That’s so lovely! I wish I could grow mounted orchids, but I worry that my climate is too hot and dry for them to be successful outdoors.
islandgirl3773
I sliced about 3/4” off of the front of the bark piece to allow the plant to have more holes for roots to go into. You can lightly stuff some Sphagnum moss in the holes to add more moisture which the roots will seek.
Tip I’ve done in the past: If you mount anything on a tree fern plaque you can put a thick layer is sphagnum on the backside and secure it by wrapping clear fishing line around it. Then mount the orchid on the front side with no moss or a very thin layer over the top of the roots NOT under them between the plant and the tree fern. You want it to attach to the tree fern not grow into a wad of moss. You can also use coconut fiber.
This helps the roots attach faster because they seek the wet sphagnum on the backside of the tree fern. As soon as roots are well into the tree fern, then cut the fishing line and remove the moss from the backside. Tree fern stays moist longer than cork bark. So for orchids that really like to dry out during certain times cork is a better option in my opinion.
The tree fern slabs now are not as nice as the ones years ago. They are often much thinner and often not as dense, but you can stack 2 together and wire them together in each corner. OFE in Homestead
used to have lots of big, thick, high quality ones and they weren’t that expensive but that’s all changed now because they’re restricted due to over harvesting of the ferns and CITES.
Increased demand for sustainably sourced tree fern has driven the prices way up. But orchids do love it. A guy on FB posted a picture of an Otaara growing on a large old tree fern pole and the plant was in beautiful condition. He just left old roots and the newer ones grow right over them. The old dried out roots hold some moisture until they fall apart. That’s exactly what happens in their natural habitat. (This does not apply to potted plants. Old roots can rot new roots).
My big Nodosa had basically grown on its old decomposed roots in the basket for years. I recently put it in a new basket because the old one completely rotted and I left a lot of the old dried out root mass and it’s doing great and getting ready to bloom again. I see new roots winding their way all through the old dried out ones. Some people just leave it as is and run wire through it, hang it and let it grow on the old root mass and decayed basket but that’s pretty messy if you have to bring it inside for winter, so I gave it a new basket.
It is so large now that it blooms pretty much all year on at least a few pseudo bulbs between the major flushes.
4 Comments
Just wow! Some good looking roots there!
Very nice! One of my favorites.
That’s so lovely! I wish I could grow mounted orchids, but I worry that my climate is too hot and dry for them to be successful outdoors.
I sliced about 3/4” off of the front of the bark piece to allow the plant to have more holes for roots to go into. You can lightly stuff some Sphagnum moss in the holes to add more moisture which the roots will seek.
Tip I’ve done in the past: If you mount anything on a tree fern plaque you can put a thick layer is sphagnum on the backside and secure it by wrapping clear fishing line around it. Then mount the orchid on the front side with no moss or a very thin layer over the top of the roots NOT under them between the plant and the tree fern. You want it to attach to the tree fern not grow into a wad of moss. You can also use coconut fiber.
This helps the roots attach faster because they seek the wet sphagnum on the backside of the tree fern. As soon as roots are well into the tree fern, then cut the fishing line and remove the moss from the backside. Tree fern stays moist longer than cork bark. So for orchids that really like to dry out during certain times cork is a better option in my opinion.
The tree fern slabs now are not as nice as the ones years ago. They are often much thinner and often not as dense, but you can stack 2 together and wire them together in each corner. OFE in Homestead
used to have lots of big, thick, high quality ones and they weren’t that expensive but that’s all changed now because they’re restricted due to over harvesting of the ferns and CITES.
Increased demand for sustainably sourced tree fern has driven the prices way up. But orchids do love it. A guy on FB posted a picture of an Otaara growing on a large old tree fern pole and the plant was in beautiful condition. He just left old roots and the newer ones grow right over them. The old dried out roots hold some moisture until they fall apart. That’s exactly what happens in their natural habitat. (This does not apply to potted plants. Old roots can rot new roots).
My big Nodosa had basically grown on its old decomposed roots in the basket for years. I recently put it in a new basket because the old one completely rotted and I left a lot of the old dried out root mass and it’s doing great and getting ready to bloom again. I see new roots winding their way all through the old dried out ones. Some people just leave it as is and run wire through it, hang it and let it grow on the old root mass and decayed basket but that’s pretty messy if you have to bring it inside for winter, so I gave it a new basket.
It is so large now that it blooms pretty much all year on at least a few pseudo bulbs between the major flushes.