Wow Ken, that orchid on the polished wood is so beautiful that my DH ACTUALLY said, "Hey, can we hang that one somewhere in the house?" I'm telling you, that is a HUGE compliment. Thank you!!!!

I mounted the Pot. and will post a picture soon. Thanks again for the lovely plants.

Is this the Blc. Chinese Beauty 'Orchid Queen' AM/AOS on cedar that you got? I had mounted three of these plants on different woods and can't remember which one you got.

I don't know that anyone else does quite what I do with mounts. I believe that the mount should carry its own weight when it comes to beauty and longevity and that the orchid and flowers simply enhance the mount's esthetics.

I am equally glad your husband appreciated what I do. We guys can sometimes be sort of blind to esthetics.



when it flowers here's your treat

Yes that's the one, and yes, I search high and low for good things to mount....my son and I spend hours digging through driftwood....a good mount and a healthy plant together are truly art!

Driftwood is one of the woods (one never knows what kind of wood washes up on the shore) that I may not be able to plane one side. It just depends on the form of the wood. It is amazing to take an ordinary, and often ugly piece of wood, cut through it, and see what the "true" texture and coloration there is. Often these ugly woods make wonderful and beautiful mounts. I don't get much driftwood. Someone has to actually be coming up to Starkville from the Gulf Coast and bring it to me. That's usually during football season, since we always have a house full of guests from Pascagoula for all our home games. We become the Ramsey Hotel.

Have you ever seen pecky cypress? It is one of those woods, like a geode...kinda boring on the outside but surprisingly beautiful when you section it. Driftwood is uncommon here, too...believe it or not. People snatch it up that quickly.

Pecky cypress is a wonderful wood but I don't get any of that here. The cypress is use are the knees and 150+ year old cypress that was cut back in the 1920's.

Do the plants attach readily to the finished pieces, Ken? Or do you leave a section unfinished so they can attach?

They sell amazing driftwood pieces at Tropiflora, but they sure know how to charge for it, too.

I think searching for driftwood is better done from a boat here. It doesn't wash up on the open beaches much, and as Kate says, gets snatched up whenever it does. But there are pockets where it collects amongst mangroves and such spots. I've anchored the boat and waded ashore to investigate these tangles a few times. It can be really great or disappointing when everything is so intertwined that you can't get anything to come loose. Then there is the wildlife, birds nesting, and other critters that hide in there . . . that can get exciting.

Actually the roots of epiphytes attach to the epoxy with ease. Do they more readily attach to the unfinished wood - perhaps. The picture of the orchid that Kate got has several roots firmly attached to the epoxy side and then they continue to grow onto the backside as well. No, I don't leave any exposed wood on the epoxy side. Two-part, chemically-cured epoxy is inert. It is expensive to buy and time-consuming to apply (two coats over two days), but I like the finish. Some people don't. It is sort of my signature when it comes to mounts. I guess I should sign my mounts.

I love the epoxy and the plant seems to be OK with it, too. The roots are climbing all over it. And yes, my son and I have been known to go wading in the muck to get nice pieces of wood Tropiflora pieces are outstanding but yes, WAY too expensive.

There's a place here on Anna Maria Island next to the Island Art League.... and there's a lady there who sells fabulous driftwood...and they are expensive too, but if you chat with her and tell her you're mounting plants on it, she gives you a GREAT discount.

It's all about the scavenging, though! That's where most of the fun is!

Don't you need to soak/rinse that driftwood to remove any salts before using it as a mount? We don't get any on our southern beaches, but the farther north you go, the more you see....especially in Alaska.

When I get the few pieces of driftwood, I will just put it out in the back landscape and let the weather have its way for several months. Sometimes, when they are brought to me that person will tell me that the driftwood has been out in the weather for quite a long time. Either way, the rain and sun does its magic.

Rain??? Sun is starting to come out by noon here...some days.

Wood from old Blueberry bushes is very stable. I mounted my Rhyncholaelia digbyana on a good piece of that some years ago, roots attached very nicely.

I still like cork.

Jim

Around here Grape vine seems to be popular, but the division of Gerberara that I mounted on my lemon tree seems to love it. Not very interesting though, and can't be removed.

I agree, Jim, cork is the hands-down best mounting material I have ever used. I got a batch of CA grape-vine about 3-4 years ago (my wife is a CA gal and has family there - I had a source). I have been very disappointed in those vine mounts. Most have rotted at least some. I won't use any more of them. If someone wants grape vine I will be glad to ship what I have for the postage.

YEs, the driftwood has to be properly treated. I use a pressure washer. Most of the driftwood I find is cedar, and when you pressure wash it, it turns red. I pressure wash all of it regardless of type because it reveals a lot of interesting patterns under all that accumulated mucky stuff. Then I let it dry in the sun and I hose it down again or let the rains take care of it for a week or so. Seems to have worked out OK so far.