Attempt at first mount

[Nancy]

I have never mounted a plant before, but I have two pots of SLC Red Delight that seem to be doing well and I thought I might try to mount the smaller one. I read that cholla logs make good mounts. I have a number of these from various crabitats I've tended. Does anyone have any experience using these and is there anything I should know before I make the attempt. I will be using spagnum and fishing line to tie the spag and plant to the log. Should I orient the cattleya to climb upwards or downwards? Thanks for the help.

[pikevi]

I think there are several posts dealing with mounting orchids. Please try a search . I am sure you will find the answer.

Good luck, Nancy.

[slippery_biscuit]

Don't know about cholla. Is that a cactus type of plant? It needs to shed water, and not absorb much. Water retention will facilitate substrate breakdown (rot). That said, if the mount looks good, you may want to go ahead regardless. It would probably last a few years at the least and then you can always remount the plant.

Might as well orient the plant upwards; it's going to go that way eventually. The roots are more likely to wander all about.

Hope this goes well for you. I was reluctant to get involved with mounted orchids, but now it is my preference. If you can meet the water/misting/humidity requirements, many other concerns simply disappear.
jeff

[TZ-Long Island]

Cholla is a good mounting material if you are not growing under wet greenhouse conditions, and is better than most if growing under dry conditions because it does absorb water.


Mount the plant towards the bottom with it growing upwards. with the cholla you might consider placing the sphagnum behind the cholla so that the base of the plant is on "dry" material. When I have a hollow cholla tube I pack it full of coconut chips, charcoal, and sphagnum with good results. I use twist tie wire or zip ties to secure the plant. They holds the plant tighter and can be removed in a year once the roots attach. Fishing line is better for binding a big wad of sphagnum under the plant though.

[Nancy]

This is a rather sad little cattleya. It has two roots, one for the second pb and is growing another for the newest one. The reason I thought it would do well mounted is that it has a peculiar habit of starting roots from a point on the pb instead of from the rhizome. The larger division of the same plant is doing the same thing. I was actually wondering if anyone else has encountered this. The roots appear healthy, they just have a long way to grow to bury in the medium. The hybrid is SLC Red Delight and I think it has quite a bit of sophronitis in it. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks.

[Nancy]

I was wondering, what is the best way to sterilize a cholla log. I have several that have been in crabitats. My hermit crabs have climbed over and over on them so I want to make sure the logs won't spread anything to the plants. It seems ideal to mount plants on these if humidity is a problem. I can't wait to try it.

[pikevi]

I don't know if there is a specific way to treat/sterilize cholla, which seems like a member of the cactus family.

I usually immerse the whole log in water for a day or two in order to get rid of the worms/insects that are borers. Then I wash it with 'hot' water and dry it under the hot sun. (I don't know what can be done in winter!).

[you could also spray it with safer's soap or something similar but I have never done it]

I have not had any problems with any insects.

I ,however, am not sure if it is the right thing to do with cholla.

Good luck.

[Nancy]

I will use your suggestions. Thanks. I think cholla is a form of cactus. It appears to be very durable and it holds up to repeated wetting. I think it's really good because I can stuff it with spaghmum moss and this will keep it moist. This little cattleya with its limited root system dries out very quickly and then the leaves get wrinkly. I'll let you know how it works out.

[exasperatus2002]

Cholla is the dried skeleton of a catus. I'd suggest soaking it in water that you first boiled and carefully add it while the water is still hot. I have a Dendrobium keiki that I mounted to cork slab and its doing well.

[Nancy]

I think I like the idea of using a cholla log because you can put spagnum inside of it and provide the plant with a little extra moisture that way.