Brassavola nodosa mount

[Milk]

Hi everyone.
We picked up this little one a couple of weeks ago based on a recommendation from my mom.
She's been growing one outside for about 10 years now in Key Largo Florida.
I've been looking for something to experiment with and mount and this seemed like a good choice.
I looked up culture info, on this forum and other places as well, and found that they are often found growing on volcanic rock faces near the shore.
We live in the north west suburbs of Chicago.
So not much volcanic rock laying around here.
I didn't want to use wood with this one because I like the look of it growing on a rock in the pics I found online.
So I got the idea to use granite.
I went to a company that makes granite counter tops and they let me pick through the scrap bin.
I got a lot of really cool pieces and it was all FREE!!!!!!!
I also picked up a 2 1/2" terracotta pot (and broke it).
My simple mount idea turned into an art piece.
This is where I need some opinions.

My first idea was to connect the broken pot to the granite to look like it was found in some ruins or something.
first pic.

The next idea came after we reppoted a couple of others and we were left with a small slat basket.
second pic.

The third pic is the plant.
So what do think?
Just the granite?
Granite with Pot?
or
Granite with basket

[PhalPal]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of your great ideas! All have the look and feel of natural, earthy elements. If I had to choose one, it would probably be the pot attached to the granite. I can really picture a more mature brassa growing in that pot very happily and it is just a bit more unique than the wooden slat.

[patticake]

I agree with Phalpal! It's going to be really cool! I love new and exciting ideas!

[lmartiny]

Well, I was going to opt for the granite alone but wonder if it is polished and if there is enough there for the roots to take hold. Pretty creative ideas. But the pot would have sharp edges. ?

[Milk]

Wow...
Thanks for the fast replys!
I didn't really expect to see anything this quick.
Phalpal, and Patticake, I was thinking the same thing, but then we ended up with this basket and my girlfriend suggested this idea.
Imartiny, I'm now questioning whether it's granite or limestone.
It is semi polished. But still very porous.
But I'm pretty sure it's granite.
Anyway if I was going to mount it straight to the granite I would rough it up so the roots could adhere to the surface.
Thanks for all of the encouragement.
I'm going to try to finish it tomorrow.
I'll post some pics when I'm done.
Thanks again.

[kmarch]

If you give your Brassavola nodosa the cultural conditions (light, temps, water, etc) it wants it won't make any difference what you mount it on. My personal opinion is that it looks best exactly as it is now. I often see them grown in baskets though which allows them to get really big and make a ball covering the whole basket.

[lmartiny]

Milk, Kevin is an expert orchid person, whereas I'm a newbie still. But I agree with him.
Your Brassavola looks nice and healthy and well attached to it's mount. It is too bad that growers mount on things like plain boards or fence pieces which I find unattractive. (not that I haven't made a few mounts that came out iffy)
Consider mounting it as is onto your new mount and let it continue to grow onto the newer mount. You could cut off the top of the current mount and get rid of that excess wood and then attach it to your new mount. I think if you affix your slatted basket piece to the granite, and then affix your scaled down mounted plant to that, it might come out pretty cool. The roots would first work on the slatted wood, and then make their way around the rest of it. As the plant grows. I think. Kevin?
Brassavolas are pretty hardy I've found. (so far) I have two. One a very healthy plant from Jerry. The other an older HD or Lowes bagged rescue and to add insult to injury, I left in a hot car for a couple of days. Oops! That three leafed little thing was bumped and jiggled around so much it couldn't get a toe hold. I've probably had it two years or so. I recently mounted it on a small piece of wood and it is already sending out gripping new roots and also a new growth. It definately likes the mount.

[LouisW]

Before you do anything with the stone slab, you should identify what it is. Granite is quite stable and will probably not affect the plant in any significant way, but the limestone, as it dissolves, will change the pH and the nutrient content of the root zone. Some orchids naturally grow on lime but im sure that some may not like it, so I recommend that you find out how B. nodosa will react to lime, if that is what it is.

[Milk]

Kmarch and lmartiny: I was thinking about the basket idea.
I see Kmarch giving alot of good advice all over this forum so I appreciate the input.
I also like the look of one taking over a basket. But I really wanted to do something with rock this time.
LouisW: I have read posts debating whether limestone is ok or not. I understand why it could have a negative impact on the plant, but this is kind of an experiment and is the most suitable piece of stone that I found so far.
I'm still leaning toward it's granite. It shouldn't be that hard to tell but some other people have been confused by it also.
I have a cousin that used to own a counter top buisness so I'll have him I.D. it for me.
lmartiny: I Have been thinking about just trimming the wood down and attaching it that way.
I've been wondering if I should continue to use the moss or if I should remove it. Or should I add more?
I haven't decided yet.
How did you do yours?

[lmartiny]

I wrapped the root base with spag to hold in some moisture while it got established. Tied it down with fishing line. Here is a pict of it newly mounted.

[Milk]

Amazing!
Thanks for the quick response.
And thanks for the pic.
I think I'll just keep the moss the way it is.
I really like yours. That's almost exactly what I had in mind when I first thought this up But when I googled the pictures I ended up thinking the ones growing on rock had a more unusual look.
And I tend to lean toward unusual!
So Thank you all I'm actually going to get to work on it right now and I'll post some pics. when I'm done.

[frostychic]

Hi Milk... I'm fairly new at orchids too... just a couple of years now with my collection.

I love mounting them... I started mounting them before I even knew what "mounting" was, hahahaaa... anyhoo, I've found that mounting on stone or even terracotta is different than on wood. The stone holds a cooler temperature and during the winter months indoor in indiana the stone tends to be a little too cool for some orchids roots to really thrive. It won't kill them mind you... some of mine just haven't liked it.

The roots of the same plant will grow better on the bark & through the moss/river rock better than they will if they are touching just stone or terracotta. You can feel the huge difference in temp when you touch these different materials... as I mentioned, especially in the winter or anytime it's cool outside. Even though your inside temps are warm & favorable for your plants... the stone will still take on the lower temps.

The stone also won't absorb or hold as much water as wood will so while I agree that i like the look it will make your hydration job more intense.

Best of luck & keep us posted! I love it that you jumped into mounting... feet first!

[lmartiny]

Hey Mike! Where your picts?

[Milk]

Sorry It took so long to get back to you all.
It's been a rough couple of weeks around here.
I finished the mount a day or two after my last post and then found out one of my neighbors children died under some strange circumstances.
He was 30 and staying with his mother while trying to get a new start.
It was a bit of a shock but things are starting to normalize now.
Enough with the bad news!
On to the good stuff!
We ended up choosing the basket over the pot.
I first cut the side pieces out.
Then I removed the wires that hold it together and re assembled it with gorilla glue.
I marked where the four corners of the basket would make contact with the granite.
Then I used my dremel to rough up the areas that I marked so that the glue could take hold.
I tried using the gorilla glue but it wasn't sticking to the granite like I'd hoped.
So I used JB Weld.
Oh Yeah!
That sucker is stuck now!
Then I let it all sit over night to cure.
Next day I cleaned all the moss from around the roots.
All of the roots from inside the moss were pretty much gone.
The plant is pretty much just sitting on the moss like a moist cushion.
So I put back pretty much the way it was.
I used a little less moss.
Placed it in the basket.
Tied it on with a bit of nylons.
And that's pretty much it.

[lmartiny]

Awesome. That looks so cool. Great job.

[solay]

Great jon and it looks so neat. Love the book table as well.

[Milk]

Thanks everyone!
It was alot of fun all the way through the process.
All of the your input made it much easier to plan out.

[dtje2000]

Awesome! As I was reading through the thread I kept thinking "hmmm...if it were me, I would attach the existing mount and plant right to the slab..."

But I LOVE how your idea turned out! Nice...

[trinigirl]

It looks great! I might have to do something like that, hmm, idea forming right now.....

[PhalPal]

Wow how great is that!!!!
I love how it turned out.....hmmmm...wheels churning here too, Sarah!
Maybe we should start a new thread 'Most Original Mount/Pot' and begin it with Milks new mount!

[jordi]

It looks impressive. Thanks for this big idea!
I will try to emulate... Thanks
For Brassavola nodosa I use this growing mix:
1 part perlite, 1 part coarse sphagnum peat moss, 6 parts coniferous bark (fir, for example), and 1 part horticultural charcoal chips

[Milk]

Hello again everyone.
After seeing jordi's post bring this thread back up, I decided to take a few new pics and post them as an update to show how it's growing.
Before I took the pictures I decided to take a real close look at her.
Holy Cow I think I have a spike!
She's grown quite a bit. More and bigger leaves and roots.
Most of my orchids have grown this way.
But if it really is a spike this will be our first home grown!
I went looking for pics and descriptions of brassavola nodosa spikes and it sure looks like it's coming from the right spot.
The first 2 pics are full shots.
The next 3 are close ups of what we hope is a spike.

[Milk]

I got so excited I forgot to upload the pictures.

[lmartiny]

I just love your mount. I can't tell if it is a spike. Mine will put out another leaf from there. The first one I bought in bloom so I haven't seen a spike start yet.

[kmarch]

Ok, I see now. This is interesting and quite pretty. I'll never cease to be amazed by the clever things the orchidgeeks come up with.

[tansyflower]

Oh, that is so cool. Like a picture frame with an orchid in it.

Orchid Art!!

Bit like in Harry Potter, how the pictures move, but your grows (and hopefully flowers)!

I'm going to make one, too (hope you don't mind). Imitation is a form of flattery, you know.

[trinigirl]

Your mount looks really good, and has grown quite a bit.

In looking at what is a possible spike, I think it is hard to tell from the pics. I don't have any nodosa in spike right now. I do have several nodosa crosses in spike though. I hope yours is a spike.

[Milk]

Thanks for all the compliments.
It seems to be happier in this setting than the plank that it was tied to.
Since I got rid of some of the moss the roots have taken off and are now starting to wrap through the slats in wood.

lmartiny: That's exactly what I was looking to find out. I wasn't sure if they could put leaves out from there. It has been producing leaves from the base of the next at the roots.
I'm still holding out hope that it's a spike though.
It's looking a little different than the other leaves I have watched grow.
So my fingers are crossed.

Tansyflower: Go ahead and copy away!
I'm glad you all like it so much and I would love to see yours when your done!

[rcb]

Milk, I went out and looked at my nodosa before replying. That is the spot where a sheath should come out, and then eventually a spike. nodosa isn't supposed to grow a new lead from there, but odd things do happen sometimes, but I'm guessing its the sheath.

I have noticed that my nodosa blooms from a dried sheath - so the green sheath eventually dries up and then starts swelling, and the spike will push up through it. Right now I have one sheath that is swelling, which is the start of a spike. It's a little early for nodosa blooming season, but it's not that unusual for nodosa to flower "off season"

And your plant is definitely blooming size, the color of the leaves look good, overall it looks really healthy - so with a little patience, you should see flowers this year.

[Milk]

rcb Thanks for that explanation.
I have seen the term "sheath" used but I wasn't sure what exactly they were describing.
I think I have a better understanding of that now.
So what I'm seeing is possibly a sheath that a spike may grow out of.

[rcb]

Milk, yes exactly.

I ran outside to take a couple pictures to show you what I mean (so nice to work out of your house lol)

Picture 1 - B. nodosa, dried sheath that is swelling for bloom
Pic 2 - different Brassavola, but very similar spike and buds
Pic 3 - A Catt type blooming from a green sheath, notice how you can see the stems still inside the sheath.
Pic 4 - A different Laelia, showing a spike coming up out of a green sheath.

Hope all this helps. Sorry about picture quality, was trying to be quick.

[Milk]

Thanks again
I'm pretty sure that's what I'm beginning to see.

[brit6v]

Your mount looks really good! Very impressive! As Phal Pal said, "wheels churning".
Thanks for sharing your great ideas with us!
Vicki

Originally Posted by Milk

I got so excited I forgot to upload the pictures.

[Azzadazza]

very nice the leaf shape reminds me of my Bulbophyllum shepherdii

great mounting, I going to want one now

[katrina]

I agree...it looks like the right spot for a spike but it looks a little different than a typical spike. It won't be long until you can tell for sure.

Renee...mine is spiking right now...same time time as last year. Maybe it's the cooler temps further north...maybe they spike a little sooner up here. ?

I did the same...ran out and snapped a pic. Sorry...it's a little fuzzy but I think you can get a general idea of what it looks like.

[Milk]

Azzadazza, I like that Bulbophyllum you have.
If we are successful getting any of our orchids to flower this year I think one of those might be next.
Since getting into this hobby/obsession earlier this year I've learned there's a lot to consider.
I'll have to do a little more research to see if they'll like the conditions I'll be growing in.
Most of our plants look pretty strong and a couple are growing like mad.
So we're really hoping we get some flowers.
Katrina Thanks for the pic.

[lmartiny]

Katrina, that pict is helpful. Tells me I have no spike activity. Maybe soon.

[katrina]

Welcome.

[Azzadazza]

Thanks Milk, it is always good to see the flowers. but when mine are not flowering I enjoy my Dockrillia orchids.