Dunk 'em in a bucket of water... Or some people take them to the shower.

I have a 5 gallon bucket sitting in my grow room all winter to dunk the spagh based mounties weekly, and the bare root vanda types daily.

I'll use a pump sprayer occasionally also on the spagh based mounties, but you have to have the right setup so as not to make to big a mess. I have a spare bedroom dedicated to the 'kids over winter that has a light cart, shelves, drip trays and the like placed to stop any run-off to the floor.

Good luck,

Bob

I grow in my home also and most of my mounties are small. So I water every 2-3 days in my sink in the winter. I may soak them every other week of so in the a pasta pot if i remember.

Some orchids are more drought tolerant than others and do better mounted without a greenhouse. I dont really bother with soaking these. For example my Leptotes bicolor does very well on its mount. However someone gave me a mounted Phal mariae this summer. It will likely be a challenge in the winter. What are you growing on mounts?

This post was edited by Greencurls on Fri, Jul 12, 13 at 7:14

Do folks drop the entire thing - mount, plant, leaves and all - into a bucket for soaking? I have a recently mounted orchid - thanks to all of your help - and now need to get the watering process right.

Thanks!
Carol

Carol, they do indeed. Me, I just run them under the sink for a second. Or, over my gigantic humidity tray I'll just pour from a watering can until the mount is wet.

If all your plants are healthy dunking will work fine. But what if that new orchid had a virus? Then all that share the dunk share the virus. If it happens most or all will be infected. So be careful. Maybe quarantine any new plants for a month or 2 if you use the dunk method?

I'm very lazy with mounts. I lay the mount on shallow trays (cheap plastic Dollar Store type) and keep a small amount of water in the tray. It keeps the mount damp without wetting the roots. Even if roots have grown around the mount, the water evaporates within a day or so.

I will also add fertilizer to the tray water. My plants do very well. It does take up space on the bench, but I manage to find small trays and sometime only put half of the mount on the tray.

Jane

Thanks to all. Who would think I would need to ask the question how to water a plant? (But a good gardener knows there are many dos and don'ts.... )

Carol