New in NC -- Impulse Control Problems

[bethmarie]

I guess I shouldn’t mention the greenhouses
at Orchid Trail in morrisville. Species. Hybrids. Genera from A-Z.

[MisterGuy]

Roots of the air layered Den NOID when I lift the edge of the moss.



The board one of the Catts was on had ants infesting it at some point. I had trouble finding a good angle to show it, but the root is basically filling ant holes.



This was a HUGE discount phal when I bought it but the leaves just rotted off. There's still tons of green roots, and this little nub just started showing. Will it be a root, or new leaves? What should I do with this nasty mess, if I'm too dumb to give up?

[MisterGuy]

Originally Posted by Ray

You might want to check out the Triangle Orchid Society. They meet at Duke Gardens, second Monday of the month (this coming one) at 7:30.

I'm not really sure how this happened, but thanks to your great tip, we popped by the Triangle Orchid Society member sale briefly, and somehow I managed to get thanked by my wife for being sweet and buying this Phrag "Rosy Charm" "for her".



The guy selling it said the one he kept from that flask has sent up a flower spike, so if I treat this one well it may bloom this year!

[MisterGuy]

So I took my orchids outside to give them a thorough soaking, and I decided that they were all getting far, far darker than I wanted them to be. So I built myself a little shade pergola between my pond's waterfall and the pond.



It's a pretty decent bright shade under there. They get a little bit of direct sun briefly around 4 or 5 right, and there's a small willow due west sorta kinda dappling the light for that hourish. The phrag gets a little more sun, and is sitting slightly in the waterfall:






While I was at it, I bought a mini phal from the discount rack and it put in a display with three others, and they all promptly rotted. I tried to stabilize this one with moss in a small clay pot. It hasn't shown any improvement, unless you count not dying as noticeably which I suppose is something. It had one tiny air root when I figured out it was rotting inside the moss. I decided as long as it basically needs to be pampered with daily spraying anyway, might as well try to make it look cute and intentional:



It's basically just clipped above that moss to the string, with the tiny little root running down to the wood with moss next to it to add moisture. Let's see if it lives!

[Leafmite]

Good luck with all your new additions! How many orchids do you now have?

That is probably the perfect way to grow a Phag.

I do not think I can ever hope to get control over collecting plants because there is always just one more! :0

[MisterGuy]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

Good luck with all your new additions! How many orchids do you now have?

That is probably the perfect way to grow a Phag.

I do not think I can ever hope to get control over collecting plants because there is always just one more! :0

Plants are like guns, if you count them, your wife can hold you to it...

What's amazing to me is as long as the blooming ones are in her office, she keeps accepting the idea that I am still buying them for her!

I have three reasonably healthy phal, one set of phal leaves, one set of phal roots with a little green nub forming. I have an oncidium in full bloom, two oncidium rescues with shriveled bulbs but relatively x healthy looking leaves and roots. I have two mounted Catts and two Catts in pots, all actively vegetating even though I just snapped a growth off moving it around to the pergola. I have the dendrobium nobile hybrid that got my wife hooked with its scent and bouquet like appearance, as well as a keiki from it and a broken cane from it I hope will do something.

Of all of those, I know exactly two IDs. One is decent sized but banged up leafed phal from the discount rack labeled Sogo Yukidian v3, and the Phrag Rosy Red from a flask grown out by a local orc society member. If it's happy in the stream, it's definitely getting some company.


Aaaand currently in the mail are cane sized purchases focusing on fragrance to impress the wife in years and years. I have a single bulb size Sharry Baby, two dendrobium kingianum canes and what is hopefully near flowering Maxillaria Tenuifolia on the way.

You know. For the wife.

[Dollythehun]

You are devious, but obviously doing something right. Your Sogo is a good find.
"Plants are like guns, if you count them, your wife can hold you to it..." This begs for comments, the next show is the end of July but, we've done orchid and guns shows in the same weekend...

[Leafmite]

It is great that your wife likes the orchids. I always get eye-rolls when I bring home new orchids. The other stuff I grow is much more welcome (herbs, spices, tropical fruiting plants, jasmines, etc.).

[Optimist]

I have bouts of impulse control. As an ex-smoker (20 years now!) I know what it is to quit something. I have it down to an art. I went from vegan to total carnivore (Palio without all those veggies) on the flip of a switch.

I always think it is fun to collect something until I do and find myself with a truckload of something I really don't need, regretting the money I wasted. (Well, supposedly it is not a waste. I'm thinking of my college degrees, not my orchids).

[MisterGuy]

The Catts have been in and out since I got them, and I burned a few leaves earlier this year. This little sheath makes me feel a little bit forgiven!