Mounting an Orchid

I’m back again with another DIY and this time its mounting orchids. I have mounted staghorn ferns in the past and thought why don’t I do the same for my orchid. After all, that is how it would grow in nature.

Now, some orchids are terrestrial meaning they prefer to grow in the ground and not on trees so do your research to make sure your orchid will prefer to be mounted. Mine is a mini Phalaenopsis and do well mounted.

Anyway, back to mounting orchids, these are the things you’ll need.

My mount is a wood bark I got from pet smart. Any rough wood surface (as opposed to smooth), will do. I’m told, the rough surface makes it easier for the roots to anchor themselves properly onto the wood.

1. Remove the orchid from the pot it came in and remove as much of the medium and dead roots as possible.

2. Tie a string around the mount you are going to use. Make a knot so that one end of the string is long. This is the end you are going to be wrapping around the orchid.

3. Place some sphagnum moss on the mount and place the orchid roots on the moss. Next, place another layer of moss on top of the roots. Then wrap the string around it a few times until you feel it is well secured on the mount.

It will look  like this in the end, front and back.

And there you have it. Easy Peasy. I soak it in a sink full of water once a week when I soak my air plants. Or if I’m too lazy, or in a hurry, I heavily mist the roots. I’ve had it mounted for about 3 months and it just keeps growing new roots into the mount. In the picture below, you can see the roots have grown out through the moss and anchoring on the wood.

My mistake however was using such a small mount because now the roots are growing past the mount and have nothing to anchor to. I am laying the mount flat for now to see how the roots will grow around the edges. I may have to screw in an extension or something of that nature. So just remember to use a longer , bigger mount to give the roots room to grow… just like on a tree. Now you try it!