Mounting on wicker baskets

[Vivienne]

I need/want to mount my Max. tenufolia and have had an eye out for a suitable piece of bark or something. Now I'm thinking of finding a wicker basket (shaped like a tray) to mount it on. Has anyone ever tried this??

[kmarch]

I dont' know much about wicker but was always under the impression it did not hold up well to moisture. Is that true?

[Vivienne]

Point well taken. Don't have an answer to that though. It would be pretty... but for how long!?! I have one piece of bark left but, while it's the perfect size right now (perhaps a touch too skinny), it will be overgrown (with a little luck) in a year.

Today's project... figure out what to do with my Maxi! LOL

[jerrymeola]

I would expect the wicker to decompose way too fast.

I would not worry about the wood being too thin. Chose a thickness that has an aesthetic appeal to you. The plant will adapt and grow in a form to fit the wood. After about 8 years you may have a basketball shaped plant and not be able to see the wood.

[patticake]

At the florist shop where I worked years ago, we planted dish gardens in wicker baskets with plastic liners. One employee didn't realize about the liner When someone went to pick it up 2 weeks later, the bottom just fell out. That's when I learned that wicker doesn't hold up well to constant moisture!

[Vivienne]

THANKS!
Jerry - perhaps I'll stick with the bark piece I have. I guess I'm just used to mounting little plants on big mounts so there is room to grow in the years to come. This plant is already big... will definitely be my biggest mount to date.

Patticake - you have now convinced me NOT to use a wicker basket. Thank you!!!

[jerrymeola]

This is my largest mount. (I remake it for every show) The mount is 6 feet tall

The spider orchid in the center has two flower stems 45 and 53 inches each. Just that plant weighed about 6 pounds.

[Vivienne]

GORGEOUS!!!! I'm watering orchids right now and then it's time to get to work on my Maxi. It sure doesn't weigh 6 lbs... just a lot of it all over. LOL

[articuno75]

If you took the wicker and lined it with moss or layed a flat piece of fiber or cork board in it, would that work?

[Vivienne]

Could work Jenny. Heading over to Lowe's to see if they have any cedar shingles (like for roofs) that haven't been treated with anything. If that doesn't work then I'm going with the slab of bark that I already have.

[janice]

Viv, I think your decision to stay with wood is the best. I would be afraid the wicker would rot. Did you find some cedar??

[Vivienne]

Hi ya Janice

Right now I'm stuck with the bark slab. Checked Lowe's and Home Depot - no luck. Asked our HOA President where they got the shaker shingles on our townhomes - no luck. Asked my son to go looking for some wood - no luck. So the search continues... but will be delayed at least one day. Tomorrow is graduation (my 'other' daughter who used to live with us).

[sandra]

Everyone else has pretty much replied with what I was going to say Vivienne. I would stay away from wicker. That and rattan wouldn't last a month. I used them once for regular house plants that I took out of the baskets when watering. Whatever little moisture there was left after watering was enough to break down the material and quickly. I'm sure it would look very pretty though, just not practical.

[Brooke]

Vivienne check your grocery store - mine has cedar planks to be used in a charcoal grill. The are about double the thickness of those little cedar things Oak Hill uses to mount on by (guessing here from memory) 6" x 12".

I've never used one to mount yet but I bought some to give it a try, someday.

Brooke

[Vivienne]

Thanks Brooke - I'll have to look for those.

[Vivienne]

YEAH! Thank you Brooke - I found the cedar planks at the grocery store. PERFECT!! That is exactly what I was searching for. Here's a pic of the cedar plank with it's new hanging apparatus. The planks are 7" wide x 15" tall x 1/2" thick... 100% non-treated red wood cedar.

[PhalPal]

Wow is that plank perfect or what!!??

For future reference....A grower from Florida (Bill Thoms) did a lecture for my local society about growing specimen sized orchids. His technique was to plant in shallow vanda baskets. He used this for many types of orchid. He of course made his own, but just recently I saw one at a farm supply store locally so they may be becoming more available.

[Vivienne]

Phew - that took like forever! Finally managed to get all the charcoal out of the roots. The plant was nice enough to present 2 easy divisions off the main plant, so here they all are.
Pic #1 is the first division mounted on a tree fern slab. It's only hanging on the cedar plank for a pic.
Pic #2 is the second division - hard to see it but there are 2 new growths.
Pic #3 is the main plant. Hope it likes it's new home!

[solay]

Great looking mounts. You did such a good job. No wonder it took forever. It's a little late now but what about grape vine baskets? Would they be more resistant to rot?

[PalmCityOrchid]

They look great Vivienne! I got better pictures of my ladder mounts. I'm running out of shaded space - so these are good for mounting a lot of plants!

I have a large sunny area, but the only thing I found that could handle sun was terete Vandas. Any idea who sells any for less than an arm and a leg?!!!

Thanks!!!

[fred]

good job Vivienne Congrats

I bet your pleased with the out come

wonderful

[Vivienne]

Solay - I'm not sure on the grapevine baskets. Very limited here in supplies. Does anyone else know the answer?

Connie - It is perfect. Very interesting about the shallow vanda baskets for specimen plants. Why shallow though?? Less chance of root rot? Do you recall?

Vanny - LOVE your ladders. Right now my budget is tight, but expect to hear from me in the future!

Fred - I am quite pleased with the outcome. THANKS!!!! Hopefully, in time, the two little divisions can grow up to look like their parent plant.

[PalmCityOrchid]

About the shallow baskets - I think that's what I saw at one of the sales here in FL. They didn't look like baskets at all - they looked more like the bottom of a regular basket, plus 2 wood pieces stacked on top of the other framing it. If you look at a regular basket, they have about 4-5 wood pieces all around, this thing only had 2 on top of the slats.

I'm not sure if that's the same thing Connie's talking about. It looked like it would be great for "transplanting" as it would not disturb the roots at all!

Have a great day everyone!

[fred]

Vivienne
I think that under your care the plants will be fine

[Vivienne]

aawww - thanks Fred!

I've seen something like that too Vanny at the Denver Orchid Show. The one I saw was probably 1 foot square and only maybe 2-3" tall.

[sandra]

Originally Posted by PalmCityOrchid

I'm not sure if that's the same thing Connie's talking about. It looked like it would be great for "transplanting" as it would not disturb the roots at all!

If I'm not wrong, I think you're right. The ones I've seen in nurseries, have them in the very shallow baskets only for their hangers, nothing else. I was told that, ideally, if you can figure a way to suspend Vandas without the baskets, that's the way to go.

Vivienne, you did a really great job with mom and the divisions. That wood compliments the long, straight shapes of the leaves and stems. Love it!

[PhalPal]

Bill told us it allows for the roots to stay moister longer without the risk of root rot because the media still dries fairly fast. He is also a BIG believer in weekly, weakly fertilizing. Another tip for mounts was to keep them on their back for a few hours after watering to allow nutrients to absorb.

His homemade baskets were made with vanda basket strips. The sides were two to three strips high with an equal amount of space between each strip, depending on the size of the plant.

[PalmCityOrchid]

I saw some Max. tenufolias at Wal-Mart today for $20. They had them in pots in coconut chips. They looked really wet too. The coconut scent was unbelievable! I thought about rescuing one, but my honey busted me sneaking in a mokara orchid! I'll have to wait for a day next week when he's at work and I'm not!!!! Hee-Hee-Hee!!!

Good night everyone!

[FLaCo]

Vivi, I have two mounts of the Max. you mention and they have been doing fine. You should have a concern but not a worry. Just mount and go...the Max. seem to be forgiving.

[Ellen]

Grape vine wood rots really fast, probably even faster than wicker, so I wouldn't use a grape vine basket.