I was amazed to see native orchids on their orchid display yesterday. As of this minute, DH has to go back to HD so I'm going to go get those little guys and give them their rightful home. It was meant to be!

Karma!

Were they still there?

Yep, I got all three of them, too. Now to figure out how to attach them so they can grab onto the tree like their big sibling.

Pictures forthcoming tomorrow, I hope.

Well, here's my first try at mounting the little Enc. tampensis plants to the big oak branch:



The two on the right are in little net bags with a little bit of coco chunk and spagnum, then the bags are stapled to the bark. I never knew oak bark was so crumbly! Had to dust around to find solid enough chunks to staple to. The left one up high is perched on the branch stub that the original one is/was hanging from. I set it there while I was stapling the other two, and then went to remove it and it was snagged. So, there it sits. I did put a few staples in around it as well, for good measure.

You did a good job of mounting, Elaine. You don't know how lucky you are to be able to put orchids in trees and just forget about them year 'round. Well, not really "forget", they do require maintenance, but you know what I mean.

I'll probably have to remember to water these babies for a while if it doesn't rain, Ken but the original plant gets a spritz of fert/water maybe once a month, otherwise it takes care of itself very nicely. The beauty of growing native orchids where they are meant to be, I guess.

It smells like the drugstore perfume counter out there right now, though. Fabulous.

Looks GREAT Elaine! That is such a fantastic branch of oak for that! You should pretend you're Selby and put some bromeliads on that as well....I know just where you can get some if you want....

That's looking REALLY nice Elaine!

Elaine, that will look so cool when they are all dripping with flowers.

This could turn out to be really spectacular, Elaine. Keep us posted.

Jim

Well, they're never exactly spectacular, are they? But it should be a pretty show each spring, if they all attach and get comfy up there.

Not spectacular, but charming!

Quite beautiful, Elaine! How high is this branch? Did you have to climb a ladder to attach?

Well, the branch is about 6ft. up at its lowest point (see in the first picture - the top of the fence is 6ft.) So, yes I had to use the little 3-step ladder to stand on in order to apply pressure to the staple gun. But for the purposes of watering and viewing, it's in a nice line of sight from the gravel pathway that runs all along that side of the house. We can also see it out the one window on that side of the house, and it's a really pretty view right now, in the morning with the sun shining through all those little blossoms.

That sounds really lovely!

Very lovely!

Haven't figured out what I'm going to mount to these yet...my son brought them home for me, they're cedar I believe, and pretty big. I keep thinking of Elaine's cork 'rafts' and something's telling me I should do these as horizontal rafts too. Biggest problem is I don't have anything in need of potting or mounting right now...



Elaine, would you like a staghorn to mount on that big oak branch as well? Just let me know....

That oak tree has a massive staghorn resting in its crutch already, Patty. To be honest, I don't want to put anything more on that branch until the little Encyclias take hold. If I put a brom or a stag above them, it would cause more shade. They need all the light and water they can get, right there and even though now the sun is high enough to reach them, in winter they're in full shade.

Once I'm sure of them, I think another orchid will go in the elbow of that branch but I'll mount it slightly over the other side so it tends to grow and cascade down the side away from the Encyclias. What do you think, a big Laelia or something?

Those wood rounds are lovely, but I'd leave them out in the weather for a few months before using them. Do you know what kind of wood they are? If they were something like pine, you want the aromatic oils to wash/bake out of them before putting an orchid on them, I think.