Osmunda Mount

[Osmunda-fiber-farmer]

It is good to hear your plants are doing well on osmunda, Maryann. I potted and mounted a few catts and oncidium on osmunda and they are all doing well with multiple strong fat roots reaching into the medium/mounts. What I notice is that the osmunda get molded easily when there is poor air circulation, while fir bark that receives identical watering and fertilizer does not get molded. However, the mold can be spray washed easily and does not seem to be a problem when good air circulation is provided. Is molding a common issue with osmunda or do I need to treat the medium with something prior to using it? Thank you.

---------- Post added 05-04-2018 at 12:30 AM ---------- Previous post was 05-03-2018 at 11:58 PM ----------

Thank you for sharing more info about osmunda, Ray. I have no idea of the typical sizes of the commercial osmunda root system back then, but some of what I have from my land are as large as 24” x 24 inches. My property has many trees that are estimated to be more than 100 years. Perhaps those osmunda clumps are as old as the trees?

Thanks to Maryann for suggesting working with dead fern. I will be marking clumps that show no growth this Spring/ Summer and harvest them in the Fall.