I just got a phil illismanii this weekend and I need to provide it with an outside totem. I do not have large trees for it to grow on unfortunately so I will have to construct something for it in a shady niche. Any guidence would be appreciated!
JG
I needed a similar setup for my tropical garden so i made one by stuffing a long triangular 'form' made of 1/2 inch wire mesh (not chicken wire) and alot of spaghum moss. soaked completely then drip watered from top. you could probably make a round one.
more info on the post
http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=3376238
Nice plant JungleGal! I love that Philo ... mind me asking where you got that beauty? I love the variegated foliage on that one!
Someone was talking about making these out of the wire mesh and spaghnum awhile back. I was thinking about doing it for a Monstera deliciosa that I have, but haven't gotten to it yet!
I'm going to check out that link!
The key to the totem is usually moisture the more it can hold the better the plant usually does. Spaghnum moss can hold a ton of water and is often a main ingredient in cunstruction a good totem. The wire mess one works great I have used them many times they are though a bit hard to construct. Another good option depending on what you want it to look like is getting a large cedar or other nonrotting type of tree branch or trunk and wrapping it in longfiber spaghnum moss and tieing it on with fishing string works well. It looks a bit more natural if you can get a large one that branches out. After that you will find you want to put more than one plant on it.
Plantladylin,
I got this phil at the University of South Florida (USF) Botanical plant shop. They had a sale going on in conjunction w/ their spring plant sale last weekend. I got this beauty for $11.00!
Thanks to all for the suggestions!
JG
I did much the same as mentioned. I had a spare 2x2 and some chicken wire. Hubby picked me up a bag of the long moss. We used U nails to attach the chicken wire, stuffed it with the moss and then rolled it up and tied it off with galvanized wire. It works really well and I can spritz it with a spray bottle as needed.
Yes, constructing them from mesh is a pain. You get scratched and cut no matter how careful. If i didn't live in such a dry climate i could get away with wrapping something, but i need to heavily drip the moss from the inside in order for it to remain moist. Uses a lot more moss this way also, almost 400 cubic inches!
I put this together in about 5 minutes. I had some burlap on hand, so I took a 1 x 4 and stapled the burlap to it.
then I padded the front of the board with wet spaghnum moss
finished wrapping and stapeling
much easier than chicken wire
This message was edited Apr 25, 2007 4:22 PM
and ta da . . . . . I used twine to hold the plant in place until the roots take hold.
right now it looks too big for the plant, but I have several more cuttings to add. I'm sure in no time it will be covered.
Linda,
Good idea but unfortunately I don't think burlap would last very long outside in Florida. This totem will be out in my yard in the elements. I'll remember your technique for covered areas though!
How tall do you expect it to climb in your zone? And in what time frame? I'm thinking you could get away with a lumber post, covered in rope or the moss and any type of wire. Locust takes forever to rot. Any possibility of mounting some type of dead tree in a way that looks natural?
I am zone 10a so I expect this phil will do well providing we do not freeze. The dead tree would be most realistic but I have to take into account the termites it would attract. I will be using a pressure treated post. I had not thought about the rope. Great idea!
My original idea for my post was to wrap it with jute or something like that. Chicken wire and a 2x2 were here. LOL Hubby picked up the moss for me. As yours will be much heftier than mine, a treated 4x4 or the like would probably be excellent!
I put mine in the tub last night and soaked the pole and can see a huge difference already. It was looking a bit droopy. I need to put it in a larger, heavier pot.
A word to the wise...if you are going to put something that large into your bathtub and leave it overnight...leave yourself a note! I can't tell you how many times the large dark thing in the shower has caught me off guard. LOL
Guess I wasn't planning on long term. Mine will have to stay in a pot that can be moved to the gh. This is the 'starter' pot, I have others still rooting. Once they outgrow that size, I'll need something a bit taller but it will always have to be a size that can be moved.
