Shell Mount

[lifeisgood]

Had to share because I saw my abalone shells sitting around and thought why not try putting one up as a mount. Looks pretty good I think!

[Leafmite]

That is pretty!
Leafmite

[Emma Grey]

It's VERY pretty! I'll be interested in its progress as the roots grow over the shell.

[Daethen]

Very nice. What got the honor?

[orchids4me]

It looks really good
I'm with Daethen... What's mounted in the shell ?

[lifeisgood]

I ordered several seedlings (got a good price and I am excited to try my hand at growing them up) and this one was the CB David Sander, It was the tallest so I thought it would sit in there the best. I'll keep you up to date on how it grows - if it does well I have a few more shells sitting around and I may do it to some others

[lifeisgood]

I will also ask since it is on my mind - what medium do you guys plant seedlings in? I did a mixture so I could see which the plants liked the most - is that the best thing to do?

[lmartiny]

Very nice looking mount. I like it. I hope it does well for you. If you've got abalone sitting around, you must be over there on the west coast of our good old USA. (I'm guessing)

[orchidea]

It's not clear where in US you are, but in most places I would say Sphagnum moss would be the best for seedlings. It retain moisture around the roots much longer if placed in a plastic pots.
If humidity is too high in the area where you are, I would go with coconut chips for seedlings.

[lifeisgood]

Well they were in my grandparents backyard (who live in CA) I am in MT though, so not much humidity...thank you for the tip of the moss - that is what I have part of them in right now. I have killed several now though that were in moss, so I did these half and half (moss and then bark with a little moss mixed in). I haven't been killing quite as many with the bark

[orchidea]

Originally Posted by lifeisgood

Well they were in my grandparents backyard (who live in CA) I am in MT though, so not much humidity...thank you for the tip of the moss - that is what I have part of them in right now. I have killed several now though that were in moss, so I did these half and half (moss and then bark with a little moss mixed in). I haven't been killing quite as many with the bark

Orchid roots need air as much as they need water, so when I use moss (and many geeks will say the same here), I fluff it so it's not acting like a sponge, but rather let the water run through when it's dry. Most of the time I mix Sphag with perlite for seedlings. This way Sphag can "breathe".... I always wait till Sphag is almost dry to the crunch before watering....

[lifeisgood]

Good to know! I did that with the two mini phals that I still have in moss - and I water them less than my others and they seem to be ok - I am just afraid of it! (I hate killing the chids!) Haha hopefully these new little guys will give me some more confidence with it

[HotPot]

looks sweet, I wonder if it will also pick up some nice trace minerals from the shell

[Vipere]

It's original and looks great
Well done