My New Babies Arrived - One Great Florida Orchid Balcony

[lornaheath]

I think the Cats are my absolute favourites.

Huge flowers, frilly edges, outstanding colour combinations. They defo stand out from all the others.

I hope you can save your one. I'll send you some vibes across to try and help it on its way.

Lorna
x x x

---------- Post added at 08:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:07 PM ----------

Well that all sounds really admirable Mister Tommy. Sounds like you are becoming determined to stop spending for a while.

You have to balance it with the amount of time it takes to care for the ones you have and to enjoy them and get the most out of them all. You might get some really nice surprises and displays if you do good.

Don't forget there's a whole horde of people on here wanting to see all the Pikkies. There's me and the other contributors and also all the Lurkers don't forget.

You are teaching people who always remain incognito. '-'

Lorna
x x x

[butterfly_muse]

Originally Posted by TOMMYMIAMI

Thanks Girls
well, no parental control, but even though I was watching couple more again since Friday, I did tell my seller to send me invoice for only these 2 Dendrobiums, and I am done. I have made that filtered sun corner today with shade cloth, and reorganize again and I am pretty much MAXED up on the space, balcony can't take much more (for now anyway:-)))) So, the only other shopping will be next week in St. Pete's and I will try to control myself, although I'm going with my dear friend, orchid freak as well, having over 100 orchids at her backyard, however her HUSBAND will be with us, so I'm pretty sure he will keep us both on leash:-)))))) With keeping them all alive, let's see, I am really doing max this year, searched the web, wrote diary with page dedicated to every single one of them and the care info, but you never know. There is for example one cattleya I just received last week, she was at the same spot, but it was raining here in Miami for straight 7 days, and stupid me didn't move her away from the rain;-( I did re-pot her today, because within a week 3 leaves fall down and it was obvious today it is over watered. I am not quite sure if this could happen just within that week in my balcony, when I did take it out of the pot, roots were really bad, rotten a lot, but what can I do, I was not able yet to grow and bloom one cattleya successfully:-((( I hope re -potting will help and she was moved to that corner with filtered afternoon sun, will see, it is a strong plant with still some roots healthy, so I do pray this one will make it:-)

You sound like me and phalaenopsis. They HATE me. The mini ones *knock on wood* don't seem to hate me, but the big ones....the big ones hate my guts. My cattleya types are all "hum de dum huzzah!" for me right now, but I am terrified of the winter and what that might bring for them. Fiance and I have talked about doing a light setup and keeping everyone in his office, as he is doing an aeroponics setup (just to see if he can. He wants to see if he can grow bell peppers and he wants to try his hand at growing an orchid that way so I'm going to gift him one of my phals that hates me and buy myself something else) and that room will be warm and humid while the rest of the apartment is..well..not. If I can get them to either grow and bloom or just grow and not die, I will consider it a sign of success. I only started to grow orchids back in February, so..*crossfingers*

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Thanks, absolutely right, now I have to try to make them all bloom and thrive, that's the point. The good thing is, I do work a lot from my home office, so I can enjoy them and take care of them even during the day:-) The bad thing is, I am working from home a lot, and therefor watching my balcony too often, always trying to SEE if there is not too much rain, too much sun, to little of light etc:-))) And few good friends growing orchids already told me the worst is over caring for your plants! Something else for me to learn. I think that writing this diary helps me a ,lot, but also freaks me a little bit in the way, now I am constantly checking if that particular orchid is not getting too much light, too much water, too little water, or not enough fertilizer etc. I think I will have to calm down after this orchid rush that had pumped in my veins:-) Ok, many thanks to all of you, and I will keep you posted for sure, and share pics once some of them will bloom:-)

[butterfly_muse]

I definitely check on my a lot lot lot when I'm home. I even think about coming home from work early on super hot days to take care of them...o.O; I work an intermittent schedule due to the fact that I'm a student so on off months I can basically set my own schedule...so sometimes I think about it...and then think about my wallet and stay at my desk.

I want a job where I can work from home. Hook a sister up.

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Originally Posted by butterfly_muse

You sound like me and phalaenopsis. They HATE me. The mini ones *knock on wood* don't seem to hate me, but the big ones....the big ones hate my guts. My cattleya types are all "hum de dum huzzah!" for me right now, but I am terrified of the winter and what that might bring for them. Fiance and I have talked about doing a light setup and keeping everyone in his office, as he is doing an aeroponics setup (just to see if he can. He wants to see if he can grow bell peppers and he wants to try his hand at growing an orchid that way so I'm going to gift him one of my phals that hates me and buy myself something else) and that room will be warm and humid while the rest of the apartment is..well..not. If I can get them to either grow and bloom or just grow and not die, I will consider it a sign of success. I only started to grow orchids back in February, so..*crossfingers*

Keeping my fingers crossed. I did kill few phalphs, again by over watering them, thinking that our hot Miami weather needs watering at least once a week, such a big mistake. But i did learn from this and now my phalps are all happy as they can be, in the part of my balcony that has less light, no direct sun what so ever, and to control this water problem, i did mount most of them or used tree fiber baskets without any potting medium. This way I can actually SEE the roots and water as needed. And they bloom like crazy every single year, some of them are so huge they have long spikes with huge gorgeous flowers on them. They do not last as long outside as inside, about 2-3 months, but they are EASY ONES for me now. No such luck wit any of cattleyas, so far I had purchased 4, 3 last year in bloom, they were small ones, but still nice plants, which I did kill 2 of them by now, one of them seems doing pretty well but did not bloom this year even it had 2 new growths since last summer. And now I did get this new huge nice plant, only a week ago, and it is very hard for me to comprehend that within one week, being on the GOOD spot normally, but due to the constant rain for the last 7 days getting so soaked and not drying out, it is rotten and dying:-( I still hope though that I did catch this on time, and re potting plus moving will save it, what has died is the old leaves and bulbs, there are 3 huge new leaves that seems fine and still have good roots, so fingers crossed.

---------- Post added at 06:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------

Originally Posted by lornaheath

I think the Cats are my absolute favourites.

Huge flowers, frilly edges, outstanding colour combinations. They defo stand out from all the others.

I hope you can save your one. I'll send you some vibes across to try and help it on its way.

Lorna
x x x

---------- Post added at 08:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:07 PM ----------

Well that all sounds really admirable Mister Tommy. Sounds like you are becoming determined to stop spending for a while.

You have to balance it with the amount of time it takes to care for the ones you have and to enjoy them and get the most out of them all. You might get some really nice surprises and displays if you do good.

Don't forget there's a whole horde of people on here wanting to see all the Pikkies. There's me and the other contributors and also all the Lurkers don't forget.

You are teaching people who always remain incognito. '-'

Lorna
x x x

I love cats as well, such a gorgeous huge flowers, I MUST figure out the way I can keep them alive and blooming, for God's sake I am living in Florida, all my orchid friends have cats hanging outside year around, on the palm trees, having them in bloom every single year with huge clusters of gorgeous flowers, and they are doing pretty much NOTHING to them, seriously, nothing except from time to time fertilizing and watering. So there must be a way for me too!!! I won't give up till they will be extremely happy at my balcony:-)))))))))))

[butterfly_muse]

Is there somewhere inside you can bring them when the rain starts?

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Originally Posted by butterfly_muse

I definitely check on my a lot lot lot when I'm home. I even think about coming home from work early on super hot days to take care of them...o.O; I work an intermittent schedule due to the fact that I'm a student so on off months I can basically set my own schedule...so sometimes I think about it...and then think about my wallet and stay at my desk.

I want a job where I can work from home. Hook a sister up.

:-))))
I do own package forwarding company. Therefor I can actually stay home for most of the day and do my job on the laptop, leaving the apartment only for few hours a day to check on the warehouse or if anything is needed. That being said, this might not last for too long, we are growing rapidly and might have to move to bigger place, which will be further from my apartment and won't be economic for me to travel between home office and warehouse constantly during the day, so I will have to probably spend the working day in the new office:-( But, will see, I am still my own boss so I will do my best to keep an eye on my babies no matter what:-)))))

[lornaheath]

Haven't you just answered your own questions Tommy?

Leave the buggers alone. Maybe you're killing them with kindness! Giving them too much attention, food, fertiliser, seaweed? Stop picking them up and loving them so much.

Rent them out to your mates for fostering and when they are about to burst forth, go grab them back and enjoy em.

Lorna
x x x

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Originally Posted by butterfly_muse

Is there somewhere inside you can bring them when the rain starts?

i do not want to bring them inside into the Ac, however this was my stupidity, there is part of the balcony close to the glass door that does not get rain even when heavy one comes. I just did not think this might happen, thinking to LET IT BE as if they were grown in the nature, as I said, many of my friends here in Florida has cats on the trees, therefor they are getting the same RAIN and amount of water as my did, and they are growing like crazy. I did check on it and the medium on the top seemed fine, it did not hit me till today when I saw 3 leaves fall down and the bulbs are brownish, so I did know it is water damage:-(

---------- Post added at 06:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:58 PM ----------

Right, I know. I do know it is all ME:-)

[butterfly_muse]

I feel like that sometimes. I think they need more of this or that or whatever....and then I realize that I just have to leave them alone and let them sit there. It's so annoying sometimes to sit there and watch them do nothing lol!

Well if it rains again I guess just bring them to the spot where all the water doesn't go. Or maybe mount them so the water can't sit in the pot?