In My Bush House July 2018
After my initial thoughts that this would be a poor season for our Aussie natives it appears that this may not necessarily be so as more and more ‘spikes’ appear to be showing. This appears to be at least 2-4 weeks later than would normally be the case. Whether the flowering time will work for our spring show remains to be seen. After spraying for aphids they appear to be gone. Hopefully no more now till spring. One can’t get rid of them permanently as they just fly through the shade cloth; so you have to be vigilant.
Now something I have been looking at over the last decade is mounts and pots. For years I used tree fern mounts in hard and soft with very limited success So apart for a couple of plants left I have discontinued use of this. It may suit some growers but not me and my conditions. Cork is another that I use in limited quantities. It is long lasting and a great many genera can be grown on it. It doesn’t seem to get any bugs and is easy to shape. The best way to use it we have found is to cut the hard, inner layer of the bark and use this face (the opposite of what you would normally think). Also I round the edges to make it easier for the roots to wind themselves around. Further it can be used as a raft (horizontal) or a mount (vertical) as the occasion and plant dictates.
Plectorrhiza tridentata Sarcochilus falcatus
The next thing I have been using for over 10 years is 16-20mm wooden doweling (Bunnings) particularly in Cyprus Pine as this seems to deter insects. I have found that Plectorrhiza tridentata in particular loves this as does Sarcochilus falcatus. Do not cut it too short as you will need about 50cm which will give plenty of room for the roots to run up down and around. You could use cedar but is difficult to obtain and expensive. The doweling does work well and I have numerous plants that are specimen size.
The plants can be initially tied on with fishing line, stapled and even glued with hot melt as they all seem to work as is akin to how they are in the wild.
The thing that did surprise me is the use of Port Pots 80mm mesh pots for growing Sarcochilus falcatus. The root growth using these is staggering as I use just medium bark and just pop the plant in. Plants that were growing, just, on cork or hardwood are now thriving in these pots. They don’t dry out as they do mounted but do not stay wet either. I just add some blood and bone and a little slow release fertiliser when potting up which would be impossible when mounting, so this may be an advantage. Anyway just my observations may be good for you.
Another plant that surprised me to pot up was Dendrobium aemulum. Sometimes this would struggle on a mount but in a pot it just races away. Perhaps again with some fertilizer blood and bone added and the bark just keeps some moisture around the roots without being wet. These look 100% better than the ones that are mounted.
