Thanks for the comments... they should look cute when they bloom. Fall is just around the corner and I'm considering doing something with a nice looking gourd. Yep. I just have to figure out how to slow down the decay process. Got a couple of ideas swirling about.
Sandra, I read your post and left a short response. A bit more here...
Seems to me that ones' specific growing environment would determine quite a bit. Humidity being the most difficult to contend with (or maybe not!). I've only mounted a couple of dendrobiums, and they are fairly recent. Haven't been mounted long enough for me to observe significant growth. At the same time I've some young dendrobiums in orchid pots and while there is new growth (roots and foliage) they do not seem to be as "robust" as the catts are doing. This is a roundabout way of saying I may not be providing an optimum evironment for them. So.... I wanted to qualify (or disqualify
) my opinion. My approach to the mounted plants in general is that they have the same requirements as their siblings in pots. Their get wet, then dry out cycle is much more compressed than if they were potted. A good misting bumps up the humidity which is good if it tends to be low (like here in the NW). It also waters the roots of a mounted plant. Particularly those that have grown out past there little clump of moss they needed to get going. Looking at the size of those you mounted, I am treating them as I do the big boys and girls. If they are healthy and have decent roots (which they probably did or you wouldn't have used them) I treat them according to how fast they are drying out. It's just that the moisture application rate is different. They go thru the wet/dry cycle daily (or maybe every few hours) when a potted plant needs water, well it depends on a lot also but usually every few days. You've a lot more humidity than I so I don't think you will be needing to mist quite as much as you may have been led to believe.
Dang, this is getting on.... I'll let you read this and if it hasn't put you to sleep you can let me know if it helped at all. Hope it helps a bit.
cheers, Jeff