Neofinetia falcata 'Seibotan' mounted on a rock

[s.kallima]

Bonjour Nenella,

It will be a bit far from your place, as I collected this lava rock south of Le Puy (Haute Loire), in an old quarry along the road. This is the exact location on Google if you happen to drive on the N88 on the way south of Costaros, it is the little purple area east of the road on the picture :
43000 Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire, Auvergne, France - Google Maps

You can find this lava rock (called pouzzolane locally) all across the region Auvergne because of the volcanoes there (I was born there!

[nenella]

Merci beacoup 'buckups'! it is noted.. I will remember. And yes I have seen pouzzolane in small bits, I am now on the look out for big ones!

[stefpix]

Just bought a bag of lava rock for BBQ grills at Lowes for 4 $. Chunkier pieces thaFicus seedlings on these and I have some Pinguiculas as well that are propagating.

Seems to wick water and moisture way better than Hydroton pellets...

[tcrane]

I've had luck finding red lava rock chunks in aquarium supply stores. There's a great one near my house in Sf which sells all kinds of aquatic plants as well.

How's this mount doing? I'm very inspired to try a similar experiment.

-Tristan

[s.kallima]

Tristan, the mount is doing great! One of the roots that grew after I mounted the Neo has grown all the way into the saucer and is constantly in the water since, with no sign of trouble, All the roots and very well attached to the lava rock and green.
The Neo grew well in the summer and fall, less now because the temps are lower in my apartment, but a new leaf is still growing.
The moss has 'invaded' the lava rock whiche is now almost all covered, it looks very nice (I have to take pics!!!) and the carnivorous plants have developped very well too.
I rince the entire rock about once a month with clean water to clean some algae and salt deposit (very few because I use pure water in the saucer all the time). I gave a bit of fertilizer a few times with a Qtip to moist the roots with a solution on fertilizer 125 ppmN...

Tristan, if you can get a Neo for a cheap price, go ahead and try, it is really worth it ! I would make sure the plant is mounted near the top of the rock, where it dries up faster so the plant can adapt its new roots to the moisture of the rock below...

[This Side of Paradise]

amazing job, how high is the lava rock, how deep is the dish?

[s.kallima]

Thanks Cyberloach, the lava rock is 25 cm tall, and the saucer is a bit more than 1cm deep (I changed it since the pictures, now it is a regular glazed clay saucer, around 1,5cm deep).

[Daethen]

Yes, new pics please!!!

[s.kallima]

Here is an update


IMG_30922 by Jaljala photography, on Flickr


IMG_30919 by Jaljala photography, on Flickr

[tcrane]

Wow! That looks incredible. Well done. Is it in a tank, or just sitting out somewhere? I imagine it wants pretty good humidity.

-Tristan