Ocean Driftwood
 

What would be the best way to prepare driftwood collected from the ocean for mounting orchids? I assume I would have to soak it in fresh water to leach out salt, however how long of a soak would be appropriate? Any other methods? Thank you.

I would leach it in water for a week, and change the water twice a day.

I boil it For 30 minutes . You can then use it as soon as it is cold

Smart, Des.

Thank you for the replies. I will try that. Just gotta go collect some now :)

Royal: That Jefferson quote is the best I've seen!

A better choice would be to go into the mountains and find driftwood by the side of a fresh water stream.

Depending upon where you are, the distance between ocean and mountains can be pretty large, making that a far less convenient solution!

Very true. I sort of take that for granted, living in the midst of Douglas Fir land. Around Puget Sound, I see salt water wood/bark and not far away are the mountains with fresh water bark and moss.

Boiling is by far the quickest method. Works for driftwood going into fishtanks (FW) so would work for the orchids too. I collect so much that I have dedicated a 55gal trash can to soaking. Soak it for at least a week with daily rinses. I also put in some activated carbon in a mesh bag to aid in pulling out pollutants that may have been in the driftwood. Boiling it in tern emmites these into the home...Not that indoor pollution isn't already more concentrated than outdoors!!!

RaN,
I used to live in Kona (Ali'i Dr.) before I moved to Honolulu where I live now. I just get all my wood from the side of the road in the forests. Not only do you not have to soak them, but finding wood in the ocean here in Hawaii is almost impossible! I drive up Tantalus here on Oahu, but you could get some nice hardwood stuff up Kaloko Dr. or anywhere in Puna if you ever head out that way.