I got myself another orchid fix today

[bil]

Originally Posted by voyager

That's the entrepreneurial spirit bil.
Then, we can require them to purchase my weed orchids at greatly inflated prices in order to make the diet effective for them, and get the weeds off my property.
I think we've got a winner here.

With that entrepeneurial spirit, I think you should be Financial Director.

[LizB88]

Originally Posted by bil

It's the Orchid Diet! We could make millions!

All we need is a book and a dvd and we are on our way.

Not really all you need is to get people watching orchid youtube videos and they get hook! I know when I see some of the plants that people have, I find my self searching for a vendor

And the work out is while repotting cinbidiums

[voyager]

Pant, pant, ...Wheeze.
I've finally got almost everything remounted in my style.
All I have left to do is a Catt. maxima to go onto a 12" raft that the glue is drying on right now, and a Doritis pulcherima variation that I have nothing to put it on until I buy more redwood. The Brassovola Little Stars is hanging in the photo, but is also waiting for more redwood to make it's raft.
My "green house":

[GardenTheater]

Looks really good! Glad you are taking advantage of the wonderful orchid growing climate.

[voyager]

I posted in another thread about going back to the greenhouse and picking up another 4 orchids:
#1 - Another Den. Samurai,
#2 - An Epi. Hula Dancer 'Paradise Orange',
#3 - An Epicyclia Mabel Kanda 'Miyao' with an inflorescence begun.
#s 1,2 & 3 are now on trees in the yard.
#4 - Another Neobenthamia gracillis, that I hadn't mentioned in the other post. The first one I picked up didn't seem to be doing very well. So, I got another. Then, I looked at the 1st one's roots in the moss. It puts out 2 different types of roots, thin, wispy, dry air roots similar to the roots Oncids put out in the air. Then large dia. fleshy roots in the moss. They are supposed to be a terrestrials. That might explain the type of roots growing in the moss.

After getting away with them for only $12, I couldn't stay away. Last Sunday after going to the market, I picked out four more:
#1 - A Bulbo. lobbii 'Kathy's Gold' X dearei 'Elizabeth'. After looking up pics for it online, I think this is the same as the Bulbo I posted pics for in another thread trying to figure an ID for it. By the way, that Bulbo has started 2 more blossoms They should be opening in a week or two.

OK, #2 - A large Epic. Hainying Orange 'Ching Hua'. It has an inflorescence begun. We'll see how long it takes for it to bloom. It will have a red - orange flower.

Then, #3 - Another Maxillaria tenuifolia. The first is doing quite well on its 8" mount. This one is HUGE!!!
I'll combine the two of them And put them on a 12" mount. It'll take some stuffing to get them all on it though. And they'll probably be outgrowing it in a year or two.

And finally #4 - An Ency. odoratissima. It has begun an inflorescence and will be blooming in the near future.

These four were a bit pricier, $20 for them. Probably because of the size of the Max. tenuifolia and the Epic. Hainying Orange.

My withdrawal twitching is no longer noticeable. I should be OK for at least a week, maybe 2 with luck.

And finally finally, the Rhy. gigantia Red X Alba has bloomed. It is fragrant. All the blossoms should be open on the spike in a day or two. Pics then.
Plus, my "hurricane" Vanda has bloomed again. It is a NoID bluish purple Vanda picked up at one of the markets. It got its name because its flowers opened the morning after the night Iselle blew through.

[lotis146]

Originally Posted by bil

I see. SOMEONE obviously hasn't got their priorities right.

So you spend the week's groceries? I see it as a diet plan.

Sorry this post got away from me...for months. But I laugh as I read these replies. Maybe I need to stop OGA (Orchid Growers Anonymous) and get my priorities straight.

Originally Posted by voyager

Yes, ma'am.
I can manage that.

Giving my Dendrobiums their winter rest was actually not a problem.
I played outdoors the year 'round.
15 below was my cutoff temp for playing outdoors in the winter.
Lower than that and I couldn't generate enough body heat to stay warm enough without working up a sweat.
So, house night temps approaching 60F were not a problem.
My cool-dry-rest Den's loved it.
And, I loved it when they bloomed in the late winter - early spring.

Not being able to place orchid orders 7 to 8 month or more out of a year due to frost possibilities was one of the hardest things about growing in Alaska.
I lost more than one order due to the mail container being left out overnight on the tarmac.
Now, I don't need to even consider having to bring them in at night any time of year.[COLOR="Silver"]

I don't doubt that growing Orchids in Alaska was at times painful from ordering them to moving them around. That would certainly be frustrating to learn the container got left on the tarmac. Ahhh! I had one orchid get lost in the mail for a couple days last year, it was in bud - one survived - as well and suffered some damage but survived. (Later I learned much of the damage was due to poor packing.)

It seems you're doing well actually with all the Orchids you've got and still are given the DRAMATIC change in environment you've experienced. I'd be on a binge for oh probably a year or at least until I felt guilty especially being so cheap. And you have endless space? Trees and anywhere you can hang plants? Lord have mercy...

Originally Posted by voyager

That's the entrepreneurial spirit bil.
Then, we can require them to purchase my weed orchids at greatly inflated prices in order to make the diet effective for them, and get the weeds off my property.
I think we've got a winner here.

Orchid diet! I think watering needs to be included in the exercises necessary for this plan. It takes me at least 3 hrs each week. Repotting, phew, for sure an exercise. Now that it's Orchid show season going on the Orchids before food diet will work real nice with my budget.

[voyager]

Originally Posted by lotis146

Sorry this post got away from me...for months. But I laugh as I read these replies. Maybe I need to stop OGA (Orchid Growers Anonymous) and get my priorities straight.





I don't doubt that growing Orchids in Alaska was at times painful from ordering them to moving them around. That would certainly be frustrating to learn the container got left on the tarmac. Ahhh! I had one orchid get lost in the mail for a couple days last year, it was in bud - one survived - as well and suffered some damage but survived. (Later I learned much of the damage was due to poor packing.)

It seems you're doing well actually with all the Orchids you've got and still are given the DRAMATIC change in environment you've experienced. I'd be on a binge for oh probably a year or at least until I felt guilty especially being so cheap. And you have endless space? Trees and anywhere you can hang plants? Lord have mercy...




Orchid diet! I think watering needs to be included in the exercises necessary for this plan. It takes me at least 3 hrs each week. Repotting, phew, for sure an exercise. Now that it's Orchid show season going on the Orchids before food diet will work real nice with my budget.

I haven't been by here for a while myself.
Most of my orchid developments are repeats of prior happenings covered in prior posts.
And, I've been busy with a lot of other things:

Whipping the contractor to finish installing our solar electric panels.
Thinning my ice cream banana planting,
Enhancing my apple banana plantings,
Planting and transplanting my pineapple plants, got 32 in the ground so far.
Getting a rambutan tree planted.
Transplanting my kefir lime tree from its pot to the ground.
Building soil for a new growing area.
Getting my tangerine, longan, and avocado trees ready for their spring start up.
Building an outfeed table for my tablesaw, and a work bench for the garage.
Repairing tiles on the kitchen counters.
Finally getting around to cutting up some of the trees knocked down by the hurricane.
And, the list goes on.
---------------------------------
Pant, pant, ... Who said retirement was supposed to be a time of rest, quiet and relaxation?

You need to get your priorities straight?
I need to get my priorities straight!
---------------------------------
Orchids in AK was an ordeal.
But, it has given me given me experience in more areas than I'll ever need again.
------------------------------
I'm still binging.
But, the quantities acquired in each binge are coming down.
------------------------------
Only 3 hours a week watering?
I'll swear that I did at least that 2X a week especially in the winter's bone dry household air.
I ran 2+ gallons a day through a humidifier in the winter.
All it did was to cut down the number of static electricity shocks I'd get every day.
Don't need to worry about it now.

My orchid diet is that I forget to eat while I'm busy with my orchids and other projects.

Where I go wrong is that I food binge every night just before going to bed.
I always sleep better on a full stomach.

Got a new acquisition getting ready to bloom, an Encyclia odoratissima [sp?].
It should have green upper sepal and petals.
I don't remember what else about it.
But, from it's name, I expect it to be fragrant.
Nicely I hope!
Pics when it does.

[lotis146]

Wow Voyager, ALL your projects sound sweet, literally. Sounds like you're going to have an exotic orchard of all sorts. I think I speak for many of us when I say it'd be great if you felt like sharing when you got all your trees up and doing their thing. Good for you for all your work.

3 hrs a week is my minimum, that doesn't count time spent filling water/humidity trays (don't do enough) or filtering water for the humidifier. If I stayed on top of this I'd easily go through 3 gallons in the humidifier a day. Hopefully putting them outside - while they'll need more frequent watering - will make things go faster with the hose and rain, but then there will be those days I need to mix up fertilizer. Ah the tasks and joys of the Orchid hobby.

Props to you, yours, and all those projects. Keep us posted for sure.

[voyager]

Originally Posted by lotis146

Wow Voyager, ALL your projects sound sweet, literally. Sounds like you're going to have an exotic orchard of all sorts. I think I speak for many of us when I say it'd be great if you felt like sharing when you got all your trees up and doing their thing. Good for you for all your work.

3 hrs a week is my minimum, that doesn't count time spent filling water/humidity trays (don't do enough) or filtering water for the humidifier. If I stayed on top of this I'd easily go through 3 gallons in the humidifier a day. Hopefully putting them outside - while they'll need more frequent watering - will make things go faster with the hose and rain, but then there will be those days I need to mix up fertilizer. Ah the tasks and joys of the Orchid hobby.

Props to you, yours, and all those projects. Keep us posted for sure.

Got some more orchid photos posted in other threads here yesterday and today.
I'm getting close to mailing off some of my weed orchids to an interested party.
Our solar panel installation is finished, and up and running.
Just in time for a week of heavy clouds and lots of rain after a 7 week long drought.
The story of my life:
A day late and a dollar short, over worked and under paid, over sexed and under laid.
Oh, well.
Summer is coming and there'll be lots of sun shine to make up for the lack of right now.
Getting ready to start building storage cabinets and shelving in the garage, so that we can empty out the last of the boxed things still sitting piled up in the garage and closets.
Get that done, then we'll finally be completely moved in.

Our Sharwil avocado trees [2 out of 3] have set some fruit for the first time.
Not much, but we'll get some for our use next fall or winter from them.
I'm still waiting for the Ota and Lamb-Haus avos to bloom.
They're pretty young yet and may not set any fruit this year.
The Honey tangerine has bloomed and set fruit.
I LOVE Honey Tangerines!
The Satsuma is covered with blossoms.
It is a small young tree.
If it sets as many fruit as it has blossoms it'll look like an over ornamented Christmas tree.
I can hope though.
Three of my apple banana trees have bunches hanging from them.
Two more are old enough that they should be putting out a flower soon, giving us 5 small bunches by late summer.
My favorite Bromeliad is putting out 2 new quills.
It is "tiger striped", black radial stripes on the dark green leaves with bright orange quills.
Very striking.
I'll get pics and put them up in the "other than orchids" forum when they get their orange color.

We've had a fairly large number of burglaries, robberies and home invasions lately.
Yeah I know, it sounds like Alaska during the pipe line days.
Anyway, I bought a video surveillance system last October.
I'm just now getting around to beginning to get ready to install it.

After that I'll do a bit of work on my truck.
Then maybe I can take some time to get out in the early mornings to get some photography done along the coast line.

Yeah, I know, this is an orchid forum not a home improvement/general gardening forum.

Although, I did mention that I have put some orchid pics up in other threads, and am about to mail off some weed orchids.

[lotis146]

Well done!! Good luck and good work with everything.