The White Fairy is simply awesome, Jim! And Snow Ballett is always pretty!!

Good to see you, Melissa! I figured you were on vacation!

It's been a thundery wet morning so I figured I'd share the things I'm blooming right now....nothing like Jim's wonderful show, but a few...

First 3 NOID Den.s

Nice shows Jim and Patty.

Pretty pretty, Patty. I love the Majestic Light with its splashed petals.

Thank you Ken & Elaine!

Nice blooms, Patty. Look carefully at my Dendrobium White Fairy and compare it to your NOID. They look the same to me. Also, just for your information, your Potinara is now called Rlc. Memoria Shirley Moore (Rlc. Crowfield x C. Beaufort). The Majestic Light is stunning but its real name is
Rlc. Majestic Light (Rlc. His Light x Rlc. Hawaiian Treasure).

The heavy rain this morning turned to light rain around noon and has now increased to a steady rain that looks like it will stick around for awhile. The word for the day is soggy.

I'm still waiting for the Stanhopea to open. Apart from that, I've pretty well run out of blooms to post.

Jim

OK, Jim...I guess I will re-name as they bloom and I post them and you correct the tags (how's that for a compromise?! )!!

Did they just drop the "newberry" part of the potinara?

I can't go back to see your White Fairy while I am typing this...does it have that greenish hue to it also?

Soggy IS the word for the day. It has pretty much stopped dripping here, but the skies do not look promising that it will last for too long....

Yup, we've had some nice rain this morning and it looks like we could get some more. It's really not even what I'd call "hot" outside although the sun is peeking through now. Getting a little bit of weeding done, even! (ugh.)

I am stuck inside but I keep peeking out my "office" window, hoping I will see something that just has to be done. My problem is that my watchdog, aka "wife" is keeping an eye on me and dares me to lift a finger on any of my plants. She's a redhead and you know the temperament of redheads. "Yes ma'am, no ma'am, how high ma'am". You know the routine.

That's what I do, Patty. When I'm ready to post a bloom, I check the name and make out a new tag. If you are not going to show the plant, you really don't have to change the tag. The 'Newberry' is just a clonal name so it does not change and yes, you should keep it as part of the plant name. The Den. White Fairy does have a greenish tint in the center. I may have a name for the other one but I'll have to look.

It is still dripping a little here. All of the ponds and lakes are full so I don't where more rain is going to go. It has been a wet year.

Jim

Mother Nature is like Goldilocks and the three bears. Too wet or too cold........too hot or too cold. But that's when the story ends............it is never "just right".

Watch what you say about redheads, Ken. I am another one

(the temper thing is purely a myth, though)

Ha, ha, ha. My mother was a high-tempered redhead and my sister was a high-tempered redhead. I guess I was doomed to marry a redhead.

I have two sisters and a brother, and we are all redheads. The only hot temper in the house was my Dad, also a redhead. My mother kept him in hand, though.

Hm, I was thinking of venturing outside with the camera just now, but it is suddenly pouring out there again . . . Guess pictures will have to wait.

My wife is my best friend and has been for 43 years. She's my life. We both learned long ago to compromise..........I always (ultimately) give in and she always (ultimately) wins. She likes that sort of compromise.

You are a smart man Ken.

Our Lowe's often has the clay pots with the holes.

I have flowers open at last on my tiny Epi. magnoliae aka the Green Fly orchid. These flowers are less than 1/2in across but just perfect little fragrant orchids. Had to dash out between rain showers, and even so a gust of wind brought down rain off the oak tree as I was shooting these pics. We had nearly 2in. of rain today.



Pardon the cell phone pictures, my good camera is having a problem . . . err, that is I am having a problem with it. Going to take the book of destructions to bed with me now and try to keep awake until I solve it.

That is a pretty little Epi, Elaine. It is just pouring here, kind of like yesterday and the day before that and the...you get the picture. I worked a little bit in the yard this morning and it is like digging in a bog. I dug out a citrus tree that was dying of citrus greening and was going to plant a palm but it was just too wet. I think the water table is about 6 inches below the sod. Both sides of most roads look like canals.

I had one bloom open yesterday and I will post it only because someone may learn a little about flower thrips. These nasty tiny (1/16th of an inch) insects have an orange head and a yellow body. When disturbed, they raise there posterior as if to sting but they have no stinger so don't fear. They lay eggs in the tissue of the flower and they prefer darker colored flowers like reds or purples. They are not hard to kill with insecticides but they are hard to spot before the damage is done. So here is what they did to my Cattlianthe [Ctt.] Siamese Doll (Ctt. Netrasiri Doll x C. Netrasiri Beauty).


Jim

Aw, that's too bad, Jim. My big NOID catt that is blooming right now is very susceptible to those little guys, as is the purple NOID dendrobium that's been in bloom for at least a month.

I found the insecticide you recommended has worked great even in my "great outdoor" environment where every bug and fungus lives and thrives. Spinosad applied about every other week seems to be keeping the little bugg*rs at bay this year. All my 'chids are blooming better. Another dose to be applied this evening after it cools off a bit. I'm sure the rain has washed it all off by now.

Strangely enough, I've seen a lot less black rot this year too, although that remains to be seen after the rains of the last 4 days. We have not had any today, so everyone's drying out nicely. I'm not watering anybody until tomorrow to be sure the air gets in to all the roots.

Wondering if the bugs also spread fungus around in their travels, and they might even supply wounds to allow the fungi to enter the leaf tissue as well, I suppose.

They are big on spreading virus too. I blasted all of my plants with Orthene today. The rain seems to have ended now but it really poured right after I got home from church. If you stand too long in one spot out in the back yard, you begin to feel the water creep over the tops of your shoes.

Jim