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Orchids growing on human skulls!

Heres an interesting peice of trivia... In the early days when orcid cultivation was still in its infacy, a firm impoted one growing on a human skull. Everyone freaked out becase they thought they were growing man eating parasites!

Ive heard of growers that graft orchids to skulls just for fun! does anyone have any reports of this? Or even better, PICS!?

How would one graft tose thick unflexible roots on anyway?

plus, if any of you want to try it, you can buy plenty of human and animal skulls on: http://www.skullsunlimited.com/

-tyrel-
 
It is not grafting. You would simply secure the orchid to the skull and the newly produced roots would secure themselves just as they would to a tree or rocks.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (tyrel @ Aug. 12 2005,11:26)]Heres an interesting peice of trivia... In the early days when orcid cultivation was still in its infacy, a firm impoted one growing on a human skull. Everyone freaked out becase they thought they were growing man eating parasites!

Ive heard of growers that graft orchids to skulls just for fun! does anyone have any reports of this? Or even better, PICS!?

How would one graft tose thick unflexible roots on anyway?

plus, if any of you want to try it, you can buy plenty of human and animal skulls on: http://www.skullsunlimited.com/

-tyrel-
Actually, the orchids(which were Dendrobiums) were found growing on graves in far east asia, the explorers then asked the natives there if they could take the orchids there, they said yes as long as they dont remove the orchids from the skulls and bones and as long as they take 2 golden idols witht hem on their way back to england ot protect the spirits of the skulls and bones
They arrived in England safely and the whole lot was sold in an auction for a large amount of money

And to the grafting, the anwser is simple: you cant
You just have to tie the orchid on with some string and wait untill it lets out roots into the skull/ These new roots will stick onto the skull and you will have your orchid growing on a skull
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yeah, i geuss grafting wasent the right word to use. that interesting stuff though! Id love to see some pictures.
 
hmm theres an idea for a conversation piece.........i may have to try that, plenty of cow and deer skulls out here on the plains. would you be satisfied with an elk antler? i found a shed last hunting season that i havent figured out what to do with. not sure if i have room though as its a lil over 3 feet long
 
that would be awesome! you could just set it on the coffee table.

it's like death and life rolled into one.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (superimposedhope @ Aug. 14 2005,10:55)]I may try this
yay! make sure to show us!
 
actually now that i think about it, i think ive got a coyote skull stashed somewhere at my parents. ill have to go over and look for it when i get back from vacation next week. ive got a mini Cattleya that shold be an ideal size and species for the size of a 'yote skull and should work well with the slightly drier conditions
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (rattler_mt @ Aug. 15 2005,2:29)]actually now that i think about it, i think ive got a coyote skull stashed somewhere at my parents. ill have to go over and look for it when i get back from vacation next week. ive got a mini Cattleya that shold be an ideal size and species for the size of a 'yote skull and should work well with the slightly drier conditions
I assume that putting an orchid on a skull would have the same affect as mounting on wood, only drier
If thats the case,dont expect an easy ride, it will need daily care and misting
Even missing one day could stress the plant
 
  • #11
you havent seen my orchids. my mini Catts are growing on a shelf and MAYBE get watered every other week. actually you would be surprised how much stress some orchids can take. i have an Oncidium that is ofically labeled as my most abused plant that gets watered twice a month if its lucky and never fertilized. its growing like a weed and flowering every 3 or 4 months. please remember that i live in a desert and use a "humidity tent" for growing my Nepenthes, the average humidity in my house is maybe 40% on the high end. yet my one mini Catt is growing like a weed and growing out of its pot in these harsh conditions. dont under estimate these plants.
 
  • #12
Nothing surprises me anymore.......someone I know hasnt watered their Cattleya for 2 months and its fine

Mounting is different, it is a LOT drier then potted plants, mounted orchids dry out completely with a few hours, while potted orchids have a few days to take up as much moisture as possible before it gets dry again
Tell me, have you tried any orchids mounted?
 
  • #13
yep. ive got a Dockerillia(sp?) thats mounted it was hanging off of one of my nepenthes pots but i have moved it into my dart frog tank. i realize that mounted orchids are a whole other problem. and i plan to keep it in higher humidity. in all reality those pseudobulbs that are outside of the pot are basically mounted as they recieve minimal moisture and nutrients from the roots of the other pseudobulbs in the pot. i figured i would set up a "display" type 10 gal tank for it and a few other things. i was just figuring given what ive witnessed with the abuse my mini Catts have taken in the past and thrived. this new experiment seems idealy suited for them since Catts like it a lil drier than most anyways.

that skull website and this thread gave me an interesting idea, if i ever get a large(~75 gal) dart frog tank built i may have to splurge on one of those replica jaguar skulls and see if i cant get an orchid growing on it and place it in there. now wouldnt that be an interesting addition?
 
  • #14
Dockrillia is the correct spelling. These plants are extremely hardy and native to eastern Australia (previously included in the Dendrobium genus). They will handle lower humidity and cooler temps (down to 0 deg C) than many other genera and grow at their best when mounted. I have one that hangs from the roof of a pergola that is over 2 metres in length (D. teretifolium). In winter it is not watered at all whereas in summer I water it every couple of days.
 
  • #15
Ebay has some cheap Human Skulls as low as .99 for 1-4 teeth.

The way I would go about it is:

1)Study the skull for imperfections to play on.
2)Using the imperfections (cracks, rough areas, etc...) mount and secure the the plant in place.
3)Burry the mounting in NON-organic mix. The inside of the skull or sockets should have mix in them as well. (This will decrease the chances of any microbe damage during burrial)
4)Leave the mounting submerged in the mix chosen for 1 year.
5)At 1 year; Slowly begin removing the mix, one inch at a time every other week.
6)Once the mounting is fully uncovered, it should be established and locked in place.

*I imagine that the inside of the skull would need to be filled with some kind of mix that the roots can reach for a long term life in this mounting.

Joe
 
  • #16
A skull should be better than wood because the skull won't be competing with orchid roots for the water.  That's why cork is better than wood.  Spray a piece of cork with water and it stays wet a little while.  Do the same to weathered wood and it's dry pretty quickly.

But I'm surpised - I figured Rattler would have skulls all around his home.  The kind of person who hunts mice in the house with a bb gun should have plenty of skulls.  Hopefully, mostly animal.  I never thought he'd have to go over to the 'rents to get one.
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  • #17
hahaha Bruce, i have limited space for storing stuff at home. the parents basement and attic comes in handy for storing things
smile_n_32.gif
 
  • #18
i finally went and picked up the skull, needs a lil cleaning. here is a pic of the skull and the orchid i was originally thinking of, one of my mini Catt hybrids. i think i need a smaller orchid. this is the smallesst of my normal species. any species i have smaller than this guy are WAY smaller. any ideas?

e25d24e5.jpg
 
  • #19
What if you turned it over and put the Catt inside the cavity? Or could you divide a single psuedobulb from the clump? It looks like that little bunch on the right is pretty far offset, from the photo. I like this idea. There's a big pile of some sort of bones in the park by my house, I should go look for something appropriate for containers... Do you think this method would work with a little Phaleonopsis? I don't know much about my orchids; my old roommate dumped them on me when he moved out. I seem to remember Phaleonopsis are some of the more water-loving orchids, so maybe they aren't the best candidate.
~Joe
 
  • #20
yeah that mini Catt has about 5 growth points and i planned on just taking 2 or 3 psuedobulbs i was just thinking proportions, i think i need a bigger skull or a smaller orchid for it to look right.
 
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