I sent it to you a couple of years ago. Lady showed up at the Ext. Help Desk with a bag full of them asking what they were, and she gave me the bag, saying "there are dozens more" in the mulch pile where they turned up. It seems they 'naturalize' themselves quite readily if they find a spot that they like. I had 5 or 6 of them, and gave them to friends including you. I think I sent one to Mj, too.

I'm glad yours is surviving and blooming! I didn't find mine before it started to rain and got dark tonight. But this is the time of year they're supposed to bloom so the timing fits. Maybe I will find a little treasure like yours out there.

I wonder how it got the wrong tag in it? Glad you helped me sort it out. I'll make a new tag for it tomorrow. It seems to be doing well.

Lots of rain today starting about 1:00 PM. I managed to spread 150 lbs of fertilizer between the storms so that task is done. I picked up my truck yesterday, good as new. Glad that is over. Sang a duet at church this morning and it went well.

Jim

Good Hagar you feel that way Ursula. My husband told me. Once you have your pictures on the Internet, even if you mark it copyright, someone will copy it.

Jim, 150 lbs of fertilizer whoa! That's a lot. I'm assuming that includes your fruit trees and not just orchids.

My better gro orchid fertilizers lasted a year with me. I guess I do not fertilize enough.

Gigi, the 150 lbs of fertilizer doesn't include the orchids at all, just the palms, trees and shrubs in the yard. I use an 8-2-12 slow release nitrogen and potassium plus minors including boron, magnesium and manganese. It is a granular made by UF, especially for palms but usable for everything.

Jim

I have been watching that bud on my Brassavola David Sander for days and it finally opened! :smily:


Jim, aren't you retired? You are working wayyy to hard!!

What a wonderful flower, Ursula. You've got a lot more pink on that one than I usually get.

On the working too hard, Jim. But when you have an acre of private botanical garden, there's a lot of work. Just pace yourself.

I'm not allowed to fertilize anything until the end of the month here. County ordinance forbids fertilizer application until the end of the rainy season. I can see the logic, and considering we had another almost 2in. of rain this morning, I'm glad I can't put out any - end of May I apply the long-release Dynomite and that's it. Grows me a really great jungle over the summer anyway.

Ursula, on the chance that picture was lifted from ATP, I would advise Dave. Probably can't do much but maybe make a few waves.

If nothing else I might contact the folks that are using your photo and ask them for removal or remuneration. I understand it is no big thing but by allowing them to get away with it, without even a bit of a complaint, it just perpetuates their illegal activities.

Alice,
I am not sure how fluent any one of us is in Vietnamese, so communication might be a little tough!!
I think I would react if I find my stuff posted happily at some English ( or in my case German) speaking Orchid vendor's website without contacting me first. Other than that, whatever?

I also posted the said photo at the Orchidsource forum, where it is much easier to lift a photo than on ATP. On our Forum you would have to scroll through plenty of stuff, where at the OSF site you will see it instantly. Most likely that is where it was lifted.

Unfortunately, county politicians do not always pay attention to the scientific information coming out of the universities. UF professors have told them over and over again that turf grass and other shrubs and trees need and use fertilizer when they are actively growing, not when they are dormant. Fertilizing turf in the winter is a complete waste and whatever is put down will eventually wash into our streams and lakes. True, we get more rain in the summer but the plants are absorbing the nutrients quickly resulting in much less runoff. Politicians are in the business of getting re-elected, not improving the environment. I'm fortunate that Pasco County has not opted to impose these kind of restrictions yet. Perhaps they are too busy enforcing our once a week watering restrictions due to the drought and low aquafer levels. The poor aquafer is only about an inch above ground level here. Have mercy!

Jim

Jim, sounds like your local politicians need a junket to Ca. so they have a clue what drought is. Half of our aquafers are dry. If/when we get any heavy rains, they will be channeling most of it to the ocean because the drains will all be plugged up with mud and debris. The canyon residents are already setting out sand bags and rice straw bales with expectations of mud slides from the burn areas, and the city/county workers are madly cleaning drains and waterways.

What a mess, Carol.

Yikes, Carol!

Ursula, I absolutely love the David Sander, but then you already knew that!

Jim

Oh yes!
....as I am reading along.....

Sure is quiet here today. I'm manning the MG desk at the Extension Service today and have had a busy morning. I just got a call from a guy who is on his way here with chunks of sod for me to identify. That can be difficult.

Jim

Will try to entertain you once you get your sod questions done with, Jim. I guess folks need to know what kind of grass it is, so they can take care of it right? I am not a lawn person as you know. Think we should just 'mow what grows' where we need grass, and grow interesting things more.

An update on Everything Nice, turning much more yellow as it matures. Must admit I liked the cream lip/green petals just as well. It's a really nice flower form (even though one petal seems to have gotten battered - must have been the wind)


Renate posing for me right next to it, couldn't resist. (oops, should have cut off the spent flower stem)

I wish I did have that Everything Nice as it is a beauty. The Renate is nice too.

I have talks tomorrow night and Thursday night. No rest for the wicked.

Jim

I am still mulling over those exciting chunks of sod.....

The color is gorgeous on the Everything Nice, Elaine!! pretty Renate too.

Oh and it was 95 degr F in the shade today. I walked my 5 year old grandson home from school and he was actually faltering a bit in the heat today. And that was a 7 minute walk. He was happy I carried his backpack and looked forwards to a glass of cold milk.

Not too much new is happening in the cage, the Den bigibbum v compactum is blooming steadily away and Lc Love Knot coerulea is happy.

I have to laugh at the name on the Den bigibbum compactum, as it's not exactly compact after it starts putting out it's long skinny stems, is it.. so pretty though. I do love the color on the Love Knot. Now that one truly can be called compact.

Yikes, still 95deg. up in NJ today? I am hoping for a little cooler by Thursday as we are starting up the garden at the elementary school, and that will be nearly 2hr. in the blazing sun for two old ladies. Luckily between classes we get a little break in the shade.

I'm just here enjoying the beauties!