Phal. celebensis from mounted to potted?????
 

I've been looking for a Phal. celebensis for a while. I found one on ebay and the price was right, so now I have it.

I bought it with the intention of removing it from the mount and putting it in a Air Cone pot with NZ sphagnum moss. I didn't think this would be any problem since it was listed as a seedling.

It came today, and low and behold, this little seedling has some major roots. It has truly been happy going on the mount. I'm afraid to remove it from the mount since I might damage some of those beautiful roots.

I do keep my other orchids under Cree LED lights with a modified mister that keeps the humidity around 60%. I've never grown mounted before. Would 60% humidity be enough if I kept it watered when it was dry? Or should I risk removing it and putting it into something I'm more comfortable growing in?

I've attached a pic of my setup. The celebensis isn't in the mist all the time. The way the air flows in the room, the mist moves from left to right. I would say every 2 or 3 seconds, the celebensis is in the mist (if that makes sense).

http://i67.tinypic.com/b46981.jpg

If it is happy on the mount I wouldn't remove it. I would be careful with the mist and not have it misting at night. They can dry out for a period of time without damage.

My humidity is never a steady 60%. When I left the g/h this afternoon the humidity was down to 33%. I water my celebensis in the morning and it doesn't get moisture until the next morning. It wants to be warm in the winter but cooler in the summer.

Hope this helps - Brooke

Your plants look very happy.
I like mounted orchids , they require more attention but this way they show their true nature.

Ciao Nicola

Great, thanks! That makes me feel a little bit better about keeping this one mounted. OCD and worry may win over though. We'll see :)

I have seen small mounted orchids put on their mounts, in a pot with some moisture retaining medium (spag moss) in the pot. This way, the orchid is near to evaporating humidity.

I would not remove an orchid that was happily mounted. Some of these small species orchids are advanced orchids and they demand specific environments that may be hard to get without a lot of specialist gear.