First attempt at mounting- Used Anton's tip

[syndywindy]

To this point I only had one orchid mounted, a catt I had bought. It is just thriving so thought I should try to mount a couple. The first is my Lc. Roebling 'Sentinal' It hasn't been doing much so maybe the change will help. Second is Laelia Santa Barbara Sunset 'Showtime' which I bought during the Chicagoland Orchid Festival. I read up on mounting techniques and ultimately used Anton's tip to use pantyhose to secure the plant. I knew there would be a need for all those pairs of pantyhose with runs in them that I never threw away! lol Who knew?

[mytwogirls]

I think it looks great! I still want to mount an orchid, but I have not the space right now. I think it looks so natural and peaceful.

[-k-]

Nice work Looks great to me!!!
I like my one mount, it allows me to really look over the plant since the watering needs are much greater.

[rcb]

Very nice Synda.

Question, have you bloomed the Santa Barbara Sunset? If so, do you do anything special? I've had one of these for years, and never been able to bloom it.

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by rcb

Very nice Synda.

Question, have you bloomed the Santa Barbara Sunset? If so, do you do anything special? I've had one of these for years, and never been able to bloom it.

Thanks, Renee. I bought this in October and was told it should bloom in it's next bloom cycle. Sinc getting it, it has 2 new growths. It has not bloomed at all as yet, so we'll see.

[berniep]

G'Day Synda

Great looking plant and looks nice and snug, look forward to following how it goes.

Cheers
bernie

[lmartiny]

Those look good Synda. What did you mount them on?

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by lmartiny

Those look good Synda. What did you mount them on?

Thanks, Lynne. They are mounted on natural tree bark, the moss is New Zealand moss.

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by mytwogirls

I think it looks great! I still want to mount an orchid, but I have not the space right now. I think it looks so natural and peaceful.

I decided to start mounting to free up some space on my shelves. At least mounted you can hang them just about anywhere. So what do I do, I ordered 3 new orchids which arrived today. My husband told me this morning I need to get more shelving. Don't have to ask me twice. lol

[davetheorchidaddict]

Nice going but you may want to use less spag the next time. I have mounted many with no cover, just roots and they grew and bloomed more than once.

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by davetheorchidaddict

Nice going but you may want to use less spag the next time. I have mounted many with no cover, just roots and they grew and bloomed more than once.

Thanks for the advice. As I was doing this, I debated as to whether it was too much or not. I can always remove some.

[mytwogirls]

Originally Posted by syndywindy

I decided to start mounting to free up some space on my shelves. At least mounted you can hang them just about anywhere. So what do I do, I ordered 3 new orchids which arrived today. My husband told me this morning I need to get more shelving. Don't have to ask me twice. lol

Ok, I know absolutely nothing about mounting, but where do you hang them? How do you hang them? Now I really am interested. Also when you water (I know you mount them crown pointing downward like in nature) do you catch the water somewhere? I know, these are stupid questions, but I really am curious about mounting now.

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by mytwogirls

Ok, I know absolutely nothing about mounting, but where do you hang them? How do you hang them? Now I really am interested. Also when you water (I know you mount them crown pointing downward like in nature) do you catch the water somewhere? I know, these are stupid questions, but I really am curious about mounting now.

Remember, there are no stupid questions.While they are indoors for now, they hang off the shelves on the rolling carts that hold most of my orchids. The carts sit near my french doors which face west so there is good light. I also have lights that supplement the extra light you don't get in winter. When the warmer weather comes, they will hang from trees in my yard. You do have to water them more often though. I plan to mount a few more as I just ordered more mounts that should arrive early next week. So much for freeing up more space, I just got 3 more orchids from Kawamoto orchids. But to remedy that, I also bought another rolling cart with 3 shelves. So now I can buy even more orchids.

[Irene]

I have a question about the moss.

It was recommended that syndywindy remove some sphag. Is that because it's a catt? The reason I ask is that I have just mounted a phal and I have at least as much moss as syndywindy. My thinking is that a phal would need more moss since they don't like to dry out. Is that right? Or should I remove some too?

[lmartiny]

Before you mount too many make sure you really have places to hang them. They do also need more watering attention. I've found moving my hangers around to be a bit labor intensive and space challenging with the cold snaps we have. I usually grow outside.
When I mount I trim a piece off of a cocobasket liner and make a pocket that I fill with bark mix and the roots then tie it on with fishing line. I'm not a big spag user, only because I have trouble regulating it. Bark works better for me.

[davetheorchidaddict]

Lynn, hanging does take up less space. We are in the 20's all week so I move the ones not in the greenhouse to a place on the ground and cover them. I have some mounted in that pile. We were all in the dark when we mounted the first time and all make the same mistakes so I try to pass on things that I learned the hard way. I love the mounted ones now especially when they bloom - they display so easily. I use telephone wire to mount mine due to the ease of tightening or rewiring.

[lmartiny]

Dave, it is going to get pretty cold tonight. Everybody is in the greenhouse except the ones in the ground. I wrapped/covered my ground orchids, including the bamboo one so I've got my fingers crossed. It didn't get out of the 40's today. Cold. And unusual.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by davetheorchidaddict

Nice going but you may want to use less spag the next time. I have mounted many with no cover, just roots and they grew and bloomed more than once.

Dave -- With your the regular high humidity in your location I can see many plants doing great w/no pad of sphag. However, up here...where plants are inside heated homes for nearly half the year....I find all my mounts do better w/a good layer of sphag. If not, I'm either watering or soaking constantly.

Synda -- I use a healthy pad of sphag w/most of my mounted catts and they are all doing well. The extra sphag allows more time for the roots to absorb the moisture and requires less time and attention from a watering/soaking standpoint. I find w/the extra sphag I get less shriveling of the pbulbs and I have healthier, plumper plants. When they move outside...I sometimes have to water them 2x a day in the summer if the temps soar into the 90's and the humidity is super low...otherwise once a day is usually all they need even in the heat of summer.

I do have a couple/few species catts that have little to no sphag but they are plants that do best w/longer dry time between waterings and/or require a strict dry rest in the winter.

Bottom line...IMO...typically you can't over-water a mount but you can underwater one to the point of the pbulbs shriveling... so a little extra sphag is protection against that in a heated house.

[syndywindy]

Thanks Kat. It just shows how the culture one gives an orchid differs depending on where you are. Even with the amount I have used, I am seeing the moss dry out very fast and am watering every day.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by syndywindy

Thanks Kat. It just shows how the culture one gives an orchid differs depending on where you are. Even with the amount I have used, I am seeing the moss dry out very fast and am watering every day.

Yep...w/the heat on and the additional heat generated by the lights...bone dry in less than 24 hrs. Even my phals that have a HEALTHY x 2 pad....bone dry in 24 hrs.

Different climes require for all sort of manipulations in order to provide the proper culture for any plant.

You could grow the catt bare-root on a mount in our clime but it would require a lot more attention to soakings and waterings. With over 50 mounts...I would be doing nothing but soaking mounts all day. That's a big 'no thanks' for me. LOL!

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by katrina

Yep...w/the heat on and the additional heat generated by the lights...bone dry in less than 24 hrs. Even my phals that have a HEALTHY x 2 pad....bone dry in 24 hrs.

Different climes require for all sort of manipulations in order to provide the proper culture for any plant.

You could grow the catt bare-root on a mount in our clime but it would require a lot more attention to soakings and waterings. With over 50 mounts...I would be doing nothing but soaking mounts all day. That's a big 'no thanks' for me. LOL!

I agree, with the temps at zero and below freezing at night, seems our furnace is always going. I have cranked up the humidifier, but that only does so much. I only have 3 mounts, but with my whole collection, it takes me almost 3 hours to water if I do it on one day. I'm not sure I want too many more mounts. I'm with you on the not wanting to spend all my time dealing with mounts every day!lol

[orchidlover55]

Hey Synda that is nice it looks great . I have a Den that my husband mounted, but if he had of used panty hose I would have been curious since I haven't used them in a long time. LOL

[rcb]

Synda, as I was watering my mounts this morning, I thought of something, that many people may not think of.

When I water my mounts that are inside, I lay them horizontal and water them, and also spray the back of the mount as well. Let them set for a few minutes and then spray them down again. Reason is if they are hanging vertically, as you water, the water will run off before it gets into the nooks and crannies of the mount. If you lay them horizontal, gravity will pull the water into the nooks and crannies, thoroughly watering the mount, and then the excess runs off when you hang it vertical again.

This allows for a more complete watering of the mount, and a bonus is, it doesn't dry out quite as quickly.

[syndywindy]

Originally Posted by rcb

Synda, as I was watering my mounts this morning, I thought of something, that many people may not think of.

When I water my mounts that are inside, I lay them horizontal and water them, and also spray the back of the mount as well. Let them set for a few minutes and then spray them down again. Reason is if they are hanging vertically, as you water, the water will run off before it gets into the nooks and crannies of the mount. If you lay them horizontal, gravity will pull the water into the nooks and crannies, thoroughly watering the mount, and then the excess runs off when you hang it vertical again.

This allows for a more complete watering of the mount, and a bonus is, it doesn't dry out quite as quickly.

Thanks Renee for the info. It's funny how you mention this aspect of watering mounts. Just yesterday for the first time I really soaked it well, including the back of the mount. But I haven't done the laying horizontal. Will do that next watering.