I have this idea for mounting...

[FLaCo]

I have quite a few mature avocado trees. I plan on grabing a thick branch...letting it dry out. After dry-out process is done I plan mixing some concrete into a plastic pot and sticking the branch in there. Once it sets I use that branch that now looks sort of like a tree trunk to mount my orchids. I will finish it of with decorating the top of the pot with some decorative spanish moss etc.

What do you guys think...good idea, bad idea...?

[Vivienne]

It sounds very interesting!! Can you take a picture of the branch??

I have grown quite found of mounting and I'm always looking for something interesting to use.

[LJHurn]

Hi FLaCo, Sounds good to me! I recently rescued some Catts growing on an uprooted Avo tree and they seemed to grow nicely there. Like your idea to pot the trunk. I have been toying with a similar idea with an Australian Bottlebrush that I have growing here, but never thought of the pot, .... hmm, I can picture it! Greetings, Louis Hurn

[kmarch]

I think good idea for everything except the concrete. It's too permenant and would be a bother when the orchid grew to big for the mount and/or needed to be remounted. If you want the branch sticking out of a pot, I'd suggest gravel.

[FLaCo]

Again thank for the replies guys!

Kevin, you are always thinking! Thanks...gravel is the answer. I can even move it at a later time. Great idea.

I will def. take pics when I bring in the branch.

[epiphyte]

I've got several large avocado tree branches with orchids mounted on them. They are horizontally oriented and suspended around 3 to 5 feet in the air. Horizontal mounts retain more moisture than vertical mounts but moisture levels probably aren't as much a concern in southern Florida as they are here in inland Southern California. But another benefit is that for large branches, horizontal orientation makes all the orchids easily viewable and accessible. Suspending the branches also helps deter some pests such as slugs, snails and rats from chomping on your orchids.

It's been around 5 years since I mounted orchids on the avocado branches and they have been slowly deteriorating. The frequent watering, combined with the orchid roots and fungi have taken a toll on the bark but most of it is still in place. I've moved the branches around quite a bit and recently moved them to a new house and they survived being bumped and banged.

[FLaCo]

Originally Posted by epiphyte

I've got several large avocado tree branches with orchids mounted on them. They are horizontally oriented and suspended around 3 to 5 feet in the air. Horizontal mounts retain more moisture than vertical mounts but moisture levels probably aren't as much a concern in southern Florida as they are here in inland Southern California. But another benefit is that for large branches, horizontal orientation makes all the orchids easily viewable and accessible. Suspending the branches also helps deter some pests such as slugs, snails and rats from chomping on your orchids.

It's been around 5 years since I mounted orchids on the avocado branches and they have been slowly deteriorating. The frequent watering, combined with the orchid roots and fungi have taken a toll on the bark but most of it is still in place. I've moved the branches around quite a bit and recently moved them to a new house and they survived being bumped and banged.

You know I was thinking the same thing today as I was gathering around what to use for my like mounting project. I then thought of maybe using a harder wood like a branch from a guava or litchi tree...will sustain the constant moisture applied to the branch. It is still in the works. I was even thinking about gumbo limbo branch but that is prolly even softer than avocado.