Mounting vs Potting Miniature Pleurothallids: Platystele, Dryadella and Restrepia

Miniature pleurothallids such as Platystele misera and Dryadella hirtzii grow on mossy branches in the wild, so mounting them seems like the natural choice. It can be – but these plants have no pseudobulbs and almost no capacity to store water. Whether a mount works depends far more on your growing conditions than on the plant.

The case for mounting

• Air around the roots: roots on a mount never sit in stale, wet medium, so root rot is less likely.
• Natural habit: creeping and pendent species can grow the way they do in the wild.
• Display: mounted miniatures look good in a terrarium or on a shadehouse wall.

The case against

A mount dries in hours. In ordinary Australian humidity, a mounted miniature without pseudobulbs may need watering once or twice a day, every day, and missing a day in hot weather can set it back badly. Unless you have very high humidity – 80% or more – or the time to water that often, a mount works against you.

The case for potting

• A buffer: a small pot of sphagnum holds moisture for days, not hours.
• Forgiving: potted plants ride out a missed watering or a dry, windy day.
• Visible roots: in a clear pot you can see when the moss is drying and whether roots are healthy (see why clear pots make a difference).

The risk with pots is the opposite one: overwatering a mix that is already wet. Use the smallest pot the roots will fit, and let the surface of the moss just start to lighten before watering again.

How to choose

• Open shadehouse or indoor growing in normal humidity: pot them.
• Terrarium, grow tent or very humid glasshouse: mounting works well (see miniature orchids for terrariums and grow tents).
• Creeping or pendent growth habit: consider a mount or a small net pot, even in moderate humidity, but water more often.

How to mount a miniature

1. Choose a small piece of cork bark or tree fern – only a little larger than the plant.
2. Place a thin pad of moistened sphagnum on the mount. It holds a little water against the roots without smothering them.
3. Position the plant on the pad with the newest growth facing where it has room to grow.
4. Tie it on with fishing line, passing the line over the roots and stems rather than the leaves. Avoid copper wire.
5. Label it (an aluminium tag tied to the mount lasts for years), then keep it shaded and very humid until new roots attach to the mount, which can take several months.

Switching methods

Moving a plant from a pot to a mount, or back, sets it back while roots adjust. Make the change when new roots are just emerging, usually in spring, and give the plant extra shade and humidity for a few weeks. Don’t switch a plant that is already struggling.

Signs your method isn’t working

• Wrinkled, folding leaves on a mounted plant: it is drying out between waterings.
• Wrinkled leaves on a potted plant with wet moss: the roots have rotted. Repot into fresh moss and water more carefully.
• Roots growing out over the pot rim and up into the air: generally fine, but a sign the plant might also suit a mount.

The same reasoning applies to other small epiphytes; compare our article on Dockrillia mounting vs potting. For full culture, see the Pleurothallid Orchid Care Guide, or browse our current pleurothallid orchids.