Moss

Yesterday, I went to the Steel City Reptile Expo. There at a poison dart frog vendor's booth, what caught my eye was the gorgeous lush green live moss in the tank! Not that I didn't notice the cute little frogs, but the moss was AMAZING! I had to pick his brain about how to grow the stuff. I also bought a bag of live moss from him. It was a bit pricey, but for the info he gave me it was worth it. While I have no frogs (yet!) I did plant my moss and hopefully I can grow more of it! Maybe I can add a little frog too later :D

Squirrels

I had outsmarted the squirrels from stealing my suet cakes from my suet feeder by putting a cable tie on the opening since they figured out how to open it to steal the whole thing! Unfortunately, my new suet feeder opens from the bottom unlike my old one that opened from the top. Needless to say...those squirrels maybe smart, but not smart enough to just chew off that cable tie! Instead, they just tried to chew the wires instead. All the plastic that covers the feeder is gone and it is just raw wire now. I'm sure that will rust away soon. Good thing those things aren't that expensive!

I also see some teeth/claw marks on my copper bird feeder. Little bastards! I don't mind sharing, but damnit....don't take it all and don't ruin my feeders!

More Seeds

Yesterday at Lowes I found these beautiful purple pansies with white edging. Bought a packet of seeds so I planted them today as well as my herbs (cilantro, parsley, basil, dill, stevia, oregano) and black cherry tomato seeds. Hopefully, they will all work out as I have no idea when to start each of them. I also bought sunflower seeds, yellow habañero, papaya cream nasturtiums, zuchini, mustard, and arugula seeds, but will start those later as I now those germinate easy or that I don't need them as early. I had wanted to start my sugar snap peas, but my window box that I grow them in is completely frozen at the moment. This winter is refusing to go away!

I did move my pepper seedlings to my light rack in hopes of giving it some adequate light. I left the Bhut Jolokia seedlings in the window sill since it was doing so well there and not leggy. Of course, it is quite the slow growing plant!

Show Planning

Today I went to talk to Dave about our display. Made some plans, but it doesn't look like I will have many if any plants to display at our annual orchid show! My Dendrochilum is starting to bloom. I have one Masdevallia with ONE flower bud, ready to open and my Paph. lowii that is spiking. The lowii might make it if I can time it right, but man I have nothing! Oh, I have a few phals spiking too, but those are meh. Hopefully my Phal. equestris will bloom for the show this year so I can have Tim prove to the judges that it is indeed an equestris! Thank god for knowing the right people in the right places. We will have plants, but I'd like to enter more of my own plants for judging, ya know?

Plants Deer Don't Like

While reading my February 2010 issue of Gardening How-To Magazine, I
came across an article that I am always asked about as a Phipps Master
Gardener..."How do I keep deer from eating my plants?" This is what I
learned:

• If they are hungry enough they will try anything, poisonous or not.

• Cover up new growth, they love tender new shoots!

Plants they are not fond of:

• bee balm
• boxwood
• daffodil
• hellebore
• lamb's ears
• lavender
• ornamental grasses
• peony
• prostrate (creeping) speedwell
• sage
• Siberian iris
• spotted deadnettle

Things deer don't like in plants...spicy, scented, soft or spiky, but
these don't always work depending on your deer. I can't attest to
whether these work or not as I do not have a deer problem.

Sproutin' Peppers

5 out of the 6 types of pepper seeds I planted have sprouted! Hopefully they will grow well. I have no idea where I am going to be growing them all though!

Will Power!

Went to the orchid society meeting today and managed to not come home w/ another orchid...only b/c I only had $12 in cash and credit cards with me and the cheapest plant was $15 haha! Instead, I got to show off my blooming Australian Dendrobium. A fellow member liked it so much she wants a piece of it when I divide it! Worked out perfectly since she bought the plant I wanted...I told her I'll trade her for a piece of her plant :D

There was a lot of show info going on since our show is in two months. I am hoping I will have something in bloom to show! Dave and I are going to attempt our own exhibit this year. They tried to rope me into doing all sorts of volunteer stuff, but luckily I have already promised my time to a vendor!

Came home after the meeting feeling a bit empty w/o a new orchid, but I had to remind myself the show is just around the corner and I will bring home all sorts then even though I am trying to downsize some so I can grow some of my other types of favorite plant....carnivorous plants! I watered all my plants and threw away three orchids. Yes, I THREW AWAY ORCHIDS! They were dead and weren't going to come back so into the trash bucket they went! There are probably an orchid or two left that maybe on its way out too due to neglect or water getting into its crown and whatnot. Oh well...

Update...

Well I got two flowers off my Cymbidium Honey Bunny 'Sugar Candy'. Quite pretty...not quite as yellow as I had expected. Should've maybe gotten the pink instead since the plant is smaller anyhow! I don't think the spike that I broke will bloom either. The buds are all yellow.





My Australian Dendrobium is blooming with two spikes! This isn't the current bloom, but here's a pic of it's bloom last time:



My Paph. lowii is budding! Can't wait...I hope it blooms in time for the show!

The Bhut Jolokia is growing REALLY slow! Just added some vermicompost to them tonight. Hopefully that helps! It doesn't have a very strong root system either so I am hoping that helps too. Otherwise I might give it a blast of rooting hormone too!

I also have a Dendrochilum in spike. That thing blooms so reliably for me each year! I love reliable bloomers!

My Oncidium Twinkle 'Red Fantasy' isn't doing so hot. I need to replant it into bark. It is not happy in semi-hydroponic apparently. I doubt it'll do well in bark again since I didn't do well w/ it in bark before! This might just have to be one of those orchids I have to give up on and enjoy them only when someone else grows it!

Paph. villosum is still going strong, but I suspect it is nearing its end soon as it has been blooming for awhile and they only last about six weeks.

Other than that....need to start planning for spring! I am ready for it!

Blasted!

Ugh, you won't believe it....my pendulous Cymbidum's spike has mostly blasted. Probably all thanks to the in and out activity over the holidays. The new spike was stuck and I went to help it out only to snap the damn thing! I'll be lucky if I get to see a handful of flowers....it should've been about 15 on one and 10 on the other. :(

On another note...I don't know if it's b/c it has been cold or what, but the squirrels haven't figured out my zip tied suet basket yet. YAY! They did eat all the seed out of the lower level of my bird feeder, but the top is full and they can't get to that easily so I will just leave it as is! Been tough keeping the water from freezing out there. Just snowed again last night and ran out of salt. I have re-stocked with two 50 lb. bags!

Seedlings!

Left: Pomagrante seedlings! Right: Bhut Jolokia seedlings!

These seeds were from a store bought Pomegranate. I have no idea how they will turn out. I saved about 10 seeds while I was eating one and planted them all in this container figuring that a lot of them won't sprout. I guess I was right! Two sprouted out of 10! One is above the soil surface and one is below that you can see through the side of the cup.

I honestly did not think these seeds would've sprouted. I traded for them and they did not look very fresh and took quite awhile to sprout. I realize it is not summer and that temperature might've not been high enough, even on a seedling heat mat, but when I saw that my Pomegranate seeds sprouted I checked on my Bhut Jolokia cup that was under another cup for added warmth and there they were! I am excited :D

On another news....my Paph. lowii looks like it might be finally growing a spike after all these years! This was my first plant that I had bought at my first orchid society meeting in 2001. I remember that it was a lot of money for me to spend on a seedling at $20! Boy have I come a long way from loosening the purse strings since LOL Anyway, I suspect that it is a spike because leaves grow alternately, but the up and coming growth is coming out of the same side as the last leaf! Keep your fingers crossed! I have been waiting forever for this beauty to bloom!

Bhut Jolokia Seeds

Wow! Just got more Bhut Jolokia seeds in the mail along with samples of the pepper dried! First off....REALLY fresh seeds! Two....you can smell just how spicy those samples are in the little plastic bag without even opening it! Came with some nice tips too. Can't wait till it is warmer so that I can start the seeds! Already have one seedling growing....would like a few more!

Organic Valley Coupons

http://www.organicvalley.coop/coupons/

Mary Lou's Christmas Cactus

The mother plant of this one shown had belonged to my fiance's grandmother, who had acquired the plant from her own mother, his great-grandmother. It could be at least 100 years old or close to it since Mary Lou was 92 herself! Anyway...my piece of it bloomed on the day of her viewing after she passed away and started wilting today when I got the thank you card from her daughter for the flowers.

Helcia sanguinolenta x Trico suavix 'Megan' AM/AOS

This is fragrant too!

From Orchids

From Orchids

Progression od Paph. villosum Bloom #2

12/13

12/17

Progression of Paph. villosum Bloom #1

12/7

12/8

12/9

12/11

12/17

Oh They Are Too Smart!

It was either yesterday or the day before. I came home to both feeders empty. I thought "WOW! They must've been hungry after that freeze!" When I went out to refill the feeders I noticed why...the squirrels stole it all! Somehow they figured out how to open the suet holder and they took the WHOLE cake! Bastards! So I put in a new one and zip tied the door. No getting out now! Unless they get smart on me and chew off that zip tie, which wouldn't be too far fetched...

They have also figured out how to hang over to eat the bird seed. I really don't mind sharing the seed, but I am getting a bit tired of what pigs they can be about it! I really don't want to put one of those baffles over the feeders. They are so dang ugly! Guess I either have to learn to deal with it or get one.

Paph. villosum Bloom #2

Paph. villosum Bloom #1

Paph. villosum