mounting orchids

[latsyrc]

Well, since I asked for this forum section, I guess I better post in it! I've got one phal that refuses to be kept in its pot--it keeps trying to send up roots and climb out, and I just don't feel right about cramming it back in again. Would it work to mount an orchid and keep it indoors? I'm thinking that I'll hang it a few feet above my kitchen sink, where the humidity's high, the sunlight's good, and nobody will mind a few drips. Anybody have experience with keeping a mounted orchid indoors? Any suggestions? I don't mind being told it's a lousy idea, I'd just like to hear some good reasons why if you think so.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I think Jerry has mounted a lot of Phals, so we will have to wait for him to chime in. Mounted plants in general take a lot of attention. I am trying to keep the number down in my greenhouse to save me some time. Going away for a number of days, if you don't have automatic misting/watering for them, is tough on them, so I have devised a method to hold them over. I water/mist the mount, then put it into a bag similar to Sphag & Bag. I zip it up as well as possible, and if the mount doesn't have some sphag on it to provide the humidity in the bag, I put some mostly wrung out sphag into the bag before zipping up, just like Sphag & Bag. I've done it a couple of times so far for 4 or 5 days at a stretch, and no problem so far.

[flaorchidfan]

only thing with hanging something like that indoors is when you water it, it will drip for a while. i had a vanda in the living room for a short time, a very short time, because it made little puddles on the carpet.

[Ellen]

As everyone else has said, the main down side to having a mounted plant indoors is the dripping and mess. Also, if you go away you will have to find a caregiver who will water it every day or two or, as Cynthia says, "sphag and bag it". The other downside is that once you see how well your mounted plant thrives you will want to mount more. Soon you will have an unmanageable number and you will need to find a place where you can just hose them down.. well, you see the problem.

Having said that, I have some old hybrid phals (10 -15 years) from my early orchid-growing days that have more roots outside the pot than in it. They continue to grow well and bloom like clockwork every year, so I wouldn't worry about wandering roots. It's more a question of aesthetics than plant welfare. If you don't mind your phals looking like palm trees with roots growing all up and down the trunk, they won't mind.

[jerrymeola]

Sorry I did not see this message before.

Phals mount as easy as any other orchid. Young orchids adapt easier than mature plants for all re-potting including mounting.

I often mount Phals hanging straight down but I have another nursery that mounts them sideways off a plank of osmundum.