I was quite excited to see Brian post photos of his rock wall with aroids growing up the face. I've received several emails from folks asking if this was even possible and if so, how do you go about creating one. I've seen photos of several but my personal knowledge of how to create one is nill! So it is quite exciting for me to be able to see what Brian has accomplished so far! Brian posted a message on the Aroid l forum about a year ago letting a bunch of aroid "nuts" know he was beginning his project. So, if you haven't seen his photos yet, please click on this link right now and take a look. It is very impressive! http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=32906 You'll need to scroll down a bit but you'll quickly see what Brian has accomplished in a short period of time. And for those of you who may note believe plants do in fact grow on rocks, there are actually quite a few. Fern growers are likely aware of specimens that grow on stone and are known as lithophytes. But numerous other genus also have species that are capable of this growth form. I recently did some research on Anthurium bonplandii and learned even though that species is not commonly an epiphyte (growing on trees) it is quite commonly found growing on granite and sand stone and the plant form is known as epilithic. I'm trying to learn more about these species and have found there are several names for plants that grow attached to stone including epilithic, saxicolous, rupicolous, rupestrine, and lithophyte. All describe species that grow on stone, I'm yet to discover how a species is described as one form or another. I'm unsure if it is genus specific or if there are other factors involved. But plants that grow this way derive their nutrients directly from the atmosphere and don't have their roots in the soil! These types of walls also have a variety of names including a rock wall, a wet wall and a cool wall (when air conditioned air is required to keep the specimens healthy). I'm in hopes Brian will do a more detailed follow up and tell us just how he accomplished this feat! As far as I am personally aware, he is the only person in the U.S. (the others I've seen were in Europe) with any degree of success. And I'm impressed!
Down here, a rock wall can almost happen by accident if you use the native coral rock. This rock is often porous and thus provides many places for small pockets of organic matter and, more importantly, places for roots. The rock also holds water enough so that a misting several times a day is often adequate to sustain certain ferns, bromeliads, some Anthuriums, Rhoeo and, of course, weeds such as the wild Pilea. I have a couple of large coral rocks that we took out from underneath our large Rainbow Eucalyptus tree and, without any special care on my part, they now have several kinds of ferns and other small plants growing on them. With just a little extra effort, I know I could get some bromeliads and anthuriums growing on them as well. Some Alocasias are known to be lithophytic on limestone and I think one of my next projects will be to see if I can establish some on a large piece of coral rock. I've seen Rhoeo and epiphytic cactus growing wild on coral rock walls around homes down here; these rock walls were not intended to be repositories for plants, but some plants find them hospitable enough to colonize even without the misting.
Hey Brian, you out there? We're waiting for more details on how you did your rock wall. Patiently, but anxiously, waiting . . . I realize you've probably got your hands full with securing all your plants for the oncoming winter months, so when you get a break . . .
I saw the wall this past weekend when i was in Kentucky and Brian has worked HARD on this. I think Brian would be happier if it were somewhere in S. Florida though..;=)
I am planning a rock wall like this for the near future. It will be the backdrop for a drop fall that I hope will fall from about 8 feet and recirculate as a pondless waterfall. I plan to divert some of the water to trickle over the rock wall and also go down into the pondless fall. It will be a challenge to construct, but I am looking forward to it.
Just going through the old threads. Brian, can you get back to us on this one I am very interested. Does the rock have to be pourous or could it be sandstone etc? Could it also be "fake" rock, like sprayed on Pebblecrete or the like? Ed
