Thoughts on watering a mount

[cbuchman]

I have quite a few mounted orchids and I use several methods to manage their moisture delivery. I too have several orchids where I have the mount in a clear container with a bit of moss in the bottom. This is great for orchids that really don't like to dry out. A variant of this is to use the hanging glass globes, which I also do

I also have several mounted without moss, such as my Tolumnias, which I have on cork slabs and a wooden branch. Then there are those with moss on sticks. For most of these, I mist or dunk daily in the winter since it is often so dry or mist when they are outside and get dew. If it is hot, they need misting more than once a day.

Most recently, I have tried Kool Logs (Kool-Logs). These are unglazed ceramic logs for mounting orchids. You fill the log with water which seeps through to the moss & orchid mounted on the exterior. I've only had these in use for about a month; and so far so good.

The evaporating water keeps the roots cool and the orchids gets constant moisture without being wet.

I like to experiment with different options and will research the orchid first to see what might work best. Mounted orchids are a bit more work as they require more regular care; but so far, it's working for me.

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[mtorchid]

Thanks no-pro-mwa, it helps make up for not having a green house. As you know, in our part of the country, things can dry out quickly!

[ALToronto]

Originally Posted by mtorchid

Thanks to the "Skewer Lady" I'm now a happy convert to this method. It takes a little jiggling for my plants in S/H conditions getting through the LECA but it works. Also use it on my soil-based house plants. Great trick!

Why would you use skewers for s/h? The LECA must never dry out. If it does, you're not doing s/h, you're growing in LECA.

[mtorchid]

Originally Posted by ALToronto

Why would you use skewers for s/h? The LECA must never dry out. If it does, you're not doing s/h, you're growing in LECA.

Al, it depends upon the orchid- some like to stay moist, others to dry out between waterings.

I now use bamboo skewers for S/H and traditional potting culture using LECA. In larger plastic S/H containers I can tell if just the top LECA needs to be misted, e.g., because there's plenty of moisture further down. Maybe with transparent pots it could be done by sight but I like white plastic.

Without a greenhouse, it comes down to micromanaging the container-microclimates.

[No-Pro-mwa]

Originally Posted by cbuchman

I have quite a few mounted orchids and I use several methods to manage their moisture delivery. I too have several orchids where I have the mount in a clear container with a bit of moss in the bottom. This is great for orchids that really don't like to dry out. A variant of this is to use the hanging glass globes, which I also do

I also have several mounted without moss, such as my Tolumnias, which I have on cork slabs and a wooden branch. Then there are those with moss on sticks. For most of these, I mist or dunk daily in the winter since it is often so dry or mist when they are outside and get dew. If it is hot, they need misting more than once a day.

Most recently, I have tried Kool Logs (Kool-Logs). These are unglazed ceramic logs for mounting orchids. You fill the log with water which seeps through to the moss & orchid mounted on the exterior. I've only had these in use for about a month; and so far so good.

The evaporating water keeps the roots cool and the orchids gets constant moisture without being wet.

I like to experiment with different options and will research the orchid first to see what might work best. Mounted orchids are a bit more work as they require more regular care; but so far, it's working for me.

I have looked at the kool logs. But I haven't ordered any as of yet. They might work good for me. I just don't want any more ones that I have to water every day. I might want to go camping this summer

---------- Post added at 09:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:01 AM ----------

Originally Posted by mtorchid

Thanks no-pro-mwa, it helps make up for not having a green house. As you know, in our part of the country, things can dry out quickly!

Yes it does. Even my Catt's in 4 inch pots I mostly have to water every other day or they get to dry.

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials