Where can I get bark for mounting?

[Nancy]

I'm used to growing mounted plants on tree fern fiber but would love to have a bark mounted plant. Is there a commercial source for bark or is it only sold through the mail? Does Home Depot carry anything that can be used to make a good mount? Any suggestions will be really helpful.

[Aleksa]

I simply go to the forest, take some nice piece of bark from some hardwood tree and mount chids on it. Trees which have good bark are oak tree, olive, grapevine...

[FLaCo]

Unless it is cork I do what Aleksa does...except I don't go to a forest I just cut down a branch of a one of my fruit trees.

[Vivienne]

I used some slabs of bark from our firewood pile.

[Nancy]

I rent and the only trees around are Maple trees. I was looking, I guess for cork bark. Are there any sources of that that you might know of?

[slippery_biscuit]

Most pet stores carry several types of wood, including cork. I've bought some nice pieces there. Cleaned, no bugs, ready to go.

[articuno75]

I know Jerry has Grapewood, but I think he has Cork as well. Might want to give him an email.

[JLu]

Any orchid supply. Look up Kelly's Corner, OFE International, Cal-West, there's a jillion of them. try this

The Orchid Mall - Everything in Orchids

[made4engineering]

I would try a firewood seller. Logically, I think their prices would be the lowest possible. You can also get many types of wood from those people. Try cedar, white oak, walnut, or hickory.

[JLu]

I think she wants cork bark and actually it's a good choice because its light and won't rot. I use some grape vine out of fence rows. Works great, but heavy as heck. Same for oak. Cypress is good, again heavy. I know some folk use cedar, but I'm not too keen on trying it. It's an oily wood, not sappy like pine, but oily. That's why it holds up well outdoors. Seems to me it could be bad. But I don't know that for a fact. Redwood isn't great for the same reason, but I hear of people using it successfully. This might be one of those few things that is hard to mess up.

Don't overlook tree fern. Light, easy for roots to penetrate. Holds up. It's light enough that if a plant outgrows it, you just tie it to another piece. Modular mount. Can I patent that?

[Nancy]

I do have a piece of tree fern left. I guess cork just looks prettier to me. I'll try some of your suggestions. Thanks for the input.

[exasperatus2002]

petstores, black jungle supply and most orchid suppliers will have cork. Tree fern I know orchid suppliers & black jungle will have.

[Leisurely]

Cedar shingles work great and they are usually available at the lumber yard or big box stores. Or you can buy a small piece of redwood and saw it into blocks if you don't have the availability of a forest as some do. Or how about a piece of cypress fence that you can also buy at Home Depot or Lowes and saw pieces to fit your needs. Drill a tiny hole for a wire hook in each block and you are ready to go. Stay away from pressure treated anything.