You can either attach them to a dead branch...or to a live branch. My vote is for a live branch. Some possible candidates... Acacia Albizia Aralia Araucaria Beaucarnea Caesalpinia Cassia Coffee tree Dracaena Elm Ficus Hibiscus Magnolia/Michelia Pachira aquatica Pandanus Phoenix roebelenii Podocarpus Polyscias Radermachera Samanea Schefflera Yucca Clearly they aren't all equally suitable to grow inside and be everybody's phorophyte. But that's what experimenting is all about. At the last show I went to a random lady said, "if you're not killing plants...then you're not stretching yourself as a gardener". Which of these possible phorophytes will give you the most branch for your buck? One "shortcut" is that several of them can be grown from fairly large cuttings. Another technique for greater girth is...if your climate is suitable and you have the space (and patience), you can plant the phorophyte in the ground and then dig it up when the branch is thick enough. Perhaps for a typical Phalaenopsis the branch should be at least as thick as your wrist. In order for the Phal's roots to attach to the branch...the orchid has to be very firmly secured. I use a slip knot method to maintain tension in the 20lb fishing line. If you do it right...you'll be able to water two plants at once...the Phal and its phorophyte. If the Phal is thirstier than its host, then you can attach it with some moss. You can also give the host a faster draining medium. Then the orchid's roots would extend into the phorophyte's medium. Quite often bonsai growers use orchid mix as their medium. You can always raise the phorophyte's root crown above the soil line. This will help hedge against rot and provide a bit more surface area for the Phal. Plus, then you can see two sets of exposed roots...the Phal's and the phorophytes. In terms of watering frequency...it depends on several factors...the temperature, the phorophyte, its medium...and the quantity and type of moss you gave the Phal. Personally, I'd water the Phal as soon as I attached it...and then wait and see how many days it takes for it to look wilty. The next time I watered the Phal it would be a day or two before it was likely to show any signs of drought stress. Generally though, a newly mounted orchid will require more frequent waterings than it will when it has numerous roots (straws) crawling all over the branch. So at least initially, you'd want the phorophyte's medium to drain especially well. It might take some tweaking to get the drainage balance right...but attaching the Phal to a live branch will definitely increase the value to space ratio. You'll get more value for the same amount of space. Check out these nice blank canvases... This post was edited by epiphyte78 on Sat, Aug 2, 14 at 7:57

There are many different ways to successfully cultivate Hippeastrum bulbs... if you make it a point to research the natural habitats of the various species, the history behind the discovery and cultivation of this bulb type, and you learn the basic science and physics of container growing and what purposes a medium serves and the basic needs of plants in general, it becomes clear that there are several situations in which these bulbs will thrive. It helps to take into consideration your individual climate and the environment you have to offer, the amount of time and effort you can dedicate to growing, the types of amaryllids you want to grow... some growers opt for semi-hydroponics, or mounting, or a more common approach to containerized growing. Many plant types are very forgiving of the artificial habitats we try to force them into, and will adapt as best they can to our culture methods. It would be easier if the gardening industry offered a better variety of supplies based more on plant health than on short term profit... but industry is what it is. When researching, it helps quite a bit to pore over as many information sources as possible, to get a feel for the range of different information you'll find. Often, the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and taking most of what you learn with a large grain of salt and some common sense is very helpful. I would urge bulb growers to do some reading in other forums, mainly the Container Growing Forum, which offers a lot of great information on successful growing within confines spaces.

The only thing I would want to add is that for ME, growing dpiphytically is WAY too high maintenance. I've tried it and I always lose them because: 1) If I grow them in the GH, the heat in summer dries them to a crisp (and mine doesn't get much more than morning sun...) 2) If I grow them in the house, I have to take them down every day or so and water them, let them drain off, then put them back. It would be a full-time job. 3) Misting where they sit doesn't really work because I have beautiful old woodwork and antiques I don't want to ruin with constant moisture. I think if you have the time, space and humidity, it would be wonderful to grow them this way. But I grow Hoyas and succulents because they're low maintenance plants and turning them into high maintenance plants would just suck all the fun out of it for me. But I have great admiration for people who DO take the time, so congrats on your great success Bihai! They're absolutely stunning grown this way! Denise in Omaha

Teisa, well worth a visit (my unbiased opinion of course, LOL). It's a big country with a lot of variation across it. But if you want to see the most spectacular natural display of Hoya on the planet (australis ssp rupicola) let me know and I'll point you in the right direction. Kateanne, I don't know the background to this tree but I suspect it had some helpers somewhere along the way. I don't put any medium in the bags and make sure they're "inflated" before sealing the ziplock bag. Gives the leaves a bit of room without being stuck against the plastic. Every several days I wash/flush them which also allows a change of air. It's worked well, except once with a sussuela, which rotted for some reason.