John is one of the real growers , just get used to a new environment.

I often wonder if I spent as much time thinking about ways to be successful in life as I did trying to grow orchids.......

I did something similar when I grew in NY. Even works in Florida during the dry season.

I would use deli trays to lay the mount on. Water the mount and it would run into the tray. I'd leave it like that until the tray was dry and the wood mount was dry. If you have a large mount use a larger tray like a humidity tray.

What I've always found was wetting the mount works better than watering the plant. The roots attach to the wood and get moisture. The tray also keeps humidity around the plant.

I have also used a clay pot as John. That works also, but I prefer the trays.

Jane

Jane, thank you for the great hint. It will be fun to look around for something that fits that description. And I remember you saying that you struggled with humidity in NY and yet you were growing successfully on mounts.

Arthur, yes I have one of those combo hygrometer and min-max thermometer things. Keeping humidity at 50 or lower seems to work better inside the house. I may have beein in "over-kill" mode with sink runs, butit doesn't have much on the mount in the way of moisture retention, so when all the roots turn white again and have been that way for a little while, it seems time for another mist.

By the way, do you usually go to the Redland festival? I know you've said recently that you have enough plants and don't need any more. With the severe reduction of orchids available online these days, i've been wondering if hitting the festivals has become the "replacement" strategy for having access to a wide and diverse selection of great plants.

John, Join a local orchid society. We invite commercial growers to speak at our meetings and bring plants for sale. Most including us have an annual judged show. Included is 10 vendors competing for your dollars. And joining is a good resource of people and info. I enjoy the social benefits too.

I live in South Florida with a lot of plants living on trees. They tolerate the dry times fine. They get wet most every day. They also get maxi-crop. A Norwegian organic, regenerating seaweed juice. Contains naturally occurring root stimulant. A real game changer. It makes the roots fatter and long translucent tips. Which gives the plants very good hydration. Spagnum around here must be used carefully as plants get drowned and die.

Thanks for the nudge, Harvey. There is one probably about an hour away that had slipped off my to-do list. Their show is coming up in mid-January. I'm liking the mounted phal arrangement. It gives me something to fuss with. I can't be the only one who checks their orchids several times a day to see if there's anything to fuss with. I'm leaving the tacky backdrop spray guard in place. Too much trouble to keep taking it out and putting it back whenever I want to spray. I'll come up with something nicer one day.

If your talking about the show at Rutgers we may be neighbors.

If your going, check out Andy’s Orchids web site. They are having thier 20% off sale now. If you call them they will bring your order to the show so you don’t have to pay shipping.

James, yes I am. Hopefully there won't be a blizzard at the time. You know what I really want and am having trouble finding on the web? Miltoniopsis. It seems like all the miltoniopsis specialists are gone. Thanks for the Andy's tip!