Aerial mount

[pikevi]

Hi ,

I just finished my first 'aerial' mount a few minutes ago. It is a Rodriguezia and the wood is african redwood, and I used sphagnum moss, small fir bark and coconut husk. A little bit of charcoal was added to the bottom.

I'd appreciate any corrections, suggestions and comments , please.

[Ellen]

Looks good! As long as the roots are next to the mount, it will find its own path and grow in the way that's best for it. You may eventually notice that the plant turns itself around and grows upward or downward, but that's the beauty of mounting - the orchid gets the choice of how it wants to grow. The big excitement is always seeing the first new root grow out and grab, or burrow into, the mount.

[fred]

yes looks pretty good to me as well
you have done a fine job.
I think Congrats are in order for that one

[pikevi]

Thanks Ellen and fred.

I will wait for the first roots!

I buy these logs by the pound since they can sink in water. I will find an alternative soon and then go real crazy!

Thanks again for the encouragement.

[tom499]

That is really cool, i wish i had the patience to do that
maybe you could do a basic step by step guide for one, as i always have trouble keeping the orchid and the moss on the bark

once again though, that is awesome, cant wait to see the plants once they've grown and are blooming.

[slippery_biscuit]

Yes, that looks good and sounds like you did it right, from what I've learned. Being new to orchids, I was pretty leary of mounts; seemed like a maintence headache. However, now I love them, and only after a few months! I done a few of my own, but nothing as exotic as yours. Just some treefern, a wee bit of moss and the plant. I'm thinking about using a branch of rhodedendron. Sounds a bit off, but it is a very dense and heavy wood.

Again, it looks good! Jeff

[pikevi]

Hi,

Thank you all.

I am usually more curious than anything. ( My wife calls me 'pink panther' - don't know why )

It does not take much time or effort if you plan it well, tom499. I don't want to sound like 'know-it-all' , after just two attempts. You need a power drill, wire, log and the rest, of plant and medium.

I will let more experienced people to tell you howto, but if you need it I will give a short account of what I did.

slippery-biscuit: it seemed like a maintenance headache to me too. So I chose wood with some concavity and stuffed a bit of sphagnum moss there and hope that some moisture will be retained there for a longer period. Unfortunately I chose redwood ( not recommended since it is hardwood, I think),which I had with me for some other purpose.It is almost impermeable to water. ( I broke two drill bits as well- the wood is like ebony)

It is fun to try it. I intend to do one single large 'tree' mount this summer for the living room ( I will be extremely nice to my wife for the next 4 months or so ) with a as many orchids as I can. At least I will try!

[tillystuff]

Hello all, yes good job pikevi, hope it does well for you. I use grapewood or cork bark for mounting. Both are great for mounting.
I soak spagnum moss and put a layer down first against the media and then place the plant on securing it with thin wire( .025 aluminum) and then put a layer of moss on top of that wraping again with the wire. Here's a couple pic's of ours. The big one was a hollow piece of grapewood that I filled with regular orchid bark mix.

[fred]

tillystuff
you have done a fine job with the mounts as they look pretty good.
thanks for shareing the pics with us.

[Ellen]

Tillystuff, I love that grapewood mount! You've got a whole ecosystem going with the tillandsias and orchids all growing together on the same mount.

[pikevi]

Wow, Great mounts , tillystuff.

The first one (grapewood?) is absolutely marvellous.

Thanks for the pleasure

[fred]

I love the mounts also.
what a top job you have done with them.
thank you for shareing the pics with us

[pikevi]

Hi tillystuff,

I wonder if you happen to know the names of the 'aerial plants' that you have on your mount.

I bought a few for which I am trying to get the names . Many seem to belong to the genus: Tillandsia.

I am attaching a photo showing a few aerial ones which resemble what you have.

I am planning use them on my next mount. I wish it will be half as good as yours

[tillystuff]

Hello all,
Thanks for all the great comments on the mounts. It's so much fun putting these together.

Pikevi, your number 1 and 2 appear to be large caput-medusae's, number 3, I can't really tell but looks to be a Fasciculata X Ionantha and number 4 appears to be a large Juncea.

The ones I have on the mount are the Juncea, Caput-Medusea, Ionantha Guatemala form, several Albida's and various Stricta's.

This link may help you as well -http://www.airplant.com/index.html

Hope this was helpful for you and good luck with you next mount.

[Winterwhite]

Good morning.
I noticed that you used African redwood. Can you actually use any kind of trunk material to mount an orchid? I have this wonderful piece of very craggy maple that I'd like to use. I am assuming anything can be used. Comments would be appreciated. Bittersweet

[tillystuff]

Hello Winterwhite,
I found the info below on the internet some time ago. Don't even remember where, but it has some good information as far as mounting. I stick to grapewood or cork bark. Grapewood is very attractive and will last for years. Cork bark is the same. Depending on the piece you get, it too can be very attractive and will last forever. Hope this helps!

************************************************** ********
Certain genus of orchids do very well on mounts while others don't. Most Cattleya, Bulbophyllums & Oncidiums are generally good to mount, as are some species of Dendrobium. When mounting take into consideration the size the plant will grow to, not the current size. Also, take into consideration the watering requirements & the growth habit of the plant. Do careful research before deciding what plants to mount

Cork & treefern are readily available. Sometimes you can also find other types of wood available on the Internet. However, the most interesting pieces you will find are generally those you will find on your own.

Use unique materials if you can. Fresh water provides some fabulous driftwood. I have found driftwood to always be unique. Some of the pieces I've found have had indentations where there were once rocks that made great spots for putting pads of sphagnum moss.

Grape wood also provides for some unique shapes, sometimes it even comes with holes. Other wood that can be found with unique shapes are Rhododendrons & Mountain Laurels. Azalea wood never really gets large enough for mounting anything but a miniature.

Some favorites are root stock, especially if they've been through fresh water for a while. But even if they come straight out of the ground they can be used, you just need to let the wood season. Some have also used Bald Cypress Knees for large specimens.

There are certain woods to avoid because of toxins. The majority of fruit trees, at least those that grow in the Northeastern USA contain cyanide which is in the wood just below the bark. Certain species of Oaks have concentrated amounts of tannic acid in their leaves and bark, so they should be avoided also...

Always remember to let any fresh wood thoroughly dry out before using it to mount on. This way you avoid sap and the mold that can come during the drying process. Mounted orchids do take some extra care, so be aware of that, but they can also be very rewarding because they can be a work of art.

[tom499]

This is my stab at mounting

this is my 1st attempt so not too much laughter please

i'm not sure what the plant is, but its been slow in the pot, so i tohught i'd stick it in the air and ill see what happens

[pikevi]

Thank you very much tillystuff.

Your info as well as the URL were very useful to me. I hope I will get a fairly decent mount next time and it will definitely NOT be on redwood

winterwhite: I used redwood because I had them in my possesion. It is used in aquariums since they will not float when dried. But from the texture of the wood I am almost sure it is not a good choice. Besides it is is so hard that one will break a few drill bits and one should be ready for some 'smoke' to come out too.Another thing to consider is the price. In Canada it is sold by Lb/Kg and the price is prohibitive

As per tillystuff's suggestion grapewood and cork bark are the choicest, as far as I have read so far.

tom499: A very good effort. Keep it up. It seems like a softwood to me. May be some one else can add more on its longevity as a mounting medium.

[fred]

another mounting medium is either treefern or manfern I use both as well as cork.
With spaghmum moss.