Good news from Odessa! No ice in the fountain and no frost on the roof nor grass. It was 51 degrees in the OC at 6 AM this morning so I am thinking no damage to anything here at the house. Also, Florida State wins the college football championship. I could not have asked for more.
Jim
"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
Got up this morning to 28*, but it's still dropping! Currently 25*! Brrr! The sun is coming up, but it's going to have to be real strong to get us above 40* today! Geez, I think I need to move to the REAL Florida!!!!
Tara, that is cold for your area.
We woke up to 5 degr F and gorgeous sunshine. By tomorrow this cold blast will be out of here….
Mj, I love the driftwood. I mounted a a few smaller, window-sill type cattleyas like Lc Mini Purple on nice driftwood. It doesn't take long for the roots to grow right into it.
Name: Elaine Sarasota, Fl The one constant in life is change
We had some breeze all night so that kept the temps up a bit, thankfully! No frost and no damage visible so far!
Expecting our temps to be back to more normal levels tomorrow, too. Tonight is still 'up in the air' however, if the sky stays clear and the wind dies it could get frosty.
Elaine
"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." –Winston Churchill
It was freezing outside, but the temps in the greenhouse were friendly and pleasant. Cleaned the fish tanks and played in the greenhouse a bit.
Here is a large, single first bloom on my Blc Green-Heart 'Amy' picked up some years ago from Waldor as a very small plant. The plant sits in full sun, but likes to spread totally horizontally. I just placed it on a hook and from now on it is to grow vertically, which seems to be more natural for this plant. I just took it downstairs, it has a lovely scent right now.
Paph spicerianum has now both blooms fully open
And I am happy about this Den kingianum v. silcockii, it actually puts on a really nice show this year and smells so good!!
I envy your slippers, Ursula. Just beautiful! The Blc Green-Heart 'Amy' looks like my Ruben's Verde. I'll bet they both have digbyana in them.
I presenting my orchid talk for a garden club tomorrow so must prepare. Blankets, lights and heaters are all still in place. The big warm up starts tomorrow and we are back in the 80s by the weekend.
Jim
"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
I took Ruben to my orchid presentation today and somhow tore off a piece of the lip. The good news is there is a promising sheeth so I might get a replacement. I did a lot of sniffing today and cannot detect a fragrance. I also bent but did not break the spike on the Shomburgkia undulata. I just put a splint on that long spike and am hoping for the best. I have another presentation tomorrow night on cycads.
Cloudy and still cold here today.
Jim
"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
Can't be too easy carrying Orchids in bloom/spike around.
Btw the Green-heart really only "put-out" in the evening. I took it downstairs after dinner and that is when I could detect a nice fragrance, but not very strong.
Just back from choir practice. Temps were supposed to moderate here today as well but I felt it to be a damp cold that just would not go away. It is overcast now with a heavy mist or light rain. Let's hope tomorrow is better.
Jim
"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Steven Leacock
Yes, let's hope! 
