Advice on mounting on coconut husk ?

[Ochin@]

Hi guys,

One of my neighbors gave me a coconut from his tree, it was good and brown and I thought it would be great to mount orchids on.

So far, I've managed to husk the coconut, you should have seen me going at it with a hammer and chisel and finally got 3 pieces out of it. I soaked them for a couple of days and hung them to get some sun and rain for about a week now.

I plan on mounting Hasegawaara Red Stella 'Hawaii' on one of the pieces picture #2.

Do you think that plant will be good on that type of mount in my corner of the world or will the mount stay too wet?
Should I do more to the coconut husk before I mount the orchid?

Any advice and/or comments are highly appreciated.

[dtje2000]

I'm sure tons of geeks will offer their opinion, but if it were me... I would cluster the three chunks you have into a wire basket and then sort of mount/plant onto the coconut chunks. I've done this with some dendrobiums, and a catt or two...

[digitalgate]

any question?, torrential rain here every other week.

[Ochin@]

Thanks Digitalgate, I really like the way those mounts look, and that Den with the roots completely wrapping the mount is amazing.
So do you think it is safe for me to go ahead and mount this week end, or do I need to boil / soak some more the husks?

[lmartiny]

I would think you'd be good to go.

[Ochin@]

Thanks, I'll do it tomorrow then and will post a pic of the result.

[Ochin@]

I also have a small Max. tenuifolia that is not doing great in S/H, I am pondering wether to mount it on the smallest piece, I've read somewhere it is a good way of mounting them. has anyone tried that?
I like the idea of a coconut orchid mounted on a coconut

[mdomingz]

If you know where you got your husk from, then there is no problem.... You don't need to boil it or anything, use it as is.... the roots will go trough rather fast...

Maybe if you didn't know the origin then it would be advisable... The ones coming directly from beaches and coasts are the problem ones. Yours is fine.

Another thing, you live in FL so don't worry about humidity, you'll do fine... but as with all mounts... you have to be more hands on with watering....

I have several plants... including stanhopeas on coconut husks.

manuel
panama

[PhalPal]

I have a few sort of mount/planted on 3/4 coco husks and they really like it. I have some oncs and catts but with our dryness I still need a little bit of media with moss.

[digitalgate]

soak the coconut husk before use, it will absorb water better.

[Ochin@]

All done, Thank you all for the useful advice
here is the finished product, although I hope to be able to remove the hosiery soon not the best look!

[dounoharm]

very nice job!

[PhalPal]

Very Nice Natalie!!!! I love them!

[Kaci Lu]

Went to Lowes last week and found Husk material half off. I think I may make pockets. That looks very nice. Just keep feeding me information I will either go blind reading my screen or learn! Thanks to all

[maria1971]

The mounts look very nice. Congrats.

[digitalgate]

those in the coconut husk will grow like a speeding bullet.

[fred]

I think you have done a fantastic job
well done looks really good

[Ochin@]

Thanks for the encouraging comments. now I'll just wait for it to bloom!

[kmarch]

Wow, your plants look quite healthy. I think these should go well on the mount. Keep in mind that mounts usually require more watering and appreciate higher humidity but it looks good.

[Ochin@]

Thank you Kevin, I got this plant at our local orchid society meeting in may '09, I chose it because it was so lush and green. It has 3 new growths just starting to put out roots, so I figured this was the perfect time to move it from pot to mount.

Lately, we've been getting so much rain, I've had to move lots of my plants out of the rain because I've lost some new growth to rot. I figure it's easier for me to have the orchids mounted or in a well draining media and being able to leave them out in summer and having to water them a bit more in winter than the opposite.

[lmartiny]

Nice job. Your mount looks great.

[davetheorchidaddict]

I use the coconut fiber for a base for all my mounted orchids but have not tried the entire husk as a pot, have had problems with the chunks, so I have something new to try.

[lmartiny]

Ochin. I am also having a problem with all the rain. Then, none, etc. I am also trying to find a balance but mounts are definately more time consuming. I also grow outside and have no greenhouse. When you say you move them in, where is "in?" How many do you have? (roughly)
Winter is coming. I'm going to have to figure out something.

[Ochin@]

Originally Posted by lmartiny

... When you say you move them in, where is "in?" How many do you have? (roughly)
Winter is coming. I'm going to have to figure out something.

I must have about 30 orchids right now, still manageable. they are all on the patio, an area of which is covered, so when there is lots of rain, I move some plants like catts out of the rain, but they stay outside.

I will only take them trully inside when we get a cold snap in winter.