I have noticed that over the years I have mounted some orchids
on the inside of a round hollow piece of cork.
The plants struggle & I have lost a couple.
The inside of the cork has a dark lining if you will on it.
Could this be a poison to the plants?
Cheers Wendy

I don't think it's poisonous - I have lots of mounted plants that have
"grabbed" the back of the adjacent slab without an issue. The outside is a
lot more porous, so maybe that's the reason for the preference.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Wendy" wrote in message
...
I have noticed that over the years I have mounted some orchids
on the inside of a round hollow piece of cork.
The plants struggle & I have lost a couple.
The inside of the cork has a dark lining if you will on it.
Could this be a poison to the plants?
Cheers Wendy

I don't think it's poisonous - I have lots of mounted plants that have
"grabbed" the back of the adjacent slab without an issue. The outside is a
lot more porous, so maybe that's the reason for the preference.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Wendy" wrote in message
...
I have noticed that over the years I have mounted some orchids
on the inside of a round hollow piece of cork.
The plants struggle & I have lost a couple.
The inside of the cork has a dark lining if you will on it.
Could this be a poison to the plants?
Cheers Wendy

Wendy,

Last year at the National Capitol Orchid Society Show there was an exhibit
where someone had a couple of plants on the inside of a cork mount. It
looked like the orchids were growing inside of a boat.

Could your problem be that the type of plant does not appreciate a smooth
surface to grab onto. I have a couple of chilochistas that I'm trying to
grow on the outside of bark and they just don't want to grab on. I have
heard that they prefer a very smooth surface.

Gene



"Wendy" wrote in message
...
I have noticed that over the years I have mounted some orchids
on the inside of a round hollow piece of cork.
The plants struggle & I have lost a couple.
The inside of the cork has a dark lining if you will on it.
Could this be a poison to the plants?
Cheers Wendy

When you say on the inside of the cork, and that the inside is black, what
do you mean?
I purchase my mounting corks in large pieces, then I have my husband
literally hack the darn things to the desired size. The cork comes in a
blocks, big curvy porous blocks. When cut, it's not black on the inside,
it's reddish. Depending on the species, some I'll mount by tying fishline
without any other media. Others, I'll tie either fish line or tie wraps
together with sphag wrapped around the roots. I have Phals, Dendrobiums,
some Catts, Epis, Bl's, all mounted in this fashion. Some take longer for
the roots to grab, others grab onto the cork as if there is no tomorrow.
Can you explain the concept of "inside" and "black on the inside"?

Mariana

"Gene Schurg" wrote in message
nk.net...
Wendy,

Last year at the National Capitol Orchid Society Show there was an exhibit
where someone had a couple of plants on the inside of a cork mount. It
looked like the orchids were growing inside of a boat.

Could your problem be that the type of plant does not appreciate a smooth
surface to grab onto. I have a couple of chilochistas that I'm trying to
grow on the outside of bark and they just don't want to grab on. I have
heard that they prefer a very smooth surface.

Gene



"Wendy" wrote in message
...
I have noticed that over the years I have mounted some orchids
on the inside of a round hollow piece of cork.
The plants struggle & I have lost a couple.
The inside of the cork has a dark lining if you will on it.
Could this be a poison to the plants?
Cheers Wendy

When you say on the inside of the cork, and that the inside is black, what
do you mean?
I purchase my mounting corks in large pieces, then I have my husband
literally hack the darn things to the desired size. The cork comes in a
blocks, big curvy porous blocks. When cut, it's not black on the inside,
it's reddish. Depending on the species, some I'll mount by tying fishline
without any other media. Others, I'll tie either fish line or tie wraps
together with sphag wrapped around the roots. I have Phals, Dendrobiums,
some Catts, Epis, Bl's, all mounted in this fashion. Some take longer for
the roots to grab, others grab onto the cork as if there is no tomorrow.
Can you explain the concept of "inside" and "black on the inside"?

Mariana

"Gene Schurg" wrote in message
nk.net...
Wendy,

Last year at the National Capitol Orchid Society Show there was an exhibit
where someone had a couple of plants on the inside of a cork mount. It
looked like the orchids were growing inside of a boat.

Could your problem be that the type of plant does not appreciate a smooth
surface to grab onto. I have a couple of chilochistas that I'm trying to
grow on the outside of bark and they just don't want to grab on. I have
heard that they prefer a very smooth surface.

Gene



"Wendy" wrote in message
...
I have noticed that over the years I have mounted some orchids
on the inside of a round hollow piece of cork.
The plants struggle & I have lost a couple.
The inside of the cork has a dark lining if you will on it.
Could this be a poison to the plants?
Cheers Wendy

On Fri, 30 Jul 2004 14:50:09 GMT, GrlIntrpted wrote:

When you say on the inside of the cork, and that the inside is black, what
do you mean?
I purchase my mounting corks in large pieces, then I have my husband
literally hack the darn things to the desired size. The cork comes in a
blocks, big curvy porous blocks. When cut, it's not black on the inside,
it's reddish. Depending on the species, some I'll mount by tying fishline
without any other media. Others, I'll tie either fish line or tie wraps
together with sphag wrapped around the roots. I have Phals, Dendrobiums,
some Catts, Epis, Bl's, all mounted in this fashion. Some take longer for
the roots to grab, others grab onto the cork as if there is no tomorrow.
Can you explain the concept of "inside" and "black on the inside"?

Mariana

"Gene Schurg" wrote in message
nk.net...
Wendy,

Last year at the National Capitol Orchid Society Show there was an exhibit
where someone had a couple of plants on the inside of a cork mount. It
looked like the orchids were growing inside of a boat.

Could your problem be that the type of plant does not appreciate a smooth
surface to grab onto. I have a couple of chilochistas that I'm trying to
grow on the outside of bark and they just don't want to grab on. I have
heard that they prefer a very smooth surface.

Gene



"Wendy" wrote in message
...
I have noticed that over the years I have mounted some orchids
on the inside of a round hollow piece of cork.
The plants struggle & I have lost a couple.
The inside of the cork has a dark lining if you will on it.
Could this be a poison to the plants?
Cheers Wendy



Thanks Mariana for reading between the lines. I should have explained in
more detail. A lot of the cork I aquired years ago was from an actual
cork tree that the county was removing.
So imagine a branch about 5" in diameter split & the center core
removed leaving two layers. The outer cork & about 1/4" of dark brown rough
wood. It is very hard to remove without damaging the soft outer cork
layer.
So I was wondering if this inside layer could be acidy or not to
the liking of some orchid plants roots????
Cheers Wendy