Such a beauty!!!!

How pretty!!

So, Jim, do you just buy orchids and throw them out in your yard? Wheeeee, plonk!

Yes, Milissa, I built a small catapult and launch them out onto the bushes. Now that the lanai is habitable (hate using the word finished), I have to search them out and bring them to their new home. It was such fun watching those floppy Dendrobiums and big Catts sail through the air.

Jim

An orchid in the lanai is better than 2 orchids in the bushes?

So what doi I do Jim & Ursula. I haven't seen anything like caterpillars or slugs but thrips I don't know. Spray the whole area? With what?

Looked like snail damage to me. They can really hide during the daytime.

I agree that it looks like slug damage. The photo really helped in this case. I know someone who uses a product called Escargot that they swear by and Ursula uses slices of fruit to attract them away from the plants. I've heard of folks soaking the plant in a bucket of water to rid them in the media. And cups of beer are supposed to attract the lushes. Here is an article with a coffee solution! http://www.bellaonline.com/art...

First step was to get rid of all the animal life I could see including those real tiny little bugs which might be thrips. I sprayed the plants which are flowering on my table under the lanai with Ortho Elementals (3 in 1 Rose & Flower care). supposedly it controls diseases, insects and mites. It also works against black spot, powdery mildew and rust which is probably more of a rose cure then an orchid one but it got rid of everything I could see. Now we'll see what happens. I mean those ants were a sight to see. They zoom up and down each stem like its a race for life.

Do you guys ever see the slugs you speak of?

Fred,
2009 was a miserable Spring, it didn't get really warm until the middle of June. It was constantly raining and night temps were chilly, barely hitting 50 F at night. The Slugs came in droves, EVERYWHERE. It was war in the cage, believe me. I repotted everything that was in older bark, switched lots of Orchids to bare root and mounted many. ( Practically every old potting mix had a Slug or two) I also potted up a lot of Orchids into Coconut fiber, that helped a bit. No pots with a rim, Slugs hid under that.
I bought Slug pellets, it didn't help, probably since the Slugs marched right back in from the Garden. So I simply placed slices of Apples and Potatoes into strategic places and collected them in the morning. They always had a Slug or two on them and other "stuff" too. And I inspected the ground very closely and disposed of the numerous Slugs by dumping them into salt water. It was a daily fight until the weather turned warm and dry.
Kathy might remember, I lost a huge Laelia purpurata to Slugs and wetness that Spring, I still miss it.
This year I see the occasional Slug, a total of perhaps two or three, not the "daily dozen" as I did in 2009.

so these buggers are in the pot in the medium where you can't see them off hand? I need to repot everything anyway but it is so hot and humid outside that I hesitate to do any real work out there. I get up at 3 am on some days (like today) and do my excercise out in the dark on our street (I do about 5 miles) simply because by 7 am it's already too hot and humid for me. Not to say that it's not hot out in the middle of the night too. I only wear shorts and I'm dripping wet when I get back. All this excercise and a lifestyle diet change has removed 30 pounds from my body though. Today was the day. I celebrated by having an apple fritter with my latte at Starbucks today.

PS I haven't seen a single slug here yet. Maybe we don't have them in hot Florida? I have seen dead snails in the pool. So they are around here eating something somewhere. I know we have armadillos constantly digging in my mulch. Don't know what they find there.

I know ants can spread scale around(thats if your plants have it).

My Catt. forbesii opened.

Niiice!

Catt. forbesii is very cool. Are your orchids liking this weather outdoors, Kathy?

They had a harder time than usual acclimating but now they are growing new leaves, roots and spikes!! How 'bout yourin?

I got so frustrated with the early dark, damp weather, that most of mine remain in. I have a humidifier if needed, but the humidity in the room where they are is generally above 60% in the summer. No AC. A fan keep air moving but I did get a light because the leaves on the trees around the house keep the sun pretty dappled in the summer. Everyone seems pretty happy. New roots, new spikes, and even a bud on my Aerangis Biloba~ the spikes are long and look healthy, so I expect, well hope, to see more buds.

In mid August, I am leaving care responsibilities to my son and the cleaning lady while I am in Maine. I hope to come home to loads of new growth and blooms.

Great report!
Have fun in Maine, Jo!!

I like the green flowering cats like your Catt. forbesii.

Thanks. I am a sucker for green, Fred!