Growing Epiphytes on Trees - zone 9/10 Mediteranean Climate

[DirtyCoconuts]

Excellent plan. I especially agree with the comment about keep it dry if it is cold.

You seem to know your plants lol. I wonder why

[davidg]

Great - I really appreciate the chance to bounce ideas around with someone like you - 50 mounts huh?

If this goes well I might try some terrestrials like Paphiopedilum, which I think look very cool, and Cymbidium devonianum (which I think is actually an epiphyte - hmm. . .)

[DirtyCoconuts]

I am also counting the one I have mounted in trees and around the neighborhood, between my neighbor and myself, there are flowers all over this ‘hood...

I also realized that any time I see any hardwood limbs in a garbage pile I stop and shop for more mounts. Plus there is a lot of drift wood down in the Keys and I also do a lot of salvage and scavenging for plant and planting materials.

My goal is to have a division of all my plants growing in various ways to really see the way the plant likes best.

I just broke up an oncy type (spiders gold ‘prolific’) and she went into two S/H cultures and one on a cedar board. In ten years I’ll really know what that plant likes. Lol

[Roberta]

davidg, first welcome!

Jumping in... It sounds like your climate is very similar to mine (coastal southern California USA). The coast is the big "plus factor" - it keeps winters temperate. When the temperatures go a bit lower than 10 deg C (I have a few winter nights close to freezing), it is not for many hours.

If you get driftwood that has been exposed to salt water, it may be difficult to get it clean enough for orchids. Salt is bad news. But pretty much any wood, especially hardwood, that doesn't have loose bark should work well. I think for any orchid, no matter root size, rough bark is better than smooth. I use monofilament fish line for most of my mounting. Larger things I find that I have to use something stronger, such as plastic "zip ties" or wire (the soft aluminum wire that is sold for use with Tillandsias is really easy to work with) Whatever you use, it is critically important that the plant be held in place firmly so that roots get a chance to grab the mount without movement of the plant. If the plants are already mounted, of course the problem is solved. As they grow, just tie to a larger mount. Also, if I use any sphagnum moss (for things that need to stay moist) put it on top of the roots, not under them. (If put between plant and mount, roots tend to just go into the moss)
Take a look at my website (in my signature lines) to see what I grow outside... one can get away with a lot!

[DirtyCoconuts]

She is the expert. Knowledge. Boom

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

She is the expert. Knowledge. Boom

Awww... thanks... Not an expert, have probably killed more than most (hopefully have learned something from the fatalities)

[davidg]

That kind of experimenting is always fun, as it 'making do' with found items - I will report back on successes and failures in a year or so!

---------- Post added at 09:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:42 AM ----------

Great to meet you Roberta. Yes, I am very close to San Diego, I think, but with slightly cooler summers. I would agree about salt, and maybe you know - can you water with de-ionized water sold for use in irons? I was thinking of using it for watering out of season, and also as a 'rinse' if it doesn't rain for a while. It isn't 'softened' water, which is full of salt, but de-ionized, with no minerals. If it is like water used in a lab it would be perfect. Sold in 5 liter jugs for about a buck.
I will definitely look at your site. Unfortunately most Europeans grow under glass, so there is less interest in hardier varieties like the Laelia anceps hybrids you probably have. I could only find the species. I love species, but I'm not a purist, so don't mind growing hybrids too.

Thanks for the advice on mounting. My instinct would have been moss under roots, but Robert Friend makes the same point in his book, so its great to have that reinforced by you.[COLOR="Silver"]

---------- Post added at 09:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:50 AM ----------

Wow, that is quite a list, and a great resource for me. I see things there that growers are showing need min. 20 degrees. Could be true in a greenhouse when there is a heating failure, but not in a plant that gradually adjusted over fall and early winter. I know that when camellias were first brought from China to Europe they were believed to be 'greenhouse only' until someone tried different. . .

[Roberta]

DI water is fine, but I think unnecessary. Of the plants in your list, the only ones that I have found to be a bit fussy about water quality are Den. victoria-reginae and Cochlioda noezliana. I used only city water for many years... bought a RO unit only about 2 years ago for Pleurothallids and such to go to the "next level" ... improved my success rate but the Cattleya tribe and other big things still get city water. Mounted plants do need to be watered daily (a good bath) so they will be a lot easier to water with a hose than a pump sprayer. (Unless you live in the tropics... which you don't... you have to treat rain as a delightful gift when you get it, but not depend on it.)

I do have L. anceps hybrids, but also many plants (different color forms) of the species. I love the species... so very forgiving.

[davidg]

Thanks so much for that advice - the less fuss the better, although maybe I will use de-ionized to make up my fertilizer, which is suggested by the nursery I got it from. I will certainly take your advice to give them a good daily soak - we go for weeks here without any rain over the summer, and often nothing till October, still with weather in the low 20s.

We are having a bit of a cold-snap at the moment, it was 9.5 out in the garden early this morning, but 11 on the covered terrace where I have the plants right now. As they were in greenhouses up to a week ago I hope they didn't take any harm. I am keeping them dry until it warms up again on Friday.

[Roberta]

I think temperatures will be fine as the day warms. This is a good time of year to acclimate plants to outdoor growing - the really low temperatures are over, but the light is still more gentle than it will be later.

Your rain pattern sounds similar to mine, maybe a bit better. I get a bit every few weeks in winter (but January and February were totally dry this year), maybe a bit into April, then nothing until October or November. Rain is a bonus, but not to be relied upon. Using the pure water for the fertilizer is a good idea (especially if you have one that is designed for that). The stubbornly-high pH of tap water (at least where I live) can make nutrients less available. Bur for general watering, for your group of plants, tap water will be fine.