MY ARTIFICIAL ORCHID TREE

Items used for construction:

• 1 rainpipe PVC Brown Ø 10 cm, length 2 meter.

• 2 Coco-pannels 50 x 50 x 2.5 cm

• Plantic coated wire.

• concrete.

• 5 branches of corkoak.

• Screws of different lenth.

• Electric screwdriver.

• Pliers.

• Very sharp knife.

• Some long nails.

• 1 Tube aquariumsilicone and pistol.

• Large plastic flowerpot.

• Black marker.

• Small ladder.

Items for completion:

• Moss (live and dry) en sphagnum.

• Peat.

• Potting soil of good quality.

• Plantic coated wire.

• Pliers.

Plants:

• Orchids.

• Bromeliads and Tillandsias.

• Accompaning plants as a finishing tuch.

Creation step by step:

1. Take an old bucket and line with a fitting plastic bag.

2. Mix the concrete and pore some in the bucket.

3. Dril some holes into the bottom of the rainpipe and put in some long nailes.

4. Place the rainpipe into the center of the bucket and pore in the rst of the concrete untill a it is 25 cm thick. Make sure the rainpipi stands up straigth. (picture 1)

5. Let it harden well (at least 48 hours).

6. Drill some holes at the bottom of the rainpipe, so later, when the plants are watered or sprayed, no water stands in the rainpipe.

7. When the concrete has dried, take out of the bucket and put in the flowerpot on a layer of large pebbles or chunks of stirofoam, so exxess water can drain away.. (picture 2)

8. Fil up with a good layer of peat and top of with the potting soil.

9. Cut the Coco-pannels into peaces of 25 x 50 cm with the sharp knife.

10. degrease the pipe.

11. Glue the Coco-pannelsonto the pipe with aquarium silicone, starting at the top. Make sure the Coco-pannel at the top stands a little higher above the rainpipe .

12. Keep the Coco-pannels in place by firmly securing them with the wire.

13. Repeat step 11 and 12 for the next Coco-pannels. Make sure that the lowest Coco-pannel does not stand more than 2 cm below the rim of the flowerpot. Iff nessecery cut it to length before gluing it. (picture 3)

14. See where the branches fit best and look natural. Mark with the black marker. Make sure the branches don't stick out to far as this can comprimise the stability of the whole construction (max. 60 – 70 cm).

15. Place the first branch as follows:

• Drill a hole in the pipe as large as the Ø of the branch. (picture 4)

• Put in the branch and drill a hole in the back of the rainpipe.

• Take a long screw and secure the branch with it. (picture 5)

• With thicker branches it can be usefull to secure the branch with an extra shorter screw from the side. (picture 6)

16. Repeat step 14 and work from top to bottom. (picture 7)

17. Next plant the accompaning plants at the bottom of the tree.

18. Start planting the orchids and Bromeliads onto your tree and finish up with moss for a natural look. This also retains moisture well for the newly planted plants. (picture 8)

Tips:

• Do not use very large orchid species on the branches as this can create unstability.

• When you create a half tree, with branches only going to one side (as I did) then you best secure the trunk to the wall for stability.

• For miniature orchids you could create a tabletop version of this tree. If so, use plantic pipe and branches of a smaler Ø.

• Finish of the tree with Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) This not only looks natural but also retains moisture better and creates a microsystem around your orchids.