May seem like a silly question, but being a novice...Well, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Do ALL orchids take well to mounting? Or are some better than others? Or are there some that should never be mounted?

The reason for my question is...I have 2 Phals that don't seem to be doing so well in the fir bark, in pots. Not much root growth, and they just look kinda puny.
I have a pretty piece of driftwood, and I'm considering this for a new home for them...

Any ideas? Suggestions? Recommendations?
Any and all are much appreciated!

Please disregard this.....I've been back through the forum, and I found my answer! I'm going for it!!!

Sorry to waste this space and your time!

Good luck, Tara. I mount all kinds of varieties, and the Phal. seem to do quite nicely. They do need misting more often than potted plants though. Mine are all now outside, under the tree canopies, so they don't require much attention with our humidity, rain (had a big thunderstorm yesterday), and the moisture that the trees release as the days get hotter.

I agree! There are some orchids which wouldn't be too happy being mounted, see terrestrials, but most ( many) former branch/tree dweller/epiphyte will grow better mounted. Yes - and adjust your watering practices accordingly.

Yes, I'm certain that my Ludisia would NOT be happy on a piece of wood!

Well, here it is...I wasted no time with these...Hope they'll be happy. After they have firmly attached, I'll either hang this piece, or let it stand on it's own in a corner.
This piece of wood has followed me around for about 30 years now, so I'm really glad to be able to put it to use! It had an indentation there in the center that leant itself perfectly to stuffing a bit of moss for moisture.

I wouldn't mount a Bulbo either. Orchids that like to be wet most of the time are bad candidates.

Jim

I don't know what a Bulbo is, but

Bulbo is short for Bulbophyllum, which in terms of the number of species (over 2000), is the largest genera in the orchid kingdom.

Jim

Thanks, Jim. I assume I have none of them. Perhaps a challenge to grow it seems. Since my greenhouse has all that air movement, I might have another experiment in view.

Here's a look at a Bulbo for ya, Ken. That's Jim standing beside it - we toured Selby Gardens' greenhouse a couple of years ago, and I was mighty impressed by this! (they're not all this big, some are tiny)


I don't have any either. Some of them have stinky flowers and that's a deal breaker for me.

My goodness, just look at that size. I don't want and "carrion" flowers, thank you anyway.

Don't forget there are over 2000 species of Bulbos and who knows how many hybrids. Not all are huge. Here are some other examples:




I don't mount them because I grow many of them in moss as they like to be damp. And they all don't stink, just a few.

Jim

Wonderful, Jim!! I love it!

And as comparison to Bulbo phalaenopsis - then there is the other side of the spectrum - Bulbophyllum alagense small form


And if the measurement stick doesn't nail it, here is a piece with my lens cap as comparison.

These little "beaks" are not scented.

You guys are giving some great info here, especially to novice growers. Until you have dealt with many species, it's hard to know, or find good info on how to pot/mount them. Even the better growers don't give much help, since they only grow them to salable size. I'm not mentioning names here....

Carol, oh btw, the Bulbo alagense small form came originally mounted and did very well. But, after a few years the mount simply disintegrated and I realized this one really preferred growing horizontally.

I would think your cultural conditions will play a great factor in the way you might pot up or mount or use baskets, in addition to the natural way a particular Orchid likes to grow.

I just looked at the examples I posted and I left off my favorite, B. medusae


Jim

I agree. I don't grow Bulbos, nor do I want to, but when these threads are started, it helps the new growers in their learning/research process. It's very frustrating in the beginning to try to get info. For those of us that have been at it for awhile, we have a better idea of where to look. I always try to encourage research, but it can be difficult in the beginning.

And then there are those of that live in So. Cal. that don't know what our environment is from one day to the next, who can only shake our heads and wonder why we keep trying.
67 degrees last week, 97 with 12% humidity as I type, and going up for the next two days . No amount of misting will cover that, so I can only hope for the best, and make room for replacements at the fall shows.

97 degrees and 12 % humidity would be the death of my entire garden. I hear you, Carol.

I'm fortunate in that Bill Thoms, the guy who wrote the book on Bulbos, lives close by and is the president of my orchid club. He grows most all of his in moss so who am I to argue?

Jim

That is some heat!!

If I can make a suggestion:
One of the easiest ways to look up species and try to get information on how to grow them ( besides asking questions, which is always a good thing ), would be for me checking orchidspecies.com. This website will give you the location of where this Orchid grows. I will then check the climate of that location, and that along with other given information on that site, will give me a good starting idea of temperature, light requirement and perhaps some indication of watering practices.
At least it would be a start.

edited to add - being able to talk to the guy who wrote the book, would be of course the best!