Well, I have good news and bad news, and then I have more bad news. St. Pete Orchid Farm messaged me this morning saying that either thrips or caterpillars got to the orchid I wanted to buy and the flowers were a little chewed and turning brown. In good news, he gave me $10 off the price. And hey, it'll bloom again, right? So here's a picture that St. Pete Orchid Farm shared of it on Facebook. It's called Aerivanda Somsri Sunset.
Here's a picture of what it looks like today. A little sadder.
But I'm still happy I got it. Now, as for the more bad news...I got home and went to put the new plant in the shade house only to discover my rodent problem has expanded! I was looking forward to sharing with you guys in the very near future, pictures of Vanda Pure Delight. It's a regular bloomer for me and it was in spike again. It had been putting out that nectar stuff (is it actually considered nectar?) and was attracting wasps and ants but when I walked in today all the buds and part of the spike had been eaten!
I am so angry! The good news is, it looked like the rat poison had been disturbed so hopefully it ate some of that too and is now dying a horribly painful death. No mercy for rodents!
Out of curiosity, has anyone had problems with caterpillars eating their orchids? I raise butterflies so I'm kind of wondering. Most caterpillars only eat very particular plants, although there are some moths that will eat just about anything. It just got me wondering.
