| Q I
recently purchased a mounted phalaenopsis and want to find out if it
requires special care, like replanting as opposed to repotting. Are
mounted orchids ever replanted and if so how often? Do they require more
fertilizer than potted plants and can a mounted orchid be planted in a pot
later on? A A mounted phalaenopsis will require watering more frequently than a potted plant, particularly in the months after it is mounted. Mounted orchids tend to develop a microenvironment of their own with a dense mass of roots, and can go for years without being in need of being re mounted. Indeed, with established plants, the mount will be lost in a forest of healthy roots. They should be fertilized just like plants in pots and you will find the root mass is very efficient at soaking every thing up. Large mounted plants can take up a lot of space in your greenhouse when established so don’t start too many. Yes, a mounted plant can be placed back into a pot at anytime although the process is fairly traumatic, akin to uprooting a plant from its forest perch and adjusting it to life in cultivation, so only attempt it in spring or after flowering, if that is a period of increased root activity. — Andy Easton. |
Reprinted, with permission, from "Orchids" - The Magazine of the American Orchid Society, August, 2001.