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Yup, That's What "They" Say Anyhow..

No good deed goes unpunished.. Well, I felt I was punished this past weekend when I tried to do a good deed by staking up one of my new Orchid blooms. I suppose I sort of jumped the gun and tried to clip the stem to a stake too early on in the process.

A short note about that cover photo I used.. Dang I love that shot and miss my baby boy. He sat for that photo without hesitation. He was actually waiting there patiently, hoping I would allow him a good hard look at that plant. They are usually out of his reach and he wasted to take the time to investigate it without worry of getting in trouble for it. He was so curious and at times obedient (a good boy). I just want to reach through the picture and give him a big old kiss. My heart still hurts.

Staking Is GOOD When Done Right!

That aside..

I DO have other good news. Actually three good pieces of news. Three.. YES 3!.. Other Orchids are going to bloom soon and I managed not to screw them up. Just sad that it would have been 4. Oh well. It will be a surprise to see what color they are. I tend to forget (which is a good thing) what color their flower petals were before. It's been a good bit of time since they last flowered.

Below I have a photo with all our orchids (with the exception of Pepper's Sympathy Orchid) lined up. They are quite happy along this wall. This spot receives limited sun light and the temperatures are pretty constant. Low humidity is a concern, but we do our best with watering to help with that problem and it has worked out so far. I marked the plants that are getting ready to flower, with an arrow for easy finding.

The girl on the end looks wonderful. She has lots of air roots and lots of leaves in nice perky condition. I tend to pay attention to her a bit more that the others due to the plentiful roots. She could easily dry out very quickly thus creating an unhealthy condition very quickly too. The high walled plastic container helps tremendously with holding moisture and humidity close to those roots.

This next Orchid, below, was re-potted this past summer. Obviously it didn't mind me ripping off dead plant material and giving it a new home, because it is doing fantastic. Again, she looks nice and healthy. The lava rock and clear glass container has worked out real well. I am still looking for a few others so that I can repot the rest of my collection. These rocks let the water drain away from the roots, yet retain enough to keep the microenvironment humid.

This orchid needs some TLC and unfortunately I didn't get to it before she decided to bloom again. It needs repotted in the worst way. Once I find a few more of those glass pots, I'll go ahead and get her rooting environment fixed up.

Guess The Only One Left Is ..

The one I broke while trying to prematurely attach it to the stake. I thought it was okay and then I heard a snap and it totally broke off. I put it back together and the thing stuck there. BUT.. It is slowly starting to shrivel up.

It broke off just above that arrow at the node. I was SO Pissed off. Grrrrr... I was sulking for a while over this. It's been a few weeks, so I am better now. I think. lol.

What Else Is Blooming ..

Our Christmas Cactus is pushing out a few more pretty pink blooms. She does this from time to time, and you'll hear no complaints from us. I like the little pop of color during an otherwise bloomless winter recess. The plant sits at the far end near the glass sliding door. This spot gets the most sunlight and the Orchids don't care for that direct light, so the cactus lucked out and won that spot.