Coconut mount or ????

[Troythediver]

What type of mounting is this? I bought this dendrobium phal type about 9 months ago on sale. I have only grown in pots but this thing seems to be very attached to whatever it's on. I water it every couple of days, but I have no idea if what I'm doing is correct because it's not in any media that I am familiar with. To be honest I didn't thing it would live very long in dry Cleveland, but it seems to be thriving. Its newest growth is by far the biggest and that growth started from nothing as when I got it, it was still in flower.

What does everyone think? Are the roots fine? How long can I leave it in this setup? How would I "repot" it?

[Troythediver]

Ohh here is the plant part...

[AnonYMouse]

It sure looks like a coconut. Not sure you will be able to dislodge the plant. The roots might have grown into the husk. You might be able to pick off the husk little by little with something like an ice pick. IDK.

The surface roots look OK, just aglae'd. Can you get the whole thing out of the pot to see farther down?

I don't know how well this set up would work long term but I would at least try to get it out of the pot.

[Troythediver]

It is all attached fairly tightly. I didn't want to mess up anything by trying to tear it out. Even the coconut mass is tightly in the plastic inner pot.

Anyone else have experience demounting? My guess is that once it starts to break down it will naturally pull apart.

[AnonYMouse]

Cut the plastic pot away. Really, you want to know what is going on in the pot.

[Troythediver]

Won't that disturb the roots? Should I wait until post flowering for pot disruption? What should I do after cutting the pot away?

[Cym Ladye]

I think you could safely cut away sections of the plastic pot and portions of the coconut pot, especially the bottom to allow drainage, and pot up in a bigger pot. Many growers sucessfully up-pot to a larger pot by dropping a plant into a larger pot with even little or no media. If they can do that you can too, perhaps without media if it is an aerial root type plant.
CL

[PaulB]

Originally Posted by Troythediver

It is all attached fairly tightly. I didn't want to mess up anything by trying to tear it out. Even the coconut mass is tightly in the plastic inner pot.

Anyone else have experience demounting? My guess is that once it starts to break down it will naturally pull apart.

The plastic pot obviously would be the easiest to cut off. The coconut shell will be the painstaking part. Do it slowly. You most likely will damage some roots in the process, but take your time and try to dislodge the roots carefully. You may not have to remove too much of the coco. Seems like to don't have much choice, but if done with care, you'll have enough left for the plant to continue with.

As far as what to do with it afterwards, Have you thought of S/H? They do pretty well in that media. I also agree that being able to see what's happening with the roots is essential. S/H allows you to do that and even slitted plastic clear pots do the same.

[Island Girl]

^ if you do what Paul suggested, I'd wait until after its done flowering... I've heard Dens can sulk for awhile after being repotted, & considering the way it's potted/mounted, it will incur a little bit (at best) of root damage, by the time you have it out of there... It's not easy to remove an orchid from a mount... Which is why I would say to wait, and enjoy your flowers

I agree with what AnonYMouse & Cym Ladye suggested, & me personally, I'd cut off the plastic pot, not disturbing anything else (the coconut/roots), just to see what the roots look like down inside/under the coconut shell, and make sure it's draining well... Drop it into another pot, & wait to really mess with the roots until after its done flowering.

[Troythediver]

Thanks guys. I'll remove the plastic pot. It's actually a plastic pot inside of a clay pot. So I might. As we'll cut off the plastic one. The good news is that it drains very well as is. The water runs straight through the setup, which is probably why it is growing strong.

As far as S/H, that seems like a lot of extra work. I have a phal that is growing in that method (a poor version of it) that I plan to change at the net repot.