And I really like that Sedirea japonica

Thanks!
I brought the Sedirea downstairs, it smells so nice!

Hi guys! I am back and am getting caught up with all the bills and asst etc. For those of you that don't know me,
I have been off cruising the USVI, BVI, St. Martin and St. Barths on a lovely 64' catamaran. While down there my
divorce was finalized!

My plants are scattered around the country in various foster homes with varying degrees of comfort... some of my
plants toughed it out in my greenhouse with spotty to none attention for 2 months. Despite all the disruption in their
routine, I came home to a nice bunch of flowers.

This Clivia is around 10 years old and has never bloomed. It hasn't
been watered since the fall ( it's covered with mealy bugs and was on the way to the compost pile)


Lc Blazing Treat Pot. Lisa Taylor Gallis 'H & R' first time to flower and very fragrant! Lc. Fire Dance 'Patricia'


Lc. Aussie Sunset first time to bloom with 5 flowers on the spike! Lc. Tokyo Magic 'Moonbeam' very fragrant flowers on this large plant


a couple of NOID Phals


Dtps. Minho Princess 'SJ' Phal. Baldan's Kaleioscope 'Golden Treasure'

Lindsey, how nice to see you back here on the forum.
I was one of the lucky ones to follow your water- travels via Facebook and it certainly looked like you had a very good time. I loved that last Sunset picture! Congrats on being happily single!
Beautiful blooms for sure! And Baldan's Kaleidoscope sports peloric blooms, to mix it up a bit.

Lindsey, it is so good to have you back and look at all of the blooms! It is always a bit depressing to me to see how well my orchids do without my loving care. It sounds like you had a wonderful time and I would like to see more pictures of your adventure. Now I wonder where Janice went off to?

Blc. Frank Fordyce 'Waiakea Uka' opened today. I like the color on this one.


Jim

Nice to meet you, Lindsay. Like your Lc. Fire Dance 'Patricia' a lot.

Interesting Jim, those are great colors on Blc. Frank Fordyce 'Waiakea Uka'. But they took me to Rio and not Hawaii

paph deperle. I have a few of these blooming. I like white flowers.


my catts and others are still working off the cold of winter.

they were in the garage for a few months and I bet you none of them bloom for me. I grow nice houseplants.

Welcome!
The Paph Deperle is a beauty!
Those plants look lush and very healthy, I don't see why the Orchids shouldn't bloom in their coming blooming season, provided they will get enough light?

Your Phal in the March section is very nice too!

Jim, your Blc. Frank Fordyce 'Waiakea Uka' is showy, beautiful color!

Jim, your Blc. Frank Fordyce 'Waiakea Uka' is spectacular! Congratulations on your Blue ribbon at the show!
Nice to meet you Ted, welcome to this little slice of virtual heaven!
rkidkelly...those are GREAT looking plants, I see lots of blooms in your future! My Catt's all go out side once the night time temperature
stays in the 50's, and I have them where they get sun most of the day...they are lightly shaded in the mid to late after noon and they
bloom their heads off with very little attention from me until the fall... when they go back into the greenhouse.

rkidkelly, WOW on that paph, Just outstanding.

thank you for the welcome and the kudos on the plants.. Ill get some blooms I'm just prepare for the worst then I'm happy no matter...

' Ive been growing orchids for 1 year longer than Ive been killing them '...

Heh, then you are ahead of the game....

Ursula, I forgot to answer your question. I went after the scale with Orthene, 1 tablespoon per gallon of water. I gave them one heavy dose, waited 4 days and let them have it again. This afternoon I will remove any residue with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol. About the middle of next eek, I will hit them with the Orthene yet again.

I have dismantled the rusting shelving and replaced it with heavy plastic 5-tier shelves from Home Depot. Yesterday I found an aluminum shop that caters to RVs and mobile homes. I ordered a white 1 inch square beam that I use for the hanging orchids. I already have a bunch of it but was missing a piece. I'm also looking at a 8 X 2 inch beam that I can use as a shelf. I would like to spread the orchids out a bit so they get more air. Overcrowding brings with it problems that I don't need.

Jim

Thanks Jim. I have been using this Winter "All Seasons horticultural oil", not bad for "spot-cleaning". But I will hit them with a systemic once they go outside. Might be a good idea for me to change systemics.

I agree on not overcrowding. And in my smaller quartiers - as plants come into bloom I move them to the front of the greenhouse if possible, and in the process I will turn plants and inspect for infestations. That way I have been hopefully catching problems before they run out of control. Can't do that when plants are packed in like sardines.
Those shelves from HD look good, I have seen them.

Just to bring everyone up to speed on the shelving that Ursula and I are talking about, here are my new shelves in action: Assembly is easy and no tools are required. They cost about $35 each.
.

While taking these pictures out in the OC, a couple of species Dendrobiums caught my eye. The first is Den. antennatum:


The second one is one of those bare cane bloomers called Den. aphyllum.


I mentioned before that I had found some soft scale (Coccidae) on a few of my Cattleya orchids and, although some of us are well aware of these nasty creatures, others might want to know just what to look for. You will usually see the top of an affected leaf first and it will look something like this:


Turn the leaf over and you may find this:


Looking closely at the stem and pseudobulbs:


This is nasty stuff and it will spread to adjacent plants. Step one is to isolate affected plants. Step two is to get out the insecticide, your choice but I prefer Orthene. Since the scale lives all over the plant and in the potting mix as well, it will take multiple applications to get rid of it. Flame throwers are a last resort. I hope this helps some of you who are new to the orchid wars. Best of luck.

Jim

Ah yes, those are the shelves and they are looking really nice and organized there.

Very nice Dendrobiums, I love them both.

Jim, were these buggers smiling at you when you looked at them? Don't you swear they wink at you at times..... Those yellow spots are certainly telling you something, bugs are sucking the life out of them on the underside. I would think Orchid growing would be so much easier if it weren't for those nasties.

They are smiling no longer. After two day of intense artillery strikes with Orthene, I sent in the ground troops in the form of alcohol swabs. All traces of scale, alive and dead have been removed from the plant. I know the war is not over and remnants are hiding in caves underground but they know they are in a fight. On Tuesday, I will hit the plants with Malathion, a contact insecticide, to kill everything moving. Saturday, I'll be back to Orthene and that should do it. I think I am reliving my year back in Vietnam.

Wednesday a group of us will meet Laurel and Steve in Apopka for another round of fun and shopping. I reapplied flame retardant to my buying shoes today so they will be dry and ready to go on Wednesday.

Jim

And since you have to carry plants to the car, be sure to add an extra weight lifting rep to your work-out?
Have fun you all!

It is indeed heavy artillery. That should do it.

I moved some more Orchids around today, since we need EASY access again to the deck. And we left the water in the pond last Fall, what a big mistake. We drained it totally and it needs to be again sanded and painted. I think I will simply line that pond with heavy plastic this year before I add water. Some of the hardy Waterlilies are starting to grow already, so we better get cracking.

I took the camera upstairs -

Lc Fire Dance 'Patricia' is nowhere near quitting


Iwanagaara Appleblossom is starting up


I am so glad it is warm enough in the greenhouse for the fan to kick in, WHEW. Bulbophyllum echinolabium is such a beautiful stinker, especially smelly in warm sunshine. I love the pretty curls at the end of the petals. ( next to the Blc Liese Pigors x)


Cattleya jenmanii is in bloom this week


Encyclia bractescens - I like the delicate spikes


Epc Kyoguchi x Seagulls Tangerine opens 2 full spikes


All three spikes are open on the hand puppets/Seahorses. Ducks


Lc Rojo opened the 4th spike


and Stelis ciliaris looked so nice in the sunshine, I had to take another picture.

Beautiful show, Ursula! The second picture of Iwanagaara Appleblossom is outstanding. Such beautiful color. I am also a big fan of the Encyclia bractescens and the Epc Kyoguchi x Seagulls. Tangerine. I'm noting the metal racks in your greenhouse and know they would not last here due to the chlorinated pool water which would reduce them to rust dust in a few months. The greenhouse is surely a beautiful sight.

Jim

Wonderful, Ursula. I'm with Jim on that Encyclia bractescens. Waiting for mine to get started.
Bulbophyllum echinolabium is very interesting and I like that Epc Kyoguchi x Seagulls Tangerine.
Today was soak everything day and I noticed a few new spikes. Hopefully blooms soon. The cyms. seem to last forever, all are still in bloom