Mounted phal specie question
 

Hello,
I have received new adult plant of phalaenopsis violacea var sumatra and it is mounted. I would like to pot it but the roots are grown into wood too much and I don't know how to detach it from the mount.
Should i just leave it on mount? How do I care for mounted phal in a house? Our humidity drops to 40% in the winter time when heat is on. Also the roots are green when watered but there is no growing points on them. Is it bad?
Any advice please...
Thanks a lot.
I attached the picture:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WIMClBIPmC...ea_sumatra.jpg

I vote for leaving it on the mount. It is obviously happy there and there isn't anyway to get it off without damaging many roots.

My humidity is very low too but my mounted plants do o.k. You just have to remember to water them well in the a.m. and perhaps a spraying/misting in the early afternoon.

Al

I agree, the plant has a very good amount of roots. If you are worried about it getting too dry, why don't you wrap a thin layer of sphagnum all around the mount? Maybe try soaking the roots that are trailing off in warm water, then tie them to the mount with some elastic twine.

The thin layer of moss is an excellent idea!

Al

Great suggestions, thank you guys! I am going to try to wrap the trailing roots and cover them with moss.
I also worried about piece of wood it is on. It appears quite old and has all sorts of dark stains on it and some pieces are peeling off. Are they signs of rot? How would one replace mount when it starts to rot and roots are tightly attached to it?
Thanks again

I don't recommend covering the roots completely with moss. I think Cody meant to cover the mount with moss, not the roots.

If you want to drape some strands over the roots, leaving some portions of the roots exposed to the air, and with most of the moss going onto the mount, okay, that could work. I really don't recommend smothering the roots with moss though.

Another thing you can do is to loosen up the roots that are on the bottom of the mount and pot that portion up.

Yes, I was referring to the mount. I was also thinking along the same lines of what I have already posted, but maybe you could cover the mount with a thin layer of sphag, leaving parts here and there bare, and then taking the trailing roots, bending them towards the mount, and then tying them to the mount on top of the thin layer of moss. This way the roots should create a tiny micro environment, but while still allowing the roots to breathe.

i agree! thats alot of roots! really cool. i guess you could pot it up while its still attached to the mount, if you careful

Thanks for clarification. The thing is, there is almost no mount exposed, it is covered with roots. I have decided to just let it be. I dunk it into sink with water early morning and early evening and then it hangs on the plant stand where my other phals are.
There is an old spike, I guess I shouldn't cut it, right?
Thanks again.

One way to move a mounted plant up to a larger mount is to afix the plant and it's current mount to a larger piece of cork or what ever. No root damage that way.

Al