Mounting Epiphytic Plants

By Devin Edmonds

An epiphyte is a plant that, instead of growing in the ground and getting nutrients from the soil, grows on another plant and gets all of its nutrients through its leaves. They are not parasitic because they do not cause harm to the plant they are living on. Many epiphytes come from dense forests where they have to be able to grow on another plant that is very tall in order to access sun light. Epiphytes can be used in the terrarium to create an arboreal habitat for animals and to add a new dimension and depth to a terrarium. Attaching epiphytes to the background of a terrarium can create an awesome living back wall full of flowering orchids, bright red and green bromeliads, and other common epiphytic plants.

Select a species of plant and something to mount it onto. The species of plant that is selected will vary depending on the conditions in the terrarium. There are many species of orchids and bromeliads that can be used in terrariums along with some ferns and vining aroids. Often bromeliads of the genus Neoregelia are the easiest type of bromeliad to grow epiphytically in tropical conditions. They work particularly well in terrariums because there are many small varieties available and they don’t often rot in humid conditions like many other types of bromeliads. For orchids there are small Dendrobium species as well as some Oncidium species that do well in tropical conditions, although often the flower shoots grow too long for small cages. Most orchids also do not tolerate soggy or wet conditions, so care should be taken to mount them on a medium that is not prone to becoming saturated with water. In drier terrariums Tillandsias, often called air plants, work well. Most species do best when they are only occasionally sprayed with water every other day or so.

The object that the plant is mounted onto can be pretty much anything. Traditional terrarium background materials, such as cork bark, coco panels, coco-fiber panels, and tree fern root panels all work well. Some species will grow on very dense objects such as rocks or terracotta flower pots, while others need a more porous material. Driftwood and crevice-filled rocks both work well for attaching certain epiphytes to, and can create beautiful centerpieces inside a terrarium.

Often epiphytic plants are purchased as “bare root plants”, those that have not developed any roots yet. Others will already have been grown in a substrate and have large root balls growing from them. It’s generally easiest to attach a plant that already has roots to an object because the roots add additional support. Over time bare root plants as well as those with roots will produce new roots that will attach to the object that they are mounted on.

There are a number of ways to attach epiphytic plants to objects. Large plants that have developed roots are easiest to attach with thin plastic coated wire. The wire can be bent into U shapes and pressed into the object to secure the plant to it. Moist sphagnum moss can be used to hide the wire. Fishing line can be used to tie small plants to branches and thin rocks. This works well and is nice because it’s clear and easy to hide in a terrarium. Silicone sealant can be used to glue plants to objects as well. Sometimes plants can simply be wedged into a crack in a piece of wood, or a hole in a rock and left on their own. As long as the plant is immobile and near a suitable object it will grow roots and attach itself to it.

Some species of plants need their roots to stay dry while they attach themselves, others need their roots to be moist. Research the needs of the species of plant you choose before attaching it to a piece of bark or background. After being attached for as little as week, or as long as a few months, the plant will start to anchor itself into the object. Once the plant is firmly attached, the wire, fishing line, or other devices used to immobilize the plant can be removed.