Rocks that wick up water
 

I'm going to make a new display for a a bunch of phals. I want to grow them on a single chunk of stone/rock. I'm looking for options for stone/rock that wicks up a good amount of water. I know of Tufa(impossible to find in my region) and lava rock but I'm looking to see if anyone knows of any others?

Sandstone.

I don't know how well a solid chunk of rock will wick. Unless your humidity is petty high, you might want to consider some sort of enclosure to "trap" it.

Tufa is commonly found in aquarium stores.

I have seen wonderful set ups on large chunks of red lava rock...moss, orchids, CP's, ferns....

found a huge boulder of red lava rock at my local nursery for 20$. It weighs over 50lbs. now I juts have to figure out how to break it up. looking for some sandstone to try out.
Any other suggestions?

Here's an idea for you to consider: Several years ago, I got a large piece of this foamy, volcanic glass stuff, whatever it's called. I created a cavity in the bottom big enough for a submersible pump, and drilled a hole (carbide-tipped drill bit) clear to the top, and created a small pool at the top. The whole thing sat in a tray - actually a decorative bonsai pot with all drainage holes plugged - deep enough to submerge the little pump. I made one of the plugs removable so I could change the water periodically.

The pump was on a timer, and only operated 30 minutes a day, early in the morning. I carved the sides of the topmost pool so that it would overflow evenly around the rock. Plants placed on the surface did great, and the automated watering made it particularly easy to deal with.

One warning: grow monopodials only this way. Their roots will attach to the rock REALLY well, so there is no such thing as transplanting.

i do not know what this foamy volcanic glass stuff is. do you know what it is normally used for?

I'm only aware of it as a decorative item for landscaping.... In the photo at the link below, it's the one on the far right.

The Augmented World

How big is a $20 piece of Lava?

If small enough, you can make a tabletop water feature (I considered this myself a few years ago). A deep enough tray, a submersible pump and some tubing is what you'll need. If the rock is too big, you can design a feature for the living room!

its about 2 foot in diameter but its almost round

Ray, is your lava rock sometimes called feather rock??

---------- Post added at 09:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 PM ----------

anyone ever try Coral? I googled but cannot find very many people who have tried.

I have no idea.

Coral is almost entirely calcium carbonate. Probably not a good substrate.

Ive gathered up a few stones to on a couple flasks of phal pulcherima to experiement with.
ill post some pictures when i do

Decided to try mounting a flask of Phalaenopsis pulcherrima on lava rock and on coral. They are both sitting in a tray of water.

http://this-side-of-paradise.com/wp-...914-Medium.jpg

http://this-side-of-paradise.com/wp-...944-Medium.jpg

I hope you will post pictures periodically so we can watch everything grow. Good luck with both set ups!

Yes, please do.