Mounting Brassavola Acaulis

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and a beginner at collecting orchids. I'll be mounting a Brassavola acaulis when it arrives and do not know which direction to point the roots so that the leaves fall gracefully the way they should from the mount. Tia for any help,

 

Thanks, I had a mental block. I don't know why my instincts were off and upside down makes sense.

I thought about ordering tree fern plaques instead of cork but I'm not sure yet. Does anyone like the tree fern better? Are there preferences for this particular plant? Thanks for your assistance.

 

Jon, I'm embracing that idea Can you recommend a source for the wood?

I also have a question regarding the placement of sphagnum directly underneath the plant. I think I remember reading somewhere that some mounted plants suffer from a bit of root rot. Since these get watered and misted practically every day is the sphagnum necessary? I imagine the roots must love it and sphag has some anti-fungal properties. I'm a bit confused about this

 

Marni: I think my reason for liking the tree fern plaques initially is because they lay flatter against the wall. The manzanita doesn't but I'm still considering. Thanks for posting the photo. My conditions are dry but I would rather worry less about root rot.

Jon:I saw coconut husk plaques available at Tindara which I like just as much as the manzanita so I'll be deciding between those two. I really like the piece of burl for a plant to sit on my windowsill. I may get a few pieces and work the other way around: decide which plant I want to place on it

Slightly off topic: A baby Sed japonica that I received over the summer is really not doing too well. She's hanging by a thread, but I suspected something was wrong when I received her and didn't bother to ask for a return. There is barely any root left. She is now out of the pot and mounted to an old wooden spoon from my kitchen. This one is now my very first mount

 

Nice! I haven't seen one like that before, a great take on a hanging plant . More options, hmmmm...

Good growing, I love brassavola

 

I just placed an order for 3 medium sized pieces of unfinished manzanita burl with a flat side. Each piece of burl is approx. 3 lbs. I should be getting a sample of a thick piece of sandblasted branch as well.

I'll be getting my plants sometime next week and I should be able to post some pictures. Thanks for all the suggestions. I hope I get this right

 

I forgot to ask about how to go about putting the mount on a hanger. I ordered some 6 inch S hooks thinking that I could attach (screw in) an eye which I can purchase from HD. I'm not sure how it will hold up since I'm guessing that the wood will change over time. What would be the standard way of attaching a hanger to a piece of burl? Or do these pieces come with something already attached?

 

John, thanks for the tip on sterilizing the wood. I ordered my burls from the place that Jon recommended for convenience. You're right, there are a few rural paths by me where some nice pieces are available if you look hard enough. I had also seen pieces of grape wood on the internet which I liked very much.

I wanted to go with the vendor for now because I figured he would have barrels of nice manzanita pieces to choose from, at least for my first mounts. I can't imagine 3 pound burls; he said the wood is dense. I can't wait to see my pieces .

The person I spoke to there asked me if they were going to be hung, so I'm hoping they come set up that way already.

Btw I went with medium sized pieces, roughly 5-9" x 4-7". I think I could have gone smaller but I wasn't sure; they are all for brassavola.