Best or worst trees for mounting orchids

[Epipactis12]

I am new this or any orchid site but have been growing orchids for a couple of years or so.

I would like to volunteer to compile a list of good and bad trees for mounting orchids on outside. I have only tried toyon (heteromeles arbutifolia), a large shrub or small tree native to California. I have seen orchids on smooth-trunked fan palms and, of course, cork oak. What else works? Any luck with deodar cedar? Thanks.

[Dendian]

Old grape vine is a favorite of mine (and I think Andy's Orchids as well), and I am trying out a limb of a cedar (somebody said it was too aromatic for orchids and they would grow away from the wood) with a Brassovola species. I will let you know how that goes. I have seen some on Oak wood also.

[rcb]

Originally Posted by Dendian

Old grape vine is a favorite of mine (and I think Andy's Orchids as well), and I am trying out a limb of a cedar (somebody said it was too aromatic for orchids and they would grow away from the wood) with a Brassovola species. I will let you know how that goes. I have seen some on Oak wood also.

I mount the majority of my mounted ones on cedar shingles. I've never had a problem with them.

Been doing this for years now. They grow, and the roots attach, and they bloom just fine for me.

Basically most of the hardwoods will be fine.

[orchids4me]

I'm going to try cutting a redwood plank for fencing to use for mounts (un treated) so if it works maybe redwood trees. ( Stick with the hard woods for in home mounting so they last) but as far as trees live... ? Don't know about softer woods. We have a walnut tree that's very soft. Wood.

[NievesOrchids]

I am in so cal as well. I collected 3 pieces from the Angeles national forest. With all this mold talk I am now scared to use the wood I found.

Here is the wood, I was going to use the on piece at top as a horizontal mount maybe for a Sophronitis ceruna. The barky piece I was going to use for my dendrobium I bought all the stuff I need.

[0ana]

I have used a piece of russian olive tree root wood I've found on the beach for a NOID orchid with the name "Cattleya" written on its commercial label which looks very similar to Leonara Appleblossom "Pippin". After a year of adventures (soon after I've mounted I had to leave to another country for a few months and I had to beg someone else -not an orchid lover- to take care of it) it now looks good, with three new plump growths, possibly a flower sheath, lots of roots attached to the piece of wood.

The older pseudobulbs have looked a bit shriveled since before being mounted - I've had a problem with mold soon after receiving this orchid as a gift.

The medium was terrible, mushy and moldy and not draining properly, so many roots were lost in the process, so I think that the shriveling of the older pseudobulbs was caused by the loss of roots.

Now about the piece of oleaster wood: I did find it on the beach, but still attached to the tree, so it hasn't been soaked for a long period of time. I've just washed it and used it right away. I used some moss to keep the humidity a bit higher, and have seen new roots in just a couple of days.

Also, I've used an almost cylindrical piece of linden bark for a NOID dendrobium looking very similar to "Berry Oda" and it's been doing very fine. A second plant bought at the same time stayed in the pot and then went to SH and isn't doing very well (lost lots of leaves), with all my efforts to help it thrive. The mounted one has been given as a gift to a person that doesn't have so much time for the plants anymore and almost all are ignored, but that dendrobium looks better than mine.

Long story short, I wouldn't hesitate to use linden bark or oleaster roots again.

[1joyceh]

That sounds really nice Oana
can't wait to see a picture !

[0ana]

Thanks, 1joyceh, I think they sound better than they look.

This:

is a piece of linden bark similar to the one I was talking about in the other post.

There is a bit of mold



on the inside part of it because it wasn't completely dry and hasn't been properly stored for a while. I hesitate between throwing it away and let it soak in a bleach and water mix for a night and use it - I really like the way it looks and there are plenty of 'crevices' for the roots, so the chids might like it too.

The oleaster wood isn't so visible because of the moss and roots, but the top of it shows a nice reddish color.
Warning: the following pictures aren't for the faint of heart as there are a lot of things not maybe OK for a proper mount, it has been made hurriedly and I didn't want to disturb it since I came back as it seemed to do fine. I will wait until spring to do that.
So here's the 'Cat' :




One of the new growths:

Yes, there's a root climbing a leaf in the background; there are a few tiny dendrobium canes also mounted here (I had to mount everything together before leaving, so the person caring for the plants while I was away didn't have to worry about more than one plant) and one of them has put up a new growth and two keiki's.
These roots were having long green tips until a month ago, before the weather started to be a lot colder.


And the bit of the wood that is still visible:

And another here, and weirdly enough showing some not very attractive "features". The mount has been hanging from some kind of a wire in front of my window the whole summer, so that "system" was supposed to keep hanging as firmly as possible and in the same time letting the whole thing flexible and trying not to pierce the wood, as the wind could have made the mount fall after a while.
There's also trace of another plant mounted around that area, which didn't do so well there and was moved back in a pot.