Patty, I think you hit the nail squarely on the head. Mounted orchids, orchids growing in more air than media, and orchids growing in mesh-pots/baskets do need more frequent watering, particularly when they are either seedlings or just starting out their lives as mounted plants. The wood type means absolutely nothing. Once an orchid is more mature and/or has rooted really well on that mount, care is reduced. That's been my experience.
Patty, I imagine you saw all the pictures I posted last month of a dozen or so really well-rooted mounted orchids. Those took 6-12 months to get that way. I have so many plants that I'm always watering something. Thus, watering is no problem for me. That being said, if I were not retired, I could not grow the number of plants that I do. No way. So, a lot of what I recommend is based on the time available to care for the plant(s). Some people just want to have plants grow with no effort whatsoever. Heck, I have had people kill staghorns and fiddle leaf ficus plants......... well established plants. Those two varieties are almost impossible to kill but they managed to do so. The most common thread was lack of water, not over-watering. Most plants will actually "tell" you when they need water. One simply needs a bit of experience to recognize their plants' stress-levels.
