Phals on ivy trunk?

[Gamugamo]

I have never grown orchids myself although I grew up with them.

Now I have two mini phals that I am planning to mount on thick branches of English ivy that I had cut down two years ago to liberate the oak trees they were suffocating.

I collected the ivy trunks because they looked interesting and they have been drying in the basement for over a year. So my question is this---will the orchids be alright mounted on this material? If so, should I remove the bark first? My plan was to cushion the roots on a layer of sphagnum moss and then wrap the whole thing around the dried ivy trunk.

Where I grew up, this kind of orchid just dangle from various trees and you just ignore them. This thing i got is like a rescued animal--it has dried roots spilling out of its plastic container and clearly needs to be relocated.

Please help.

[Gamugamo]

Dear self,

Upon careful reflection I realized mounting orchids on ivy trunks, no matter how pretty they look, is not a terribly smart idea. Ivy is extremely soft and light, and judging by the look of the decomposing pile in your backyard, it will not last--to say nothing of what toxins there might be on it.

Since Sandy has generously trimmed the maple trees in the yard, just use the discarded branches from that other pile. Make sure you prepare them properly, as you read in some other forum.

[Leafmite]

Hello and welcome!
I always mount on cork (from the pet store) or use the cedar shingles many orchids come mounted upon as I know these things last a while. I haven't mounted my phals, either, so can't really advise you. It sounds like a nice project.

[Gamugamo]

Leafmite, thank you, yo.

It was a silly idea anyway. I have decided to use maple branches from the pile outside that has been drenched, dried and redrenched for the last few weeks. I have brushed them clean, soaked them in water and wrapped them in foil. Supposedly, baking them at 400F for about an hour would be enough to sterilize them.

I plan to pretend I've mounted my two sad orchids on them and treat them accordingly (watering, sunning, maybe even misting) to see if anyone survived the oven and start growing back. If they remain clean and unmolested by various critters, then I'll brace for the terror of unwrapping the phals and using the home-baked maple branches as mounting posts.

From the looks of the orchids I saw in that big box store, I feel like going back and rescuing the rest.

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[Leafmite]

I fear you will soon become orchid addicted as the rest of us are. I started with two seedlings (cattleya and vanda) given as gifts but most start with a phal or two, and soon...every window is full of orchids.

[Gamugamo]

Leafmite,

Ominous words. I'm committed to only two, I even named them Keynes and Marx.

This picture is for you--because I'm most probably wrong and you're most probably right about the future of my windows.

[Gage]

I'm afraid I will have to agree with Leafmite. There is little hope for you to continue to only have 2 orchids at this point. 2 phals + mounting project + Orchid Board = indefinite addiction.

[Leafmite]

They are very nice! I had just two for many years and then I saw some rescues....