My 1st Mounting-Dendrobium

[sandra]

I've had these tiny dends since March; they've grown considerably but rather than keeping them in tiny pots of sphag., I decided to get a little creative. The dend. is a Ekapol 'King Dragon' X (pic. attached). All together, it's more centered and balanced and really prettier than I was able to capture with my camera....really!

Any advice and instructions on how to go from here with their care, will be appreciated as I haven't a clue. Mist a few times daily? I have some sphag. lightly patted on top to encourage more rooting. Keep out of sun for a while?

P.S. The teeth marks in a couple of the leaves, belong to my cat, Lilly.
P.S.S. The top dend is a keiki wrapped in sphag.

[electric.chowder]

oooo, Lookin good sandra! watch out, mounting's addictive, before you know it all your trees (and anywhere else you can hang them) will be full of orchids. But that's a good thing right?

[arleneg]

Hi Sandra,

Wonderful job on the mounting.

Since you live in a rather humid and warm area, I would think you will need to water them every two days or so. Basically, water when the moss is dry. Soak/fertilize the whole thing once a week (or two).

Btw, very pretty blooms! Is it really a yellow green color?

[Jo_Pyeweed]

Sandra - very nice ! What wood have you used?

Cheers,
Jo

[elitebettas]

Beautiful

[tom499]

That is lovely I too would like to know what wood you have used, The bark looks really bumpy, just right for roots to grow onto

[sandra]

Originally Posted by arleneg

Soak/fertilize the whole thing once a week (or two).

Is it really a yellow green color?

Thanks Arlene. The blooms are green. How would you soak the whole thing without submerging the entire plant? It's hard to tell in the pic but the mountings are at different levels on the piece.

P.S. It's just occurred to me Arlene that the flowers in the background may have been what you were questioning the color of. That's a different plant (oncidium), not on the mount.

[kmarch]

The new mount looks very attractive sandra. Regardless of whether an orchid is potted or mounted, the plant has the same cultural requirements so the needs of the plant have not changed. What will change (potentially) are your care habits i.e. how often and how you water, whether or not you mist, etc., etc.

As a general rule mounted plants require more humidity. In Florida I doubt this will be a problem though as I know Florida is often humid. For the next several months and again as the seasons change you will need to carefully watch the new mount to see if ti is drying out too much or if ti is staying moist enough. Things like watering frequency may or may not change.

[sandra]

Jo, Tom: It's cork bark.

[sandra]

Originally Posted by kmarch

As a general rule mounted plants require more humidity. In Florida I doubt this will be a problem though as I know Florida is often humid. For the next several months and again as the seasons change you will need to carefully watch the new mount to see if ti is drying out too much or if ti is staying moist enough. Things like watering frequency may or may not change.

Kevin, I know the plant requires the same care but are there differences in providing that care (how?) at this stage? I think I read that after taking it out of the medium, dends in particular, need less light when first mounted and introduced to more light gradually, for one. Is misting sufficient and how often at the beginning should I mist, if you know?

[Vivienne]

Sandra you've done a wonderful job! Very pretty indeed!!!

[orchid_girl]

Sandra I love the mounting!! I am going to have to do this myself as soon as I get my new ones in. I think I ordered the same one you did I can't wait to see mine.......(patiently waiting)

[arleneg]

sandra,

I would submerge the whole plant (while not in bloom though) in the morning so the Dens will have the rest of the day to dry. Also make sure you have air movement which helps moisture dry a bit quicker.

Oh, I soak my mounted orchids in worm tea.

[pikevi]

Beautiful mount , sandra.

The colour is wonderful.

As electric.chowder said it can become addictive. I have many mounts which are soon to be dismounted and taken indoors

[slippery_biscuit]

Your new project looks very good. I don't have an answer to the light requirment question and am waiting with you. I recently put a dend on a twisted length of grapewood but have not addressed lowering the available light.

I water my mounts in the morning with one of those self-coiling water hoses. Too many to dunk everyday (I do once in awhile) and I'm a bit leary of transfering any nondesirables from one plant to the next. You probably don't have the misting requirements needed up here in Seattle. Humidity in my greenhouse is anywhere from 30-40% up to 70%. Not surprisingly, the higher number occurs when its raining with cooler temp. I mist 2-3 times a day. But now and then there is no misting at all. I had a catt recently mounted (just a little guy) and inadvertantly left it hanging outside under a patio umbrella for nearly a week, unattended. It is in the greenhouse now and looks none worse for the wear.