Hygrolon prototype setup

[Magnus A]

My experience to get moss growing on Hygrolon is that you do not need to use any extra materials (spagnum, yogurt or beer). Just mix the prefered moss with water in a kitchen mixer and water the hygrolon with the dilute mossmix. The Hygrolon will act as a filter and small part of the moss will be spread on the surface.
Then it just to wait and have good quality (RO) water and enough light and the moss will grow by itself.

The moss in the cabinet showed in the picture has been growing for about 12 month. From the start the moss was barely visibly from the distance the picture was taken.

[birdybrain]

I'm really enjoying this thread & working out ideas for a project of my own with orchids & moss on hygrolon!

So is there a reason not to just buy some live moss & transplant it to the hygrolon?

A couple questions about how hygrolon actually "works":

1) I notice on Mossman's pots that the plastic piece with hygrolon & plants is the same diameter as the top of the pot. Could you instead use a pot with a smaller diameter or would the hygrolon wick up enough water that it would drip off the edges? I like the look of Mossman's pots, but just exploring all the possibilities.

2) googling hygrolon I see pics of orchids on hygrolon on rocks. Is a single sheet of hygrolon all that's needed or would it be better to have some substance like LECA, epiweb, or more hygrolon between the orchid & the rock? Or does it depend on the type of orchid?

3) I've never mounted an orchid & need to read up on it. Is mounting to the hygrolon the same as with any other type of mount? Are there any special considerations?

Thanks in advance for any info!

[Mossman]

Originally Posted by birdybrain

So is there a reason not to just buy some live moss & transplant it to the hygrolon

Not really. I bought my moss mix from Magnus and it consists of several mosses and some ferns already
in the mix.
It was easy and I really dont have access to any mosses and ferns to buy where I live.
The mix of mosses of course creates some chaos which Probably isn't ideal for "Orchid-scaping".
If we look at Aqua-scaping, they usually plan through what kind of plants to use in the foreground as compared to the background etc.
Peresonally I like the look of the minimalistic "iwagumi" style which uses fairly few plants.

Originally Posted by birdybrain

A couple questions about how hygrolon actually "works":

1) I notice on Mossman's pots that the plastic piece with hygrolon & plants is the same diameter as the top of the pot. Could you instead use a pot with a smaller diameter or would the hygrolon wick up enough water that it would drip off the edges? I like the look of Mossman's pots, but just exploring all the possibilities.

Actually if you look at my pictures again you'll see that I have three mounts that have hygrolon sticking outside the pot. The "dot painted" has a branch sticking out, the one with the branch going up
and the one with the green pot and horizontal branch.

I think that as long as the hygrolon is stationed more or less above the water line, dripping should not be an issue. When the hygrolon goes far below the water level, it starts sucking water like crazy and there is a dripping problem.
This was happening with my "hanging tube" kind
of mount where the hygrolon went all the way down to
the base of the water tank.

I think that Magnus is more qualified to answer the other questions.
I have used more layers of hygrolon and/or lecas to shape the mount and also thinking that the roots might eventually want something to dig in to.

I wouldn't build the mount to high if you dont mind watering a lot (or if you have a very wide base). My highest is about 12-15cm and it might be ok to have it a little higher if you can keep the water level high.
I only water once a week (which is unnecessary for some plants) so in some pots the water level drops quite much.
Waiting much longer and the hygrolon would have problem sucking the water to the top of the plant.

My standing branch for example was much higher originally but since the surface area of the tank is very small (very little of the water downward is sucked up), I had to cut it to about 2/3 to prevent having a dry top.

[Magnus A]

Originally Posted by Mossman

Not really. I bought my moss mix from Magnus and it consists of several mosses and some ferns already
in the mix.

Oh, that I do not recall ;-) You did not buy the moss from me but Mikael, the man behind Hygrolon and Epiweb. For some inspiration pictures from Mikael you can take a look at Dusk Tropic, in Swedish but the haw to do picture series are informative! Or take a look in Mikael´s photostream on flickr, Flickr: Mikaels orchids' Photostream there you can find fantastic use of Hygrolon, and orchids!

Originally Posted by birdybrain

So is there a reason not to just buy some live moss & transplant it to the hygrolon?

You can take any moss. I collected pieces from my orchidmounts that I had since before. Some species are native to Sweden.

Originally Posted by birdybrain

1) I notice on Mossman's pots that the plastic piece with hygrolon & plants is the same diameter as the top of the pot. Could you instead use a pot with a smaller diameter or would the hygrolon wick up enough water that it would drip off the edges? I like the look of Mossman's pots, but just exploring all the possibilities.

You got your answer from mossman.

Originally Posted by birdybrain

2) googling hygrolon I see pics of orchids on hygrolon on rocks. Is a single sheet of hygrolon all that's needed or would it be better to have some substance like LECA, epiweb, or more hygrolon between the orchid & the rock? Or does it depend on the type of orchid?

Information are in the links abowe. But those rock is planted with miniature orchid ith snall roos systems. Many are also fake rocks with an inbuilt water reservoir and a hygrolon wick keeping the top part moist.
For spacers it may be beneficial for some orchids but you have to experiment. My feeling is that it is not needed for miniature orchids.

Originally Posted by birdybrain

3) I've never mounted an orchid & need to read up on it. Is mounting to the hygrolon the same as with any other type of mount? Are there any special considerations?

Yes and know. You build your mount with or without water reservoir. Without it is as a normal mount that holds water much better than cork. For a mount with a water reservoir you should remember that the mount stay wet/moist all the time. This mean that orchid that need to dry up between watering may not like it. Though, after all talks about semi hydro culture there is clear evidence that many orchid can be grown in constant wet condition that should have died if internet or the "old orchid authority" recomendation was followed.

/Magnus

[Mossman]

Yes Magnus I bought them from Mikael, sorry for the confusion!

[birdybrain]

Thanks to both of you for all this wonderful information! I will be ordering my hygrolon this weekend for my first project and I also picked up a few pots & trays today for a second project making pots like Mossman's.

I will probably go with both the moss mix and some live transplanted moss (for a little instant gratification).

I also want to experiment with using a hygrolon wick & a separate bowl of water for my phals in traditional potting medias. I'm wondering if they'd stay hydrated enough that I wouldn't need a caretaker when I'm out of town.

Again, thank you, and I'll post pics when I get my projects done!

[Vanda lover]

I have often wondered if a wick would work for watering.

[birdybrain]

I have another question about planting or mounting on hygrolon. Is it important to wait until you see active root growth before moving an orchid onto the hygrolon?

[Magnus A]

As for all replanting it is beneficial if the plant is in active growth. Though I have had great success mounting dormant plants on hygrolon and they have soon started to grow new roots.

Many plants have been totaly inactive for month on "dry" mounts (as cork and epiweb) but "exploded" when transfered ot Hygrolon (still in the same environment). The Hygrolon stay moist longer and create a nice micro climate on the surface.

[birdybrain]

Originally Posted by Magnus A

As for all replanting it is beneficial if the plant is in active growth. Though I have had great success mounting dormant plants on hygrolon and they have soon started to grow new roots.

Many plants have been totaly inactive for month on "dry" mounts (as cork and epiweb) but "exploded" when transfered ot Hygrolon (still in the same environment). The Hygrolon stay moist longer and create a nice micro climate on the surface.

Excellent! I just purchased the orchids I'll be using and gave them some KLN. I may see some new root growth by the time I get to do my project. I'm very glad to hear that the hygrolon does so well for root growth & that I can take a chance transplanting them even if I don't see any root growth.

Thanks for the advice, Magnus!