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Have any of you ever mounted an orchid directly onto a great stuff & peat moss covered foam background?
There are some open areas on my paludarium background and side walls where I'd like to grow some miniature orchids. I am tired of trying to attach tree fern panels to the foam. Additionally there are some areas where I can't really have any 'growing media' attached to the foam bg because the thickness of the added media would look awkward protruding out from the wall (and also would cast too much shade on other plants)
BTW my paludarium is partially open-top and is not as humid as a frog viv. The foam bg regularly dries out currently, and does not grow moss or anything cool like that.
I figure the answers to my questions will depend on a variety of factors such as what species of orchid, how much humidity, etc, but I'm interested in your general thoughts or experiences.
1. First I thought the peat moss covering on the foam might be bad for the orchid's roots because of the acidity, but then I realized people use sphagnum moss all the time for growing orchids, so I guess it would be fine...?
2. If the orchid is secured to the foam for long enough to grow some new roots, do you think the orchid's roots would be able to actually attach to the foam and support the weight of the plant? The bg is pretty smooth, but I know plant roots are pretty amazing too.
3. I figure the foam doesn't breathe well so I should eliminate all moss and go completely bare-root to avoid rot...?
Any tips, advice, thoughts, experiences and the like would be much appreciated
There are some open areas on my paludarium background and side walls where I'd like to grow some miniature orchids. I am tired of trying to attach tree fern panels to the foam. Additionally there are some areas where I can't really have any 'growing media' attached to the foam bg because the thickness of the added media would look awkward protruding out from the wall (and also would cast too much shade on other plants)
BTW my paludarium is partially open-top and is not as humid as a frog viv. The foam bg regularly dries out currently, and does not grow moss or anything cool like that.
I figure the answers to my questions will depend on a variety of factors such as what species of orchid, how much humidity, etc, but I'm interested in your general thoughts or experiences.
1. First I thought the peat moss covering on the foam might be bad for the orchid's roots because of the acidity, but then I realized people use sphagnum moss all the time for growing orchids, so I guess it would be fine...?
2. If the orchid is secured to the foam for long enough to grow some new roots, do you think the orchid's roots would be able to actually attach to the foam and support the weight of the plant? The bg is pretty smooth, but I know plant roots are pretty amazing too.
3. I figure the foam doesn't breathe well so I should eliminate all moss and go completely bare-root to avoid rot...?
Any tips, advice, thoughts, experiences and the like would be much appreciated