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.

Three new orchids

A new batch of orchids arrived in the mail

     The orchid show peaked my temptation to once again go orchid shopping.  I made myself wait a couple of  weeks, but when I saw a few of these plants go on sale, I ordered yet another batch of orchids for my collection.  On the left is an in-spike Psychopsis Mariposa 'Mountain.'  Meanwhile, on the right are two more tolumnias: Pink Panther and Genting Orange.  

     I intended to grow the tolumnias mounted, and the psychopsis had dead-looking roots poking out from the bottom of the pot.  Consequently the first thing I did after taking this picture was soak the plants in water to loosen the roots for re-potting.

Psychopsis root health: soon to be dead

     Frankly, the state of the psychopsis roots was disappointing.  A number of the longest roots had grown right out of the pot, and I unfortunately had to cause some damage when pulling the plant out.  Meanwhile, that soggy brown-looking thing in the middle of the picture (right at the base of the leaves) looks like ancient sphagnum moss.  

     I know psychopsis don't like being re-potted, but I am glad I did change the media immediately.  The media was very old, and none of the roots looked very healthy.  I trimmed back some of the mushy dead ones, and potted the orchid in a clear plastic pot with loosely packed fresh media.

Growing psychopsis spike

     The orchid did sell 'in spike' at a very attractive discount, so I  am hoping that it will be able to grow new roots and quickly establish itself in the new media.  If not, I will nurse it until it recovers.  Fortunately, my two oncidiums looked far worse and survived, and I expect to be able to save this orchid regardless of what happens in the next few months. 

Tolumnia Pink Panther

     Next I re-potted the two tolumnias.  Tolumnia Pink Panther had the healthiest roots of the bunch.  The root ball was about as big as the leaves themselves, and most of the roots were a healthy white/green color.  To me this looked like an orchid ready for re-potting-- but not over-ready.

Tolumnia Genting Orange

     Although it was in a smaller pot, Tolumnia Genting Orange had actually longer leaves than the Pink Panther (and slightly disappointingly, both were larger than my original Tolumnia Red Berry).  Here, the orchid looks like it should have been re-potted a season ago.  The healthy thicker roots were growing outside the pot.  Meanwhile the mass of roots within the pot is a lackluster tan, and of dubious health.  

     However, I am now realizing that both these plants have far healthier roots than the Tolumnia Red Berry which I bought at the NYBG orchid show. Although that orchid hasn't lost any leaves yet, I am rather concerned about whether it now has any healthy roots at all.

Tolumnia growing spike

     As a pleasant surprise I noticed that the Tolumnia Genting Orange was in spike as well (unlike the psychopsis, the plant was not listed as 'in-spike' on the online catalog).  This means that if I get the care conditions right, I may have new orchids coming in to bloom when my Wilsonara Pacific Perspective finishes flowering.

Two orchids, one mount

     I mounted both tolumnias on a log of 'aquarium decoration wood,' using some living moss and craft wire. The orientation of the top plant is not quite perfect (I would have liked it more vertical) but I figure the leaves will adjust over time. 

     With tolumnias I feel that the pots are so tiny, that I'd have to be watering them frequently anyway (my biggest concern with mounting orchids has been the necessity for daily watering).  At least with the mounts, I'm less likely to rot the roots by accident.  Meanwhile, since I can hang the mounts off the side of the shelf, I'm not taking away space from my other orchids. I love these cheery little orchids, and hope that I won't have casualties in my process of learning to grow them.

Tolumnia Red Berry

     I picked up this tiny orchid from the guest shop at the NYBG.  I was absolutely charmed by the bright colors and the tiny pot.  The bloom spike is several times taller than the plant itself, which was in a pot barely bigger than a dollar coin.

here's the pot with a penny for reference

     As soon as I brought the orchid home, I set about getting ready to repot.  I soaked the orchid for a while in a tub of water to loosen the roots, and then gently pulled it out of the pot.  Even being as gentle as I could, I think I still damaged several leaves. I guess I'll know in a few days if I snapped some leaves if I see them turning yellow. 

    Surprisingly the orchid was potted up in coarse bark mix.  I was expecting to find sphagnum moss, or at least something finer-grained.  The roots looked fine, so I did minimal trimming. However, after I spread them out to remove the bark chips, they no longer fit into the original pot.  Not having any other pots of similar size, I decided that I would try my hand at mounting the orchid instead. I figured that a pot so small would need watering about as frequently anyway, and with a mount I could avoid needing to distress the roots as often.

     And here it is perched on a piece of aquarium driftwood, with a patch of sphagnum moss for moisture.  Although I have craft wire, I actually used some old hair ties to attach the orchid to the wood.  Perhaps that is a mistake, but it seemed easier at the time.  If the hair ties start to rot from the watering, I can supplement with wire later. [edit: I did end up changing over to wire a few days later.  It makes a much more stable mount]