bark and Fir bark on Anacheilium cochleatum, and so far the Sequoia bark has out performed the Fir bark ten fold! It holds up well, it's light, it has superb water retention, and doesn't seem to break down as fast as the fir bark. The trees themselves, when grown in cultivation, grow very fast and the bark is easily harvested with minimal damage to the tree itself. So far, so good!

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

[drtd]

So here I am a solid 8 months down the line, and so far so good! The dendro keikies had a setback as I forgot to water them :/ but the Anacheilium has shown the biggest improvement over all. The two plants pictured were divisions of the same plant, with the same amount of back bulbs and roughly the same amount of roots. They have been given an identical watering regime, fertilizer, light, humidity, and temperature. The smaller plant is in medium grade Fir bark, and the larger is in the same grade Sequoia bark (the actual growing pots are the same size despite the difference in the outer decorative pots). The results with this particular species are astounding, but not definitive. I have since switched a few of my Oncidium types, as well as my Phals to see if I can replicate the results on a different species.

[Leafmite]

Looks good! I think you have found your new medium!
I kill everything in bark so I have to use LECA or red lava rock. :|

[drtd]

Thanks! Time will tell with the other species. I have always been interested in using rock based media. I have several non orchids growing in lava rock. My Anthuriums go crazy in it! I have also been tempted by the S/H bug as well...

[Leafmite]

I would like to try an Anthurium again. I am just looking for one that looks the same as the one I grew as a child. Do you mount it on a big chuck of rock sitting in water or just grow it in a pot with the rock as the medium?
I grow in lava rock or LECA because it is just so easy. To make things even easier, I use net or basket pots.

[drtd]

I grow it in the rock as the medium. I considered trying the mounted approach, but its doing so well that I don't want to rock the boat! I started it from a heel cutting three years ago and it finally bloomed for me this year

[drtd]

I really want to try mounting a few of my orchids to the outside of clay pots. I love the way it looks!