Jim, the Ctna Maui Maid X Mcp Brysiana is very showy! I love it! And Dancing ladies are always a pretty sight!

Elaine, lovely Brassavola x

Bc Cynthia opened a first bloom for me. The cross is Cattleya walkeriana x Rhyncholaelia digbyana and I like it very much!
Correction, this is Bc Groganiae ( digbyana x C. loddigesii) Changing tag!!
Another correction, that may not be correct either. This plant is now officially named
Bc "not Cynthia" until further notice.....


and this is probably the last spike on my Coelogyne Burfordiense plants for the season.

A sweet surprise for me this morning, this Max. tenuifolia flower! I got this lanky, scruffy little plant from the orphanage in April, thinking it would take a while to do anything.
Guess it likes its new home!

Adore the Bc. Groganiae!!!! My Coelogyne Burfordiense is not spiking yet....
If anyone wants to know more about Marble Branch Farms, I did an interview this week. http://bit.ly/LJX0mN

Nice interview!

and nice going, Elaine!

Ursula,
I am growing potatoes in one of my pots...I put slices in some of them a few months
back and one of the rooted and has made it self right at home in the potting mix. I
am going to have to rig up some kind of hanging rack, rather than leaving them on
the low to the ground bench . Carol...your L. purpurpata is unbelievably beautiful,
I really like the dark rich color on the lip in contrast to the white , white petals. NICE!

Jim, your Ctna Maui Maid X Mcp Brysiana...has gone on the wish list...love it!

Ursula, I can't get enough of the Coelogyne Burfordiense. Very, very nice. The soft pinks and yellows on the Catt are lovely.

Jim

Thanks!

Lindsey, Slugs and Snails, Centipedes and all sorts of unwanted critters can be seen on the underside of the Potato or Apple slices in the morning.
Btw old decaying bark is a magnet for Slugs. And - if they are really a problem as in some years, pots with rims are not a good idea either. A couple of years ago we had a real Slug plague around here. I went out in early morning and besides collecting those above mentioned slices, I also searched the ground thoroughly and dumped the offenders into salt water. Or sprinkled salt on them. ( Sorry) The beer stuff has never ever worked for me, and the commercially available Slug pellets don't work for me either in the cage, since I can't really treat my whole outside surrounding. Luckily with the onset of hot Summer weather the Slug invasion stops.

Btw I just downloaded the AOS Culture Sheets Volume two to my IPad. 99cents on ITunes.
http://www.bookwire.com/AOS-Or...
I will read it today, but on first looks it looks really great!! Tons of great info! And the layout with pictures is gorgeous!

Ah ha! So the potato slices were in the pots to attract slugs? I may need that trick, although I've been very lucky so far.

Ursula, I'm with you on the beer traps, they've never worked for me, either. All I catch are dozens of roaches in them.

Yes, regarding the Potato slices. Apple works equally well.

re Beer, yes, anything BUT Slugs.

We're going on 24 hours of high winds and rain from this tropical system that is passing by to our west. Everything is soaked. I guess I can safely say the dry season is over.

Jim

Same here, hope you are ok, there were tornado warnings all over the place in the last hour. We've had well over 5in. of rain, too. Wind at SRQ was over 40mph and there's another line of storms coming in this afternoon.

'Chids are getting a really good rainwater rinse!

My orchids are safe and toasty in the OC and I don't have to worry about the pool overflowing either. I drove to church this morning and the streets were deserted. The forcast calls for much of the same through Tuesday. I think I'll take a nap and listen to the rain pound on the skylights. I wonder what wine goes with a storm like this?

Jim

Pinot Grigio? Shading to Pinot Noir if the sky gets any darker . . . But, did you stock up enough hurricane supplies so you won't run out by Wednesday?

I am rushing out between rain squalls to collect the mangoes off the ground so the squirrels don't cash in - seven so far this morning. Mango ice cream around here by the end of the week!

It's raining too hard here to dash for mangos. I'll just wait for them to float closer to the house. The weather guy just focused on my area and said 8 to 10 inches has fallen in the past 24 hours with 6 more on the way. Thankfully, I can see little wind damage from the windows.

Jim

Are they already walking in pairs into buildings?

try not to float away, my friends.

Weather update: heavy rain and windy. I'm going with the Pinot Noir. I made a dash out to the lake just to see how far it has risen. As the song says, what a difference a day makes. It's still not up to record levels but it went from end-of-dry-season low to middle-of-rainy-season high. The OC is a blessing as the orchids are not getting beaten up.

With not a whole lot to do inside except clean, I went out into the OC to take a couple of pictures. Cattleya Summer Spot 'Carmela' is aging nicely.


Lc George Baldwin X C. Trithena just won't quit. Constant blooms for over 6 weeks isn't bad for a big Catt.


I really like this Epc. El Hatillo 'Pinta'. By the way, it's still pouring and now we have tornado warnings. I expect to lose power any minute.


The weather guy on TV just said we have received 11 inches of rain in the past 24 hours and there is another 6 inches on the way.

OK, I have a Vanda opening in the midst of all of this. Here is Vanda Natchaya Beauty 'Pink'.


Here is a look at Blc Walanae Leopard 'Mai Ling' X Bc Richard Mueller.


Miltassia Aztec Toni has another new spike. This is another one that has been blooming for weeks and weeks.


That's it, folks. The question is, will I have enough discipline to get to the gym early tomorrow if it is still raining like this?

Jim

Jim, Your orchids are beautiful! I'm sorry about your weather...wish you could send PART of that rain here. More than 2" in 24 hrs would be a disaster here though. I guess summer has finally arrived here...we hit "normal" (80) today, and fire season is well under way. Not the official, but the rain total for the season at my house is 8.72", and none expected before Oct.! What a difference a continent makes...

Jim, beautiful show!
Hopefully you won't need to swim to the Gym!