Neo mounting

[bkim]

I've been a lurker for a while. Great place, this forum!!

I have a Neofinetia Falcata I'm thinking about mounting on to a swampstick. I will be using a ball of sphagum for the base to sit on. I do like the look of a traditionally potted Neo so I'm a bit conflicted. Thoughts?

[Ross]

Welcome to the board. Glad you chose to join up. I have a Neo mounted and one in a cone pot. The potted one does much better than the mounted one, so I'm not in favor of mounting this guy unless you can keep it in a wardian case. Just my 2 cents.

[bkim]

Thanks! So, do you think the swampstick won't be able to wick enough moisture to the plant and provide enough humidity? If so, I'll have to look for a nice traditional pot =)

[Ross]

I find for me it's not a case of enough moisture. The swamp stick should do just fine. It might be the dryness of the air? About 2/3 of my 100+ orchids are mounted and most do just fine. For the Neo, tho, I just get better growth, more roots, and larger leaves on the potted one. Don't know (or haven't figured it out yet) the answer. I think a couple others here may have had the same experience. I basically prefer mounted plants, but in this case, under my growing conditions, the mount doesn't quite measure up.

Here's my setup with the mount - it's mounted on a large slab of western cedar with sphagnum under the roots. I totally submerge the whole mount daily in a fertilizer/RO water blend. It grows very robust roots and short leaves (maybe 3") but the potted one is in fine fir bark (pure - no mix) in an air cone pot. It grows at least twice the roots and longer (4-5") leaves.

[bkim]

Submerged daily? wow... Thanks for the info. I'm going to head in the direction of a traditional pot then considering I like the look of that more anyhow.