Yes..on cotton seed composted mulch. I should have a truck deliver it!
I get the alphalpha pellets at none other than the store I get the Lava sand at- yardgeek.com. I actually was going to by all of the ingredients to make the compost tea I read in the thread..I had the alphalpha pellets loaded on my cart wheeling past bags of stuff Ive not even heard of--and screeched to a halt when I read the bag...all that stuff in the pellets..woo hoo..I dumped the other bag off and loaded up with these bags. I am also using it in the compost for the adult Brugs. Be careful though...Dogs...they think they/ve hit the mother lode when they get a whiff of it, and even non digger dogs will dig for this stuff.
That is by far..the best garden oriented store Ive ever been too. I usually fill my car up with stuff. Matter of fact I am going tomorrow..I am out of the lava sand.
Kell that is one wild looking orchid-
Rooting Experiment Results
Boy I have to reread your recipe Rj when my mind is more here. I wish I lived next to you. You could advise me on dirt and we would only have to buy 1 plant of everything our hearts wanted for then we both would be able to enjoy it. LOL
I think I scared the friend I went to the Orchid Show with. She has lots of orchids in her home but she cheats. She boards them all and they deliver them when they start to flower. There were so many beauties I was literally hyperventilating. I was rushing here and there in a flower tizz. She was keeping track of the time for I had to meet my husband at 4:30. She said time to leave Kelley to meet Tom and I said "Tom who?" LOL
I tell you I really understand why people go nuts on orchids. Incredible. If I had room for a GH I would say good bye to brugs in a heartbeat.
You are in luck Rj, I happened to take a pic of its name tag. I liked the brown/white flowers the best. I was not in my typical gaud mode. Though these are gaudy in a sedate way.
Wow, Kell, that flower bears no resemblance to any Dendrobium I've ever seen! I think the intergalactic aliens left that one behind. That is one I'll have to add to my super wish list.
BTW - I just checked and there are no photos included on the Dendrobium spectabile Plant Files page (no information there at all except for the name). I hope you will add your photo there.
Jeremy
I'm h-h-h-h-here... f-f-f-f-freezing my t-t-t-t-toesies off! Sheesh! I'll be glad when Spring gets here. This cold business is for the Penguins!!
Now... Kell that is one fabulous orchid! All I have to do is find some fried calamari and stick it on skewers when my orchids aren't in bloom? Kewl, but I'm afraid my cats wouldn't allow that for very long. Me either.. I LUV calamari! Yum!!
I have a question, gang. My seeds are up and still alive - much to my surprise - so is it time to transplant them to individual containers? None have their second set of leaves yet.
Barb
Barb, your orchid moss looks like auburn rockwool that could use a comb and a shot or two of Vitalis, huh??
I thought of you Jeremy when I saw Kells picture of those orchids- recounting your creative nickname for those erie spider orchids we have...Brassia Mtssa. 'Shelob Tolkien' --
Yes Kell, we would be out there like mad scientists tweaking our dirt to perfection while our gardens turn into mini nurseries, although I/m quite certain I would be the one seeking your advice...
Flower Tizz is a great expression!! Earlier today my friend and I were taking the scenic route to a friends house because of construction, and I was enjoying seeing new homes with cool landscaping, exclaiming look.! Oh..see that.!..... Wouldn/t that be cool if....and finally my friend said...Okay Randy..not everything is about gardening!.. Now I realize..I was just in a flower tizz!! LOL
My orchids are getting the short end of the stick, with my attention diverted else where. Matter of fact Jeremy has kindly given me some good pointers. I moved 4 of my orchids in the house yesterday and am going to move the rest in for closer observation. they/ve been ignored. Glad you got the name of that orchid.
It is cold here too...although the temp is going up from 36 to 38..- My Australian fern is glowing under the frost cloth from the rope lighting I losely coiled near it/s trunk. So far, so good.
Rj
LOL! Sherry, it's only because I've been poking and prodding trying my best to locate another seedling. Alas!! None to be found, I fear. Oh woe is me... WOE is me....
Tizz. I like that, Kell. It's a bit more dignified than a "tizzy". ~snicker~
Barb
Barb, my few seeds are in awful shape, Ice cubes one day, scorched the next. Until we come outta this cold, I'm laying low on the plants and working elsewhere and inside!! My hubby and I are going to spend the tomorrow night with our daughter and our three grands, while my hubby is in court, I love the work dates that turn into grand twofers!!!
LOL Sherry...all my seedlings are on a holding pattern like an air traffic delay program. They are lined up in front of the living room windows.
I'll swear, I promise you, I swear that everything in my gh LOVES this cold. It might kill them but they are putting up a good front, lol!!! My Susanne, is inside, fanning herself, singing, Lawdy Miss Claudy - I've made her into a Prima Dona, which is NOT her profile, but, mercy, I don't want to lose her!! I won't know for a couple of months if my stuff in the ground will make it. If not, hey, I will be knocking at your doors, hahahahahaha...
You know...I must agree- The ground is still warmed up from the lenthy string of warm days- So it is not bothering the roots, yet it is dislodging unhealthy leaves along with the early squaters of pestilence taking advantage of the warm days. I found a big out break of powdery mildew today. I whipped up my first aspirin potion and will wage war on them tomorow.
My door will be open when you knock!
Hey when I was at HD today looking for the orchid moss I spied the Japaneese Beetle Bags. Aw shucks something is always trying to ruin a good time.
I always have a ton of those bad boys here.
I checked mine in the ground today and didn't see any that looked like they started putting out as yet. I did see several of my tall Garden Phlox putting out big time. And the low spreading phlox started to bloom a little last week when the temperature got in the 70's. Sure wish I had a green house but the sliding glass door and windows will have to do for now.
Randy, a non-chemical remedy for powdery mildew is 1 part 2% milk to 10 parts water. It really does work.
Barb
Your are so welcome. Its like some of our friends in florida being generous sending out cuttings and things..then their gardens get wiped out by the Hurricanes..and the recepients send plants and cuttings back, some of them having originated from their own wiped out gardens..
Okay..I will put Physan on my list when I go to the Yardgeek place. I am anxious to test the aspirin water though.
RJ,
If you test the aspirin water on them, I'm anxious to know how it works too! I just bought my first bottle of aspirin in years just for gardening! ~ Suzi :)
If you are successful with the aspirin water, I'll try it again. My mildew is industrial strength +++++++, it is awful!! And, crops up at the most least likely times, it seems. Something about some cold, I guess, versus a certain temp warmish weather, seems to cause it too, really irks me!!! I think my zone is responsible, yuck!!
I am a willy nilly gardener Rj, you are disciplined and careful. My advice would never be like me. LOL
Be careful of that physan, it is strong stuff!!! And it will kill seeds.
I have tried the ASA water but I can't remember on what. LOL. See? A Willy Nilly gardener!
Sherry I use that Immunex for lawns on my roses, it kills mildew fast.
Hi Suzi..I was just looking for you on the Brug forum..I think I saw your name there. I guess you haven/t tried it yet either. Do you know how long it took me to find uncoated aspirin? Toooooooo long. I think when I make the solution next time...I will crush the aspirin up first then add it in water. - like those old drug store stone grinder.It disolved fairly well, but there were visible flakes at the bottom, so I took a small hand blender to it, and really mixed it up.
I also wondered if powdered aspirin like BC could be used. I didn/t buy it though because I saw other ingredients in it that I was unaware of.
I want to use the aspirin water mainly for the beneficial health I read about. I am going to try watering a plant with it too...see what results that may produce.
Kell, I'm never used the Physan around seeds, but i have used it on seedlings that were well established, in the greenhouse, and it worked well - I've only used it once. Now, I lost some cuttings but they were creamsickle, who is pesky, for me, anyway. And, funny about that - creamsickle had more mildew than the others and was more susceptible to root rot. I wonder if there is a connection. Have you, or others, had a similar situation???? Also, I used a weak Physan solution and it worked, so I bet it is strong. Thanks, kell!!!
Kell, ROTFLOL!! I/m pleased to see I can pull off this appearance of discipline. I/ve seen your pictures Kell, and they don/t lie!
I am a very wily nily -flower tizzing gardener. But it is what helps us learn! We keep pushing the envelope - more exotic- seldom letting things detur us - as we must find out for ourselves what will help us succeed, knowing failure is just a signal for us to find a new route to solve the challenges before us, not a dead end.
No wonder we like each other Rj, we are 2 of a kind. Lucky! LOL
Ok Sherry, I have been having trouble with some cuttings. How did you apply the physan? To the soil or as a foliar spray? I have a gallon of it I bought on ebay. I never get mildew on brugs though Sherry, even in my wet, wet, wet hoophouse that rots things.
Is everyone off work tomorrow for the holiday? What fun.
Wooohooo, I'm off everyday! LOLOL Well kinda!
Are you sure about that Brinda? LOL
Uhhhhmmmmmm NO!
LOL
But don't ask my DH, he might have a different answer!
I/m off...I worked overtime today though- It was easy breezy considering I was chatting with you guys~
You got paid to talk with us? LOL. I want that job.
I sure did. I haven/t worked on a sunday for a long time..it/s pretty layed back.
And...when I got home...it would seem my kitty has been imitating my weekend work habits.
What a precious kitty.
I emailed the guy on ebay. He would combine shipping on 4 as 6.95.
That would make them 6.63 a piece. Since I have already checked
our Lowes and Home Depot and they don't carry them, I figured by the time I would have to drive very far the gas would add up to about this.
What do ya'll (added ya'all so you would say hey a Texan LOL) think of this price? I don't need 4 but I ask for 4 because I figured the shipping goes down some. This is priority shipping. What does anyone here pay for 1 pkg?
Blessings,
Sandy ^8^
Well Sandy if I could find it I would offer to get it and send it to you and not make any thing off it but I can't find it either. Sounds like you might come out ahead by getting it off ebay.
Following up on the powdery mildew discussion: I brought my dogwood tree (which was here when I bought my property three years ago) back from the very brink of death due to what was probably a long standing infection with powdery mildew. I used copper sulfate solution sprayed on the leaves. It sounds like nasty stuff, but it is actually considered an "organic" method. Copper is a naturally occurring element in soil and I imagine even in the concentrated form of the solution it is not enough to throw the environment out of whack. I finally got one flower out of my dogwood last year and a full head of healthy leaves. I'm hoping it will bloom profusely in a few weeks. A very dilute copper sulfate solution might work for seedlings and other plants.
I can't claim credit for the 'Shelob Tolkein' moniker for the orchid I have, RJ. The name came with the plant, which was in a somewhat massive eBay purchase for orchids where I bid about $5 on about 25 orchids with a starting price of $.99 each and ended up winning most of them! Talk about a flower tizz! My head and my budget were both reeling for a while from the huge crate of orchids that came my way!
Below is 'Shelob Tolkein,' aptly named for the giant spider from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Kell, the mildew on my brugs was not caused naturally, I did it. Yes, I did it by walking off and leaving the heater on and instead of letting the plants get accustomed to the cold, I kept the heat going too long in damp conditions and, there you go, I ended up with mildew. When I realized what I'd done, I opened up the doors, windows, added a fan, and didn't turn the heater back on until the current cold weather, but I waited late and I'll turn it off early. I used the Phydan 20 on the soil and as a foliar spray, I didn't see any on the plants but they responded positively. I also washed down the gh. I haven't had any more, and I learned a good lesson, unplug the heater when not in use...
Sandy, if you want, I would be glad to send some to you. The price here is $3.95 plus 8% sales tax. They weigh absolutely NOTHING, so regular ground mail couldn't be all that much. Let me know via D-mail and I will mail them tomorrow when I send Kell's pkg out. I would do it today, but am not able to get out of the house due to ice.. and I believe the post office is closed anyway.
LMK...
Barb
I have been reading this great thread for the past hour. Lots of good information. I was in Lowes here in Nash. last week and they had plenty of the O Moss. We are iced in today, but I will check Lowes again on Tuesday if anyone else needs some.
Betty
Oh shoot, I had typed a post here then clicked on Barb's pic to see it bigger and bye bye post!! I hate retyping!!
Jeremy, you orchid has the colors I love!!! I bet you were in a flower tizz with all those beautiful ones coming your way. I am jealous!! You would have just loved the orchid displays. They were amazing. I will post that orchis onthe Plantfiles, do they have a generic Dendrobium files? I will have to go look.
I think I used to use copper sulfate on my dormant fruit trees. I will have to try it again!
Oh Sherry, I think if it is not one thing it is another that pops up to make things hard. Soon we will all be talking mites!
The moss I bought yesterday was made by the same company as the one in Barb's picture. I went to their web page and they sell a variety of products. I was thinking we might could just order from them. They have 3 different orchid mixes for sale. No mention of either of the moss' however.
I went to Lowes, today, and checked on orchid moss, the gal checked on her computer and said they did not have it. I continued to shop and was looking at the fantastic orchids, and low and behold there was 2 bales of orchid moss. I bought them both, they were only 3.98 per bale. I guess what I am trying to say is the people that take care of the garden supplies dont know flowers from weeds!!!!! John
I forgot the pic.
