what do you use to tie the plant?

[Eli Vizsla]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

I usually use whatever I can come up with first in one of my junk drawers. Raffia, upholstery button tufting thread, old strips of panty hose, long pieces of self-sticking velcro, and for mounting an orchid I've many times used a hot glue gun.

So it's okay to glue the roots to cork bark? I plan to try my first mounting on cork bark this weekend and saw a youtube video of someone using glue.

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Eli Vizsla

So it's okay to glue the roots to cork bark? I plan to try my first mounting on cork bark this weekend and saw a youtube video of someone using glue.

No, not the roots, unless it's a few old, dead ones. It would kill or stall a root. I use a low-temp hot glue gun and put a couple of blobs on the mount after marking where I want them. Usually to an older part of a rhizome, an older pbulb, bottom part of a phal stem that is rootless. Wait until glue is just tacky then smush that part of orchid into the glue.

Then I take a section of old panty hose and cover over the roots, tie it firmly over roots, and leave it. After new roots take hold of the bark, cut off the panty hose. Glue allows less roots to have grabbed the bark before cutting off the panty hose.

If it's a really small plant (tolumnia) I sometimes glue it to a stick or mount using a blob of glue on a side of the plant where it doesn't have much live root and just leave it without doing anything else. Sooner or later new roots take over and start attaching to the mount.

---------- Post added at 08:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 AM ----------

I always soak roots with Kelpmax before mounting, or whenever I repot. And about once every month or so when watering. I like Kelpmax, a lot.