Mounting Sophronitis Cernua

Sophronitis cernua mounted on a clam shell

     Many culture guides for sophronitis cernua recommend growing it mounted.  The little orchid likes regular watering, and needs to dry out between them.  At first I wanted to keep my soph in a pot; I did not want yet another orchid that needed daily watering.  However, my soph was drying out daily in its little 3" clay pot.  Since I was watering daily anyway, I decided to go ahead and mount it.

two bare-root sophronitis cernuas

     This time I was more thorough at removing all the old media that had stuck to the roots (unlike last time, when I mostly left the old media attached).  In the process, I realized that I had two separate plants.  Presumably they had once been connected by an old psuedobulb which died.

     I didn't have any wood chunks on hand, but I did have a big clam shell, which I decided to use as an impromptu mount.  I used wire to attach the two little orchids to the shell, among some loosely packed live sphagnum moss.  I'm pleased with how the final result looks.