How to dis-mount an orchid?

18 years ago

I have a Tuberolabium odorotissimum mounted on a small wooden branch with a sphag pad. It's doing well, but would probably be easier for me and better for the plant if it were potted -- as it is, it doesn't get watered as often as it should, and I'm really tired of taking it with me every time we go away for more than a long weekend. Plus, I grow indoors under fluorescents, so hanging things really don't have room to do what they should, and I'm scared to death that I'm going to break a lamp by banging it while hanging things up. My question is, does anyone have experience with removing a plant from the mount and putting it into a pot with medium? Any suggestions for the best medium to use (CHC, fir chips, sphag, shredded tree fern, a mix of several things?)

Thanks in advance

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Comments (7)

wetfeet101b
18 years ago
How about placing the entire mount inside the pot, treating the mounting branch as part of the potting medium?
You may need to cut the bottom part of the branch so that it sits at the proper level inside the pot.

Just an idea.
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cbarry
18 years ago
I assume that by asking this you know that it will accept being potted? Some plants don't readily accept being potted if they prefer being mounted. I know nothing about the plant in question, but felt that I should point that out. Also since you ask about what to pot it in, I hope that you have researched enough to know what type of media will be acceptable to this plant for potting. Not every plant will accept every type of media. For example, I use sphag, s/h, and bark mixes, depending upon the plant. One ang is 'potted' in loose crumbled tree fern in a clay pot, in a tray of water. The roots immediately died if I did anything more 'potted'.

How tightly attached are the roots to the mount? If tightly attached, then wetfeet is right on, with mounting it. But if the plant is just tied to the mount, and no roots are actually attached to the wood, then you can just cut the lines, and pot it in whatever is the appropriate media for it's roots and your watering habits.
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There is an orchid society in Jacksonville and according to google would be a 40-45 minute drive. Meetings are second Tuesday of every month and they have an annual orchid show in March. www.jaxorchidsociety.org Orchids that hang down are Coelogyne, Cycnoches, and many others but I think what you are specifically looking for are stanhopeas. Stanhopeas are wonderful and many are fragrant but the flowers last no more than a week. Orchids that grow best mounted are ones that absolutely must dry out between waterings. Can all epiphytic orchids be grown on a mount? Probably but some would have to be watered so often that it becomes unworkable and besides having a bunch of mounted orchids limits the number of plants one can grow. Most orchids just grow better in a pot and the reason is pot culture enables you to recreate that high level of humidity around the roots that they receive in nature. Which ever situation (pot or mounted) is best for the plant is best for flower production. Maryanne is right about Laelia anceps, it is probably the best starter mounted orchid and you can keep it outdoors all year. It tolerates lots of sun and rain in summer and temps into the 20's (when acclimated) in winter. As long as it stays outdoors from summer through winter it will handle a hard frost. They tend to bloom in late fall to early winter and are commonly sold at orchid shows or online.
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I have over 1,000 orchids, all except the Cymbidiums, a few species in moss and a few Australian Dendrobiums are mounted. A friend of mine has 1,000 plus in pots, he started repotting 1 month ago, he is only half way through as we speak. I don't have a repotting bench, no montains of bark new and old and have not repotted an orchid since Jan 2,000 when I cut myself badly wrestling a pot bound D speciosum out of a pot with a sharp tool of sorts. I decided at that time that there will be no more repotting, 90% are mounted, the rest are in rock. I never regretted that decision. I even have some Cymbidiums mounted as an experiment and they are doing fine. I would like to substitute the words 'Bare root growing' for 'mounting'. Since they are not parasitic, an epiphytic orchid derives only one thing from its host. A place to live and support so it does not fall to the forest floor in a storm. If you reduce the purpose of mounts to that, it opens all kinds of new possibilities. The plants don't care if they grow on a piece of wood that looks like a branch or pieces of wood that have been cut and reassembled to look like a basket. They grow equally well in an empty plastic basket or for that mater an empty plastic pot. They will grow on an old fridge or a car on blocks with the hood up, they just need support. To prove my point (occasionally I give talks) I have a vigorous catt growing in a suspended old tennis shoe. 5 new leads at this time, should have 5 bunches of purple flowers this fall. Blc Seach Urchin to be exact, but it would work for all of them. I took a bunched up Catt, ran some wires through its root ball and hung it up. That plant is growing on NOTHING. The whole point of this is that the plants don't care what they grow on as long as they are supported. Water, light, temp, food, air movement etc is what makes a sucessful plant. You can let your imagination run wild and mount them on anything that blows your skirts up. List of my favorite mounts: Branches and other pieces of wood with character Wooden baskets Plastic baskets Empty pots with holes drilled in the sides so roots can come out Rocks, lava rocks look really great Trees Houses, nail a few plants to the eves, wooden window frames, etc Fences I don't have cars on blocks with the hood up but they would look a lot better with some Cattleys all over them. 1,000 Orchids 'Missing in Action' sounds about right. Nick
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wetfeet101b
18 years ago
I could not find any hits by searching the internet for "Tuberolabium odorotissimum", perhaps that is a typo and supposed to be " Tuberolabium odoratissimum"

Most of the plants I saw were mounted on branches or cork. The few that are "potted" appear to just be sitting on top of sphagnum moss in a pot.

cbary may be right, that orchid might prefer to stay mounted.
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salvialvr
18 years ago
If I was you I'ld probably leave it mounted. If you really need to have it sitting on a shelf instead of hanging then just remove the hanger and stand the mount inside a clay pot without any other medium. When you water soak the pot as well and it'll help keep the humidity higher around the roots so you may get away with watering less often.
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highjack
18 years ago
I have one of my small mounts in a clay pot that is lined on the bottom and sides with sphag. I soak the sphag heavily when I water to keep the mount surrounded by more moisture. I turn the mount away from the fan which helps keep the container and mount wetter.

I also have flourescents and I hang some of my mounts from the dangling chains on the end of the light. Even with the drastic drop off in light intensity at the end of the tube, I can hang the mount very close to the light and they do very well. Those mounts I do have to take down and spritz every day because the lights will dry them out quicker.

Brooke
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spiced_ham
18 years ago
De mounting an orchid is generally easy. Soak the whole thing in a bucket of water for several hours or over night and the bulk of the roots will peal off with a minimum of tearing when growing on most materials. If it is on/in soft treefern you can crush the mount and untangle the roots from the sticks, if it is on hard treefern you are screwed. New-dry sand-blasted wood is tough to get roots off of too sometimes.

I would venture to say that more roots are damaged repotting an orcid than unmounting one in most cases.
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ifraser25
18 years ago
I don't know this species very well but I would assume that there is a reason for it being mounted. Are you sure it would not resent being in a pot? I certainly wouldn't risk removing it from the branch. I have several orchids that I or others have moved from mounts to a pot - mainly to supply greater stability, NOT to supply extra water, which would be very dangerous. Look on the Gallery in a couple of days time and I will show a pic of one of them.
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How to dis-mount an orchid?

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