Question for Ray: slab to S/H
 

I have a Brassavola Little Stars that is mounted to a flat, smooth slab
with a wired wad of moss on the bottom. (Not an elegant description,
but you get the idea.) Because I'm an indoor grower, mounted things do
not work easily or well for me, and I'd like to move this plant to S/H.
I have 4 other Brassavolas that are in S/H, and they are incredibly
lush and happy in that media. The problem is that many of the mounted
plants' roots have grown into the flat slab and some are embedded in
the moss wad. There are more roots in the moss and growing into the
slab than there are aerial roots. How can I move this plant to S/H--or
should I?

Although S/H is a good resource for Brassavolas (I have a couple in the
same), the Brassavola seems to enjoy cork mounts. In some cases, I used
Tilly Tack to mout some deflasked seedlings (don't over-do the glue,
especially on the roots). After several months, they are thriving. They
seem to enjoy indirect light, not direct sun. Tilly Tack has worked for
some Vanda seedlings, too (use sparingly). In fact, one little seedling
fell from its cork mount on to a Coelogyne leaf, where it grew for several
months. I thought it an anomoly until I noticed a bit of Tilly Tack (Yes,
my eyesight isn't the best).

.. . . Pam
Everything Orchid Management System http://www.pe.net/~profpam/page3.html

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dd wrote:

I have a Brassavola Little Stars that is mounted to a flat, smooth slab
with a wired wad of moss on the bottom. (Not an elegant description,
but you get the idea.) Because I'm an indoor grower, mounted things do
not work easily or well for me, and I'd like to move this plant to S/H.
I have 4 other Brassavolas that are in S/H, and they are incredibly
lush and happy in that media. The problem is that many of the mounted
plants' roots have grown into the flat slab and some are embedded in
the moss wad. There are more roots in the moss and growing into the
slab than there are aerial roots. How can I move this plant to S/H--or
should I?

Personally, I've never made the switch. I prefer my brassavolas mounted or
in baskets, so wouldn't make the switch.

I would try to remove as much of the moss as you can, and trim away as much
of the cork, and then stick the mount in the pot, hoping the plant will grow
away from it enough to allow its removal in the future.

Whatever you do, you'll be inducing a lot of root damage, so be sure to make
the transition when the plant is growing new roots actively.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"dd" wrote in message
...
I have a Brassavola Little Stars that is mounted to a flat, smooth slab
with a wired wad of moss on the bottom. (Not an elegant description,
but you get the idea.) Because I'm an indoor grower, mounted things do
not work easily or well for me, and I'd like to move this plant to S/H.
I have 4 other Brassavolas that are in S/H, and they are incredibly
lush and happy in that media. The problem is that many of the mounted
plants' roots have grown into the flat slab and some are embedded in
the moss wad. There are more roots in the moss and growing into the
slab than there are aerial roots. How can I move this plant to S/H--or
should I?

In article , Ray
wrote:

Personally, I've never made the switch. I prefer my brassavolas mounted or
in baskets, so wouldn't make the switch.

I would try to remove as much of the moss as you can, and trim away as much
of the cork, and then stick the mount in the pot, hoping the plant will grow
away from it enough to allow its removal in the future.

Whatever you do, you'll be inducing a lot of root damage, so be sure to make
the transition when the plant is growing new roots actively.

Thanks Ray and Pam.

My problem with mounts and baskets is that my growing area is also my
office, and I've got Oriental carpets over hardwood floors. It's sort
of a nuissance every day to take down baskets and mounts, put them in a
litter box and spray them, wait for them to stop dripping, hang them
back up, put away the box, etc.

This plant isn't presently in a major growth spurt, so I'll try
hanging it over a large fern so the fern can catch the drips. Then,
when it looks a little more frisky, I'll put it in S/H per Ray's
instructions.

Hi DD,


I have two B. nodosa established on wooden baskets for a couple of
years and one in SH. The plant in SH had one root when I put it in a
year ago. It is now comperable in size to the others (i.e. it has
grown 4x as fast as the others). I wish I had never stuck the others
onto baskets.


Soak the mount in water for several hours and then ease the roots off
of the mount. Then cut off any torn up roots and any old roots,
leaving just the best looking forward roots. You should just have
enough roots left to anchor the plant in the medium, any more and you
are risking negative effects down the road due to old and dead roots
clogging air spaces. I generally leave about five roots 2.5-3 inches
long (or less) when I transfer anything and everything. After the
plant is trimmed leaf it out on the counter top untill the next day
(or week if you don't get around to it) so that the cuts can callus
over. The next day pot the plant.


Removing nearly all of the roots stimulates new growth/rooting and at
the same time allows the plant to pull in enough water to meet it's
needs. The plant may not look great for a couple of months, but those
new roots are what you are catering too for long term success because
the new root tips do most of the work pulling in nutrients and water.
The plant will make up for lost time very quickly.







dd wrote in message t...
I have a Brassavola Little Stars that is mounted to a flat, smooth slab
with a wired wad of moss on the bottom. (Not an elegant description,
but you get the idea.) Because I'm an indoor grower, mounted things do
not work easily or well for me, and I'd like to move this plant to S/H.
I have 4 other Brassavolas that are in S/H, and they are incredibly
lush and happy in that media. The problem is that many of the mounted
plants' roots have grown into the flat slab and some are embedded in
the moss wad. There are more roots in the moss and growing into the
slab than there are aerial roots. How can I move this plant to S/H--or
should I?

Hi DD,


I have two B. nodosa established on wooden baskets for a couple of
years and one in SH. The plant in SH had one root when I put it in a
year ago. It is now comperable in size to the others (i.e. it has
grown 4x as fast as the others). I wish I had never stuck the others
onto baskets.


Soak the mount in water for several hours and then ease the roots off
of the mount. Then cut off any torn up roots and any old roots,
leaving just the best looking forward roots. You should just have
enough roots left to anchor the plant in the medium, any more and you
are risking negative effects down the road due to old and dead roots
clogging air spaces. I generally leave about five roots 2.5-3 inches
long (or less) when I transfer anything and everything. After the
plant is trimmed leaf it out on the counter top untill the next day
(or week if you don't get around to it) so that the cuts can callus
over. The next day pot the plant.


Removing nearly all of the roots stimulates new growth/rooting and at
the same time allows the plant to pull in enough water to meet it's
needs. The plant may not look great for a couple of months, but those
new roots are what you are catering too for long term success because
the new root tips do most of the work pulling in nutrients and water.
The plant will make up for lost time very quickly.







dd wrote in message t...
I have a Brassavola Little Stars that is mounted to a flat, smooth slab
with a wired wad of moss on the bottom. (Not an elegant description,
but you get the idea.) Because I'm an indoor grower, mounted things do
not work easily or well for me, and I'd like to move this plant to S/H.
I have 4 other Brassavolas that are in S/H, and they are incredibly
lush and happy in that media. The problem is that many of the mounted
plants' roots have grown into the flat slab and some are embedded in
the moss wad. There are more roots in the moss and growing into the
slab than there are aerial roots. How can I move this plant to S/H--or
should I?

TZ,

Thanks so much for the info! Good tip about letting the roots callus
over--I've never done that--usually just dunk them in Physan 20.

DD


In article , TZ
wrote:

Hi DD,


I have two B. nodosa established on wooden baskets for a couple of
years and one in SH. The plant in SH had one root when I put it in a
year ago. It is now comperable in size to the others (i.e. it has
grown 4x as fast as the others). I wish I had never stuck the others
onto baskets.


Soak the mount in water for several hours and then ease the roots off
of the mount. Then cut off any torn up roots and any old roots,
leaving just the best looking forward roots. You should just have
enough roots left to anchor the plant in the medium, any more and you
are risking negative effects down the road due to old and dead roots
clogging air spaces. I generally leave about five roots 2.5-3 inches
long (or less) when I transfer anything and everything. After the
plant is trimmed leaf it out on the counter top untill the next day
(or week if you don't get around to it) so that the cuts can callus
over. The next day pot the plant.


Removing nearly all of the roots stimulates new growth/rooting and at
the same time allows the plant to pull in enough water to meet it's
needs. The plant may not look great for a couple of months, but those
new roots are what you are catering too for long term success because
the new root tips do most of the work pulling in nutrients and water.
The plant will make up for lost time very quickly.







dd wrote in message
t...
I have a Brassavola Little Stars that is mounted to a flat, smooth slab
with a wired wad of moss on the bottom. (Not an elegant description,
but you get the idea.) Because I'm an indoor grower, mounted things do
not work easily or well for me, and I'd like to move this plant to S/H.
I have 4 other Brassavolas that are in S/H, and they are incredibly
lush and happy in that media. The problem is that many of the mounted
plants' roots have grown into the flat slab and some are embedded in
the moss wad. There are more roots in the moss and growing into the
slab than there are aerial roots. How can I move this plant to S/H--or
should I?