08/06/2008 - Mounted Orchids

Mounting orchids is more than just slapping on a plant to a driftwood. It takes careful attention to detail to make sure that the plant's growth habit complements the driftwood's shape and scale.
The mounted piece should become a homogeneous entity. Plant and substrate should be viewed as one living creature and not a bunch of building blocks that you can dismantle and reassemble at will.
It is also important to understand the properties of the wood being used. Mounting an orchid to a wood that easily rots within six months is rarely a worthwhile excersize.

Here are some of the orchids that I have mounted on driftwoods, to show their progress after one year or so.

Dendrobium (NOID) on a dense river driftwood. July 2007.


This is the same piece in April 2008.
Notice that the inflorescence's arch is consistent with the arch of the driftwood. Coinsidence? or careful pairing of the plant and substrate? you be the judge :)


Here is a recent photo of the plant. July 2008.



Here is another dendrobium (NOID) mounted to a dense river driftwood. June 2007
I tried to orient the plant so that the direction of new growth faces towards the left side the driftwood. My hope is that the orchid's new canes will crawl across the remainder of the wood.


Here is a recent photo of the plant. July 2008
So far the plan seems to be working.


Cattleya guttata mounted to a similar dense river driftwood. June 2007
Cattleya roots tend to ramble on, so I mounted the plant in a higher spot than usual to give the roots room to roam.


Here is a recent photo of the mounted orchid. July 2008
It has only been one year but the roots have already reached the outer edges of the driftwood.


Other works in progress:

Dendrobium (NOID) on a dense river driftwood oriented vertically. July 2008
This was a keiki mounted a few months prior to this picture. The roots have already taken hold of the driftwood.


Two Cattleya aurantiaca orchids mounted on a dense river driftwood. July 2007.
I intended this to be a compound piece, with two identical plants in the upper and lower sections of the driftwood.


This is a recent photo of the mounted Cattleya aurantiaca. July 2008.
Only the lower orchid survived, and I decided to keep the upper section empty.
Even with our best efforts, some orchids are bound to die. Thats just the way it is.