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Question about repotting

I have a Phalaenopsis that, after 3 months has started to grow.   it's growing a new leaf and the roots are growing out the side of the pot.  When I thought about repotting I remembered seeing an orchid in a thread that was growing on a skull.  Can I do that with my orchid?  I want to get it to grow on a Rotor.

By the way, this is a rotor

rotary-engine-rotor.jpg
 
Phals don't tolerate mounts as well as other common orchids and I'd worry about that rotor corroding and possible toxicity to the roots.  Few orchids are adapted dissolved metals or the rest of the weird chemistry that happens on the surface of oxidizing metal.

If you have to put an orchid on there, maybe a rupicolous Laelia is the best choice.  They're lithophytes (grow on rock) and some are native to rusty iron ore hills in Brazil.  One of mine ran its roots across a rusty steel plant stand while outdoors last summer and I had to sacrifice a lot of roots to bring the plant back inside.  Be forewarned - they're small and are considered tricky.  Mine are shy to bloom, but seem pretty bulletproof.
 
The rotor I wanted to use is powdercoated so there wont be any rust or corrosion.

After lifting it out of the pot I saw that there is very little substrate to begin with. All there is is a big ball of styrofoam and some LFS surrounding it. If I were to fill in the hole in the rotor with LFS and add some around the top, do you think it'll work?
 
Think of it as putting a VFT in a metal pot... not to good is it? im sure the effects are quicker though.

Cheers
 
for those that dont know powder coating is generally a ceramic that bonds with the top 1/1000th inch or so of the metal. metal that is properly powder coated WILL NOT RUST. ive got a rifle that is Cerekoted so it is a truely all weather rifle as its pretty impervious to water
 
Copcar will the rotor have any drain holes? It seemes to me that it will not and with it being powder coated then that means it will hold ALOT more water than say a clay pot. I know many people grow in plastic, but they have drain holes in the bottom. This rotor will it have any? If not I might now do it. You sure will nto turn the pot over though. LOL Heck how much did you pay for the phal? Not much I am assuming. So give it a try if you want. Nothing with orchids is 100% It may work, but I am banking it will not. I could be wrong though. Since the rules of orchids are not set in stone. You may get lucky. Although generaly phals do not do good in a mounted situation like rattler said. They grow that way in the wild, but its hard to mimic that environment eactly so the plants adapt to the envirnment they are in. It just so happens that they like to be in a pot that holds a little more water because they are not getting the 90% humidity and the frequent rain showers like the natural habitat. Again let the plant tell you if it likes it or not. If its growing fine when you mount it leave it. If it starts to decline after a period of time aclimating then repot it. Just remember that roots formerly grown in a pot usualy die when given mounted conditions and mounted roots usualy die when they are given potted conditions. The roots are the same, but something about what they are used to when conditions changes they sulk sometimes. Just keep that in mind when going from pots to mounts or vice versa.
 
Is the entire thing powdercoated or just the surface where combustion occurs?  I'd be surprised if the interior is powdercoated because mechanical stresses are high and thermal stress is low there.  That's a place for old fashioned metal, not new-fangled ceramic.

If I wanted an orchid on a rotor, I'd cheat by finding a plastic pot to fit inside and grow the orchid in that.  You can even hold the mix in the pot with mesh and hold the pot in the rotor with putty and hang the thing sideways.  If you rig it up with something more advanced than putty, you'd even be able to slide the pot out for watering.  It'll look like an orchid growing off a rotor and only you would know the difference.  That would look pretty cool with a deciduous Dendrobium, like Dend aphyllum.
 
Yeah rotors are designed so oil can pass through them for cooling purposes so it has excellent drainage. Aside from the big hole in the middle, there are lots of other holes on the underside.

The only bad part is that its about 5 pounds of cast-iron so it'll be a joy moving that thing around.

So if my orchid is not a good guy to try and mount, what is? I really want to do this now so it would be cool if you guys gave me some ideas on what plant to buy.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (herenorthere @ Mar. 22 2006,9:07)]Is the entire thing powdercoated or just the surface where combustion occurs? I'd be surprised if the interior is powdercoated because mechanical stresses are high and thermal stress is low there.
Yeah the whole thing is powdercoated. Inside and out.
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (herenorthere @ Mar. 22 2006,9:07)]If I wanted an orchid on a rotor, I'd cheat by finding a plastic pot to fit inside and grow the orchid in that. You can even hold the mix in the pot with mesh and hold the pot in the rotor with putty and hang the thing sideways. If you rig it up with something more advanced than putty, you'd even be able to slide the pot out for watering. It'll look like an orchid growing off a rotor and only you would know the difference. That would look pretty cool with a deciduous Dendrobium, like Dend aphyllum.
Thats exactly what I did with the Nep in my Avatar pic. It is growing in a little pot inside the rotor. So far its doing awsome. It's just a pain to move around.
 
  • #11
[b said:
Quote[/b] (nepenthes_ak @ Mar. 21 2006,9:52)]Think of it as putting a VFT in a metal pot... not to good is it? im sure the effects are quicker though.

Cheers
Whats wrong with a metal pot? Especially a powdercoated metal pot. I'm growing it in my room so it wont get to hot or cold.
 
  • #12
most metals(especially steel) is fairly reactive so you may get corrosion that produces compounds that are bad gor your plant.

if yah want to try it go ahead your out what $10 for a grocery store Phal? if the block is powder coated you might want to try a Cattleya hybrid as they are more tollerant of drying out.

Bruce my boss will coat almost an entire engine with certain powder coatings, even the pistons. its fairly popular with some drag racers. some of the coatings reduce friction by quite a bit over the standard steel on steel with oil.
 
  • #13
Alright so I'll start looking for a Cattleya hybrid.

The rotor I have is damaged, I pulled it out of my old engine when it blew. After that I sent it out to a buddy of mine for powdercoating. Right now it's just a decoration.

When I do this, do I just sit the orchid on top of the rotor? Or is there some sort of procedure I need to know?
 
  • #14
I mount orchids by trimming back the roots severely and putting the plant on the mount how I want it to sit.  Then I form a thin pad of LFS around the base of the plant (on top of the roots, not between roots and mount).  I use thin wire to hold it together, but lots of people use fishing line (monofilament, not the braided stuff).  When the plant is well established, I remove the wire.
 
  • #15
yep what Bruce said.....................
 
  • #16
Copcar I have Many Cat hybreds I could trade you.  I don't think there are very many minis though.  I do have some seedling Pot (potonia) which is a Cat type hybred.  I know it has red flowers, but still to small to bloom.  I have a bench full of Hybreds with NoIDs that I need to get rid of.  I only keep a select few of NoID plants, and almost all of these I have not seen flower since I recieved them out of flower with NoID.  I have had some surprises though that I was pleased with.  One of them flowered around valentines day and was a red I decided to keep necause I liked it and it spontaniously self pollinated so I am going to give it a shot at flasking again with this seedpod.
 
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