Trouble with wood mounts that rot
 

:hello I have a problem and hopefully I will get some good suggestions. I live down in south Florida where heat and humidity causes all wood that is not pressure treated to rot. My problem is over the last year or two I have aquired a taste for species orchids and have purchased almost 20 from a grower that has beautiful plants, but they are almost all mounted on natural wood branches. Over the last few month I realize these things are not lasting much more than a year. But now I have all these plants! :(

I don't know about most of you, but when I buy a mounted plant, I don't plan on having to remount it within one year. :roll: Repotting maybe, but mounts should be more permanent. :twocents:.

:( The first plant I lost was a big den chrysotoxum (first picture). It died just a few months ago. On this den, there was a wood boring beetle that came with the mount. He bored out and left a big 1/4" hole in the mount. I called and told them about it and they said don't worry, the beetle couldn't do any harm since he would not survive in Florida. But within a few months the mount completely rotted and got moldy. So I called for help with remounting. I did my best with the remount but the plant didn't take the whole experience well and died within a few more months. I called them explaining what happened (again) and to see about getting another den chrysotoxum. I was hopeful that I would at least be offered a discount on the replacement. But I was not offered anything but more advice and was told that I should have taken pictures. I don't know why, I guess to prove something. They had never told me to take pictures on the previous calls. By then the plant was already discarded. I decided to just think seriously about not buying from them any more. Am I wrong here?

:( Now the mount has decomposed on my den findlayanum. It was purchased just last May. I have attached pictures of this den and it's decomposing mount. As you can see it just crumbled when I bent it. The problem is the roots grew into the the center of the rotting wood branch. Do I just leave the rotten stuff as is and tie it to another mount? Or try to wash off this rotten stuff. You can see my concern as I already lost one this way. Also, this time I took lots of pictures. Should I call the vendor or just accept this as reasonable

Also, there are a couple pics of some of my other mounted plants. I am worried that more will rot and there are some of these that won't survive remounting. Like the ghost which is doing very well. It has 2 new roots. :biggrin:

Sorry for the long tale, but I thought if you know the history you would understand why I am so aggravated. :(( Any suggestions and/or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Nice plants. I have had a few wood mounts disintegrate on me too. These mostly look like cedar branches but I think their size is too small to last long. I have some cypress branches that are from an inch in diameter to almost 3 inches. I could offer a few of these if you need them.

Another thing I noticed, was the liberal use of sphagnum moss. For me, this is a sure fire killer of orchids. I grow all my stuff outside and when the rains come, it rots the roots out. I usually bareroot mount them on the branches, of use other medium like cork mounts. You can also use coconut palm frond silks until they get rooted on, then pull it out when established.

Yes, that is the way they always do it. I never use moss either. I think the moss was part of the rotting problem. However... what do I do now? I need to do something with the rotten one for sure. Then slowly start remounting the others. Starting with the ones with the most moss. I like to use tree fern slabs for plants with sturdy roots. But all these plants have teeny tiny roots. Maybe cork would be better????

I have purchased from the same seller as well and gotten 'chids mounted on wood from them. In my orchidarium....it is intermediate temps with humidity around 80%. I had problems with the wood mounts rotting as well...but I figured it is because I dunk some of my mounted orchids in water when I water them daily or every other day. One was a 2 or 3 inch branch that started rotting. Moss was used as well but I really don't think that is the issue. It is common to use a moss pad for mounting orchids. I also use it on my cork mounts with no problems...but I do have to change the moss out every year or so. I just pull it out and stuff new in if possible. I am converting all of my wood mounts to cork mounts and that would be my suggesting for you. Not sure how some of yours will take the remounting since the root system are tiny and grown into the wood. Just be prepared...it could be detrimental to them but I don't think you have any other choice. Good luck and keep us posted. If your looking for cork mounts, repotme.com has some pretty cool cork tubes. I bought one and just remounted one of my 'chids on it it looks awesome (sorry I don't have any pic's)!

Becca, I think there's a big difference between and orchidarium and how Suzie and I grow them outside down in south Florida. Beside the sic heat, we also have times where it may rain 20 days in a row, so things never dry out during then. Also, it;s odd how severe it is, but the sun down here literally destroys thing during the summer.

I also put my orchids on trees bare rooted and other on pieces of cork. They will do fine just make sure to water them every day.

Thanks everyone! I think that cork seems the way to go. I am going to the Spring Orchid Festival down at St Germain Orchids in Homestead tomorrow. Broward Orchid Supply is going to be there and they always have cork. I will get extra, because I will need it eventually for the others. I am most worried about the ghost. It will not like being moved. I need to think of something else for that one. Thanks again!

Yeah I could imagine how the sun destroys things there in Florida! I know my orchidarium isn't the same as growing in south Florida...I was just letting Suzie know that I have had problems with the wood mounts rotting as well and I don't even live in the same growing conditions. I think it is the wood and cork is the way to go. Don't get me wrong, the wood mounts are beautiful and may do fine for the seller's growing conditions/culture but it just doesn't work for everyone. I'd like to that particular seller sell more mounted orchid that are cork mounted and not wood mounted. They have great stuff!

Thanks, Becca. That was what frustrated me most. I love his plants, but am very frustrated with the rotting. It is so much easier to repot than to remount a plant. Last year at Redlands Show, I got at least 5 plants (mounted) from this vendor. I won't be doing that any more!

Hey susiep which grower are you talking about? Because I definetly would like to add some more specie plants to my collection. Thanks

Suzie, I thought that was a ghost. Mine are on the same stick but not as big. I have a branch of cypress I plan to mount it on. I could also get you one.

While down at the St Germain grand opening, you might want to check out, it's either RF or Rueben, that is across the street (according to Tom and Sandy at Broward Orchid Supply) and they sell the teak knot mounts.

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FWIW, I have shipped a lot of EcoWeb to growers in FL. Think of it as a softer version of tree fern, only more durable.

Kasper, I will pm the vendor to you. I don't want to mention it in the thread since I am aggravated with them.

Thanks for the suggestion Ray. I have never tried that product. Maybe I should try it now. I need durability! I will contact you next week.

I actually have a problem with a cork mount disintigrating. I dunk the entire thing daily and the mount is crumbling to pieces. The roots of the chid (miltonia) are pushed right through the tiniest cracks in the bark and seem to be pushing it apart.

I love the look of wood or cork mounts but I'm not sure either last that long in wet conditions.

You could look into ecoweb / epiweb it does not decompose at all and will probably work well in your humid environment.

Do you have any pictures?

Wow that piece of wood is really cool looking! I hope you can find more!....and then you can tell me where you found it! :biggrin:

Lorraine, Nice piece of cactus for a mount.

I agree! Where did you find that piece of wood?

Becca, Susie, I knew I've seen this somewhere before. Try a pet store that carries birds. If all else fails here is a link:

Cholla wood - Shop sales, stores & prices at TheFind.com

Ted, thanks! I knew I had seen that stuff some place before. I can get it at my pet shop!

Lorraine, where do you have that growing? My two Brassavola nodosas are red from the freeze and sad looking. One was brought in during the coldest days, but the other (planted on a heavy orchid tree) stayed out the whole time.

As for the cholla wood, it was suggested on this board before, but I don't know where, but it had also deteriorated like other woods. I'll see if I can find that thread...

Here's the other thread...

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...d-you-get.html

Second page is where it was mentioned about cholla deteriorating. Also found on that thread is it is RF Orchids that sells the teak mounts. These should last a lifetime.

It's not listed on their website, so you'd have to call for more info on the teak...
RF Orchids 305-245-4570 or toll free 877-482-6327

Hi Susan, Most of my plants are mounted on wood and I have had a couple of the pieces rot as well but rather then remove it from the rotting wood I attached the entire mount to another piece of wood and allowed it to naturally grow onto the new piece.
As for the Ghost I wouldn't do anything, most of the trees they live on in the wild are more times then not are growing on trees that appear to be rotting at the top. After locating nearly 200 of them my buddy and I have come to the conclusion they like what ever it is that runs down the tree. We also find them mostly on Pop Ash trees and they seem softer and rot much quicker then Cypress, I'm thinking they prefer it.

I think they sell cholla and cork at pet supply chains. You might try Petsmart in the reptile or rodent supply section. I know they carry something called Mopani wood. Mopani is reasonably priced and looks a lot like grapewood. It comes in interesting shapes and chid roots love it. ;)

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I still have not remounted this plant. It is still attached to that last bit of soggy wood. Perhaps that will be my Mother's Day project. Since today I can demand anything I want. I can request some uninterrupted time for potting and mounting my orchids.

I have cork, grapevine, and tree fern available. Of course there is always potting as an option too. I will just have to lay everything out and decide. I will post a pic of my finished product here.

Thanks again for all the great advice. I have found more vendors that specialize in species here in south Florida. I now have more plants to choose from that are not mounted, hence avoiding the problem.

Sue, before you remount that orchid, let me drop by some wood I have and see if we can find a piece that works for your needs.

I have cypress, cedar, and something I think really special, lychee. I believe you can use moss on all of these and have success, with the lychee being the one that might last the longest.

I'll be at the Redlands Fair on saturday or I can get it to you sooner.

Brady

Ok, Brady! It is too hot today to work on orchids! I will wait until Saturday for a piece of that lychee. Thanks!

Why not something inorganic? Mount it to the outside of a terracotta pot. You shouldnt have a problem with humidity if you can rot mounts with your humidity.

Well, I decided to use tree fern for the remount. Actually, I turned a tree fern pot side ways and pushed the root ball/remaining mount into the hole. It fit snuggly from top to bottom. I just added some coconut chips to fill in on each side to hold a little moisture and a thin layer of green moss on top to hold the chips in place. I can remove the moss later after the roots take hold of the chips and the tree fern. I tied up the longest "canes" to give them some support.

Susan, in the last pic, is that cyrtopodium punctatum in the lower left of the pic?

It looks like you're doing a good job recycling, redwood from a swingset? dog-eared fence board for angle support? 1"x2" PT wood for hanging stuff? :biggrin::biggrin:

:scratchhead: I don't know what that plant is. Another Catt type NOID. It is one of my rescue plants.

Yes, my shade house is very interesting. It reminds me of the Shrieking Shack from Harry Potter. :blushing: