Meanwhile Binosa Little Stars blooms away next to my computer and perfumes the space at night. Gonna miss it when it stops blooming.

That snow picture is truly depressing

Hey, I'm actually looking forward to romping in it today. We have dodged the bullet all winter and it's seemed unnatural in a way. The skiers and snowmobilers are probably in heaven. After all, February in New England is sposta look this way.

I just posted some good information on shipping practices in the Information forum.
http://cubits.org/orchids/thre...

I'm from N. Andover, Ma.....that's why I moved!
I'll check out your additions on the other forum, thanks

WE have lost our power and I'm using a phone to post. Not sure why our cable's not working. The orchids are fine though....

Hi Sugarcane...I'm from Mass, too....Cape Cod. And that is the same reason we moved. On the Cape power outages were almost constant, even in summer. (Tourists hitting poles.)

Those damn tourists!
We had moved to VA..and almost instantly got hit with a hurricane , Isabelle, lost our power for two weeks...we were on a well, so that meant no water either...the first thing we did was put in a whole house generator, which was the best investment ever! Now that we're in NC, it will be high up on the priority list!!

I won't see any spring flowers outside for a good 2 months yet.

We have had temps just slightly above freezing for weeks but I've seen the sun only once in the last 3 weeks! It has been the most dismal winter on record. The orchids are feeling the lack of sun.

The vanda are going downhill in a bad way. I expect we will loose the lion's share. Wish I could figure out the problem. They always suffer a bit in winter then perk up in summer. Perhaps the lack of sun this winter is the problem.

My little taste of spring is my pot of crocus.

The Hellebores are blooming here, but way later than normal. Tulips and daffs are up a few inches. But a colder winter than in decades, they say.

We had two feet of very heavy wet snow. Took hours to dig out. Electricity and cable just came on. Our new generator is worth every cent!

Todd, I wonder if the relative humidity needs to be adjusted in response to the lower light on those Vandas. Do they look dessicated? Share photos if you can.

Hellebores, narcissus, crocus and camelias are open here but it's colder than normal.

Laurel are you thinking more or less humidity?

Kathy, thinking of you today and wondering if you were out in your snow shoes. Also, I remember being a newbie in DG and telling both you and Ursula to get generators for over a year so you wouldn't loose a big collection the way I did mine. Great that everything is safe. Meantime, my newest collection is growing and I don't have a generator.

We're crossing here Kathy. I'm thinking maybe less. Miami's pretty dry in Winter and I always think "What would Miami do in these circumstances?"

I was thinking less, too. My vandaceous orchids' roots want to be bone dry at night or the green tips turn black. On cloudy days I try to water very early so they will be dry by dusk.

Love my generator. Glad I listened to you, I think!

I did romp in my snowshoes after I shoveled forever, but it wasn't much of a romp. Many big limbs are down on a huge crabapple, my fav big huge apple tree, and who knows what else out back. I used my snowshoes with a broom to knock off heavy snow on bushes, to pull out branches bent and buried in the snow on my magnolia and teenage rose of sharons. When I headed for the backyard while sinking over a foot on each step, I fell down several times and had so much trouble getting up (wrists hurt too much) (beached whale syndrome) that I abandoned the trees in back and retraced my steps back. I told my DBF that if I hadn't finally figured out how to use the broomstick for support I could have frozen to death out back since he could never have heard me over the snowblower! Actually wouldn't have been a bad way to go, so I hear.....

Yes, you did, Laurel!

Todd, how about a simple grow-light(bulb) above the Vandas to make up for the lack of natural light? I have some of those cheap metal clamp lamps from the hardware store, they work very well. A grow-light also adds a bit of extra warmth.

Right now my Vandas dry up very fast, so I flood them (and especially the roots) daily.

Kathy, that sounds brutal!

Grief! I'd just hole up 'til Spring if I lived there. I really do need to try out a snow shovel one of these days just to say I've done it. I'm a pro with a manure fork. Must require similar skills.

Yep! We have had an unbelievably easy winter...till today!!! Luckily we kept laughing.
Great idea about the lights, Ursula. Why are your vandas so dry?

The heating system in the greenhouse is connected to the house. I have oil heat/forced air coming out of 3 registers on the greenhouse floor ( actually a couple of inches above the floor, so I don't have water running into them) with a higher placed return flow. (The ducts are pulled from the oil burner in the basement into the garage and upwards in the greenhouse) That alone provides plenty air circulation, especially on cold Winter days and nights when the heater kicks in more often. That and the greenhouse has a glass ceiling which lets in maximum light.
In addition I have a rotating fan ( set on low) mounted high on the wall.
Right now I water every day thoroughly, I will slow down on cloudy days when the temps outside reach the fifties F or so. But right now the Orchids don't stay wet for long at all.
Remember that one side of my greenhouse also houses a C&S collection....the Pachypodiums and Adeniums are waking up btw.