Growing Orchids On A Wall: A Guide?

Tropical orchids are epiphytic plants that grow on trees or branches with long, plump roots extending far from the plant. They often flower in terrariums, which look like mini terrariums hanging on the ceiling. Hanging orchids on walls is a creative and unique way to transform your home into a botanical haven. To mount an orchid, follow these steps:

1. Start with a healthy, actively growing orchid. Avoid mounting an orchid when it has visible issues or is in a state of distress.

2. Choose a hanging basket or pot with drainage holes, a suitable potting mix, and a secure hook or hanger.

3. Focus on epiphytic orchids like Phalaenopsis, Cattleya, and Dendrobium.

4. Wall-hung mounts for orchids take up less space, allowing you to fit more orchids on a wall than placing them on a table or flat surface.

5. Spread the roots around a wood slab and cover them with a thin layer of moistened sphagnum moss or coconut fiber. For optimal placement, aim for at least 10 hours a day of bright, indirect light.

6. Place a small amount of moss around the roots to protect them from the wire. Wrap the wire around the mount, orchid, and moss, using sphagnum moss as a source of water while the plant adapts to the mount.

7. Fill the hanging planter with soil and fill it with water. This will help the orchids grow and thrive in their new environment.

Can orchids grow on a wall?

Mounted orchids are suitable for various purposes, including enhancing the aesthetic appeal of a room. Cattleya orchids are popular for their love for mounting, while Cattleyas are suitable for large-scale cultivation. Brassavola orchids, a drought-tolerant species, are recommended for their lovely evening fragrance when in bloom. Other recommended mounts include Vanda, Angraecum, Cattleya, Tolumnia, and Phalaenopsis. It is crucial to choose an orchid with a healthy, vigorous root system, indicating active growth and the emergence of new roots.

How to grow orchids on a log?

To create a maintenance-free epiphytic orchid log, use large sheets of green moss and tinted fishing line to wrap around the outer side of the cylinder. Stand the unit back onto the base and add enough green moss to prevent small particles from falling through. Fill the base with sphagnum/growstone and position the clay reservoir cylinder in the center. Add the growstone mix until it fills the jungle log to the top.

Add epiphytic orchids to the jungle log using more tinted fishing wire and secure them 3 to 4 times. Within 6 months, the orchids should develop enough roots to secure themselves to the log. Check on them often to prevent them from loosing their roots.

Water the entire unit heavily to charge the moss with water, filling the clay water reservoir to the top. Top off the water every 1 to 3 days for optimal water to the root systems. Moisten the outer moss often as the new root system needs to reach inside the jungle log to access the extra moisture inside. If the outer moss feels dry, mist heavily or pour water around the entire log.

This virtually maintenance-free epiphytic orchid log should last at least 10 years.

What is the best way to hang orchids?

It is recommended that a tree-like, bark-like mounting material be selected for the orchid, such as coco husk fiber plaques, cork bar slabs, cypress bark slabs, driftwood, or tree fern plaques. The surface must be prepared and mounted, the roots must be wrapped in sphagnum moss, and the plant must be tied to the mount.

How to water a wall mounted orchid?

To grow an orchid, ensure adequate humidity, as the roots are minimal and moss around them will dry quickly. Water your plant 3-5 times per week in a home, sunroom, or greenhouse. For low humidity, water every sunny day. If your plant is unhappy due to low humidity, use a cool mist humidifier and a small fan. Fertilizer should be applied every 2-3 weeks after watering.

Temperatures and light should be adjusted based on the species or hybrid you are growing. Most plants will appreciate lower light and moderate temperatures for the first few weeks after mounting to avoid stress. Adjust for specific plant cultures after mounting.

Can all orchids be mounted?

Mounted orchids thrive in temperate zones and tropical regions, but it’s crucial to check the orchid’s temperature tolerance before relocating it. Most types of orchids, including Vandas, Phalenopsis, Oncidiums, Dendrobiums, and Cattleyas, can thrive when mounted to a tree. Selecting an outdoor location that matches the orchid’s care instructions is essential. For instance, Vandas can tolerate high light, while Cattleyas need filtered light. Identifying the rain flow down the tree is also crucial.

Mounting the orchid where the rain will flow down the tree, while avoiding dry spots, is best. Orchids can be attached to trees using various methods, such as attaching them to tree limbs and using biodegradable twine.

What is the best base for orchids?

Fir bark, charcoal, and coarse perlite are essential ingredients in orchid mixes. Fir bark is a natural product that orchid roots can grow on, while charcoal cleanses pots, preventing mineral buildup. Coarse perlite keeps the mix open, providing water and air permeability. Special Orchid Mix is formulated for orchids that like quick root drying, like Cattleyas and Oncidiums. Better-Gro Phalaenopsis Mix, with chunky peat, is ideal for low humidity environments, arid outdoor environments, and indoor growing. It can also be used for other orchid types, including Paphiopedilums and Intergenerics.

Do orchids naturally hang?

The orchid family, which includes over 880 genera and 22, 000 species, is the largest and most diverse flowering plant family. Most orchids are tropical plants, living as epiphytes or “air plants” hanging on to trees for support. Some are lithophytes or “rock plants” growing on or among rocks, while the remaining orchids are terrestrials growing in the loamy detritus of the jungle floor.

To give general guidelines on orchid care, there are only several dozen species widely produced and even fewer available at local nursery. Hybrids, created by crossing different species and genera, are often sold at nurseries, florists, hardware chain stores, and groceries. These hybrids are rewarding house plants to grow and are relatively easy to care for if taken a little time to understand their basic needs.

Orchid growth environments are crucial for understanding orchid care. In a jungle, an orchid clings to a tree, absorbing water from the humid air and using organic matter decaying in branches or animal droppings. In a typical home environment, the orchid has thick stems called “pseudobulbs” to store and hold water for dry periods. Understanding the natural conditions in which the orchid grows is critical to understanding what the orchid needs for its care. Orchid Starter Kits offer essentials for growing a happy, healthy orchid.

What is the cardboard method for orchids?

Growing terrestrial orchid seeds on wet cardboard is a method that replicates the wild germination process of orchids. This method provides food for fungi, enabling the seeds to germinate and reach their early development stage. However, finding information about growing terrestrial orchid seeds on cardboard can be challenging, as there are no more detailed descriptions available on Orchid Board.

How to display orchids indoors?

Orchids are a unique and beautiful flower that have earned a reputation among passionate home gardeners. They are not always as difficult to maintain as people think, depending on the species and some can be more finicky than others. To incorporate orchids into your home decor, consider using unusual containers such as shower caddy, wall planters, hanging orchids, upside-down orchids, and mounting planters on the wall.

By exploring local thrift stores and experimenting with different containers, you can create a unique and whimsical display of orchids. Mason jars, decorative pitchers, glass bowls, and silver or copper items can add a whimsical touch to your decor. By incorporating these unusual blooms into your home decor, you can create a unique and beautiful display that adds a touch of elegance to your home.

What kind of wood can you mount orchids on?

The author prefers cork oak bark for flat slab mounts, while most hardwoods are acceptable. They suggest using cedar or redwood for lumber due to their rough surface and ability to hold roots. They have had success with tree fern’s core, but it breaks down over time. Bottlebrush wood, which has rough bark and is hard, seems to last well and is abundant in their area, has also been used. The author advises against using resinous or sap-producing woods for mounting plants, as they are not good for growing plants on.

They suggest focusing on “hard” and “rough bark” criteria, as availability depends on location. The author suggests checking with neighbors when someone is cutting down a tree to see what they can score.

What is the best material to mount orchids?

Mounting orchids is crucial for species orchids and hybrids, with cork or plastic mounts being the most common. Tree fern slabs are expensive and unsustainably produced, but they can accommodate almost every orchid type and yield higher results due to more organic matter, water absorption, and airflow. Cork and polypropylene fabric are inert, so moisture retention, pH influence, and nutrient store are up to the mounting media. Sphagnum is the most common substrate for orchids, either loosely or tightly packed around the roots to provide a small water reservoir. However, too tightly packed sphagnum can lead to root death.

Coconut coir has been used in recent years, but it is poor with water retention and should only be used in greenhouses. Many sources of coconut coir come from trees contaminated with ocean salt, which is lethal to nearly all orchids, except for sea-level-growing species like Brassavola nodosa and related species.