Congratulations, Melissa! That is one spiffy name tag. Now don't get a big head and leave us peons in the dust. We need you.

Jim

hawkarica said:Congratulations, Melissa! That is one spiffy name tag. Now don't get a big head and leave us peons in the dust. We need you.

Jim

Never! Y'all probably know more in your little finger than I do!

As for systemic fungicides, Melissa is right about them being pricey. In fact, Daconil is one of the cheaper ones out there. I went on bread and water for a couple of weeks and bought a bottle of 3336f made by Cleary. The bad news is a quart of it costs close to $100. The good news is you only use one tablespoon per gallon of water so it will last a long time. This is the best fungicide I have found. Remember you must change up every now and then or the fungus will adapt.

Apopka is a small town just NW of Orlando where many orchid growers have their greenhouses. They are closed on the weekends but open on weekdays all year. We make a day trip out of it and have lots of fun. Lunch is always at the Catfish Place. It's a hoot.

Jim

I always thought Daconil was a contact fungicide but one that sticks to the the external plant tissue. Have they changed the formula?

The Daconil ready to use does leave a thick, milky coating on the leaves. Now I'm going to have to go out and get that bottle to study. If It is systemic, maybe I can dilute it a bit.

Daconil concentrate also leaves a pretty heavy white film on the leaves. I don't worry about the film unless I am shipping the plant. Then I simply wipe it off with a soft, damp cloth. The good side of having the film is that you know the fungicide is there.

I just read the whole label again. It is not systemic. First clue> for use on food crops.

I just read the label too and Alice and Carol are right. In my rose days, I had to spray every week and I alternated Daconil, Ortho's Funginex, Fertilome's Liquid Systemic and Manzate 75DF. Perhaps it was the Funginex that is systemic and the Manzate and Daconil were contact. I didn't like the Manzate because it is a powder and hard to keep suspended in the spray tank. I don't use any powder any more.

Jim

The Cleary's 3336 is a systemic. Btw, I found it on Amazon for $61 for a quart, but I thought even that was too much for the small amount I would ever use. Couldn't buy it in a smaller size.

I tried a new product from Bayer called Natria last week. It's a sulphur compound combined with pyrethrins so it's fungicide and insecticide together. It's rather thick and leaves a coating on the leaves, too. Part of that is whatever they're using as a surfactant i.e. the spreader, sticker component that makes it stay on the plant. It's hard to spray, as well.

This is the big month for fungal infections, as we have terrible humidity plus longer periods of wet weather in September, it seems. So far I've had a lot less black spots showing up than usual, and of course part of that is because I moved most of my Catts under cover before I left for my last trip, so they are drying out, and only getting wet when I water them. That and better air movement from more spacing . . . it all helps.

The Bayer 3 in 1 is a systemic, and so far has worked for me, but of course the bugs and pathogens build up resistance to any chemical. I'm trying to find an alternative for the scale issues, but Ca. has eliminated many of them. So far, Bayer 3 in 1, Physan 20, and good old cinnamon have kept the fungus at bay, but it hasn't been an issue here, since we are so dry. This year things are changing though. Normally, at this time of year our humidity is in the low teens when the heat gets in the 90s...now we're getting some of that monsoonal flow that has kept the humidity up. Right now the temp is 84 and humidity 46%, and chances of showers tomorrow and Tues. Very unusual! Seems we're all experiencing climate change. Tough when you're into gardening.

El Nino.

We love El Nino here in Florida. It helps deflect and supress the hurricanes and gives us more rain in winter.

There's a lot more than just El Nino that's affecting climate change, though. Sadly.

We're hoping El Nino brings lots of rain this year. The weather people say 50/50 chance. If we do get it, it will be a mixed blessing. We need the water, but it will raise havoc in the burn areas.

Carol, I hope you live far from the forest fires, I wish we can send some of our rains to those people that need them.

I do like the Daconil for prophylactic spraying and I have successfully used two treatments of the Pool Time. I will have to get a systemic, because I can't keep rotating my surface spraying. The Cleary's looks like the most economical.

Gigi, Most of the major fires are far to the north, and I live in the city, so not much fear of them here. No forrest to burn to burn in the LA basin.

You couldn't start a fire here with a truck load of matches and a blow torch.

Lots of action out in the OC. First up is Rhynchobrassoleya [Rby.] 'Krull-Smith' HCC/AOS Lime Cooler (Rlc. Memoria Helen Brown x B. nodosa)


Next up is Epidendrum [Epi.] ciliare. Last I looked it was an Encyclia. Oh well...


Here is a nice little species Dendrobium [Den.] auriculatum.


Fully open and putting on a nice show is Guarianthe [Gur.] bowringiana.


Opening nicely is Rlc. Thompsonii (Rlc. Digbyana-Purpurata x C. gaskelliana)


I'll show this Rlc. Ruben's Verde (Rlc. Green-heart x Rlc. Lester McDonald) just to illustrate thrip damage. It is a shame to wait a year for a beautiful flower only to have it ruined by a lowly thrip.


Update on Bratonia [Brat.] Golden Spider (Milt. clowesii x Brs. Starry Knight)


I just have to take a picture when I walk by Little Stars.


A pretty flower on Cattlianthe [Ctt.] Ploenpit Fantasy (Ctt. Kauai Starbright x Ctt. Loog Tone)


Finally Onc. Pacific Passage (Onc. Masayo Morisada x Onc. sphacelatum). Hope you enjoyed the show.


Jim

good to know Carol!

love everything Jim but my favorite is the first one.

What a great show, Jim. I'm loving the Thompsonii with that extravagant dark purple lip!

I have a Lime Cooler, but I think it might be giving up on me, will have to check on it tomorrow.

And of course I like that the boffins named the Golden Spider a "Brat." It seems to be very well behaved.

I love them all, Jim. Your 'Lime Cooler', with its big ole flared lip, is a bit like my Blc. Mem. Vida Lee 'Limelight' AM/AOS, but my picture is sourced from the grower. My plants are only "teen" seedlings.