Neo on an olla

[AnonYMouse]

Finally!




White stuff is mineral deposits and the the black on the roots are surface mold that didn't brush off (might be avoided if I cleaned it more frequently). The leaves have burn marks and old mite damage. The roots don't stick below the water line (that's how much water transpired-is that the right term?- from the olla. I guess that would be the waterline in the olla, as well.) Normally sits in a bowl.

This is an irrigation olla, a table-top olla might not be as drippy and work better, IDK.

It took about 4 years to figure everything out with my limited space.

[fishmom]

It really shows off that neo!

[nikkik]

That is AWESOME! My favorite thing about orchids is that we can be creative in how we choose to grow them. This method illustrates that perfectly. Great job!

[Pattywack]

I love it!!! The olla is a great size and your Neo looks perfectly happy growing in this manner. Congratulations on the blooms and the success of the olla. I may have to try this! It sure is better looking than cool logs and makes a gorgeous display.

[Dollythehun]

AnonYmous, was there a method you used to get this started?

[Leafmite]

Oh, that is just gorgeous! I thought my mounted one from Andy's was pretty neat but that looks fantastic!

[AnonYMouse]

A big point I forgot to mention: this did not work as a self watering mount, it got too wet. I added LECA inside to try to wick water up like in normal S/H. Maybe this particular olla was just too porous, IDK.

I also tried a couple of Pleurothallids before the Neo but since I have a bad track record with Pleuros, the failures might not be relevant.

Only special steps were to rate how much water seeped through (ultimately futile) and feed externally, otherwise, all the usual rules applied. New roots starting (just like S/H, old roots will not grow onto new wet surface), figure out watering frequency, light exposure, etc.

If I were to try this again, I'd work out the seepage with a ceramicist (clay type, firing method, clay thickness, structure, glazing) essentially to deal with Pascal's law.

Or

Just mount like I would a wood mount.