question abount mounting

[kylerkcase]

I've seen some people mount there orchids upside down and others right side up. which way is right?

[Bud]

you have to find out how the plants look like in situ if you can find any pictures of them in the wild and then follow the way the plants fall in place....Vandas will always grow upright while some pendulous Dendrobiums like the anosmum cascade down the trees so you want them mounted down wards; Phalaenopsis has to be mounted at a 45 angle so the leaves don't trap water....if in doubt then just mount them as you see fit and follow your instincts = the plant will always go the way they want to grow....

[Lorraine]

Bud posted some good info for you and you asked a really good question.

When you mount some types there really is no up or down. Here are a couple pictures of the same mounting on a Grapevine wreath. I had to put sphagnum moss in the open spots so the roots were able to keep more moisture. This is Dendrobium loddiggessi, It did not matter how it was mounted. It still grows downward.

A lot of cattleyas get mounted the same that there is not an up or down. Phalaenopsis need to be mounted so water does not sit in the leaves or it most likely would get something called crown rot and even if the leaves look green they just fall off at the base. If I mount them I tilt it so the water runs off the leaf. It would look upside down. That's the way they grow in the rain forest.

[RosieC]

Love that wreath mount Lorraine!

I think Bud has the key too it... how do they grow in nature, try and recreate that.

Some people mount phals upside down completely, others more at the 45 degree angle (which looks more like they grow in the wild). I mostly mount things other than Phals, and they all vary. My gastrochillus started out at right angles to the mount, but tends to curve more upwards now, because that's what it wanted to do. My Maxallaria generally want to grow upwards, so that's what they do. My mounted Catt started out at right angles, but all new growths have gone straight up.

[kylerkcase]

thank you for the info and I like the wreath very creative