Well here we are again, at the top of a brand new shiney thread. Make yourselves at home. Take your shoes off, loosen your belt, feel free to slouch and enjoy yourselves.
We came from:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/899588/#new
Take care.
Sylvain.
Gorgeous Brownea! One day soon I hope to have one. Hope all are doing well. Very rainy day here today, so I have some time to catch up on DG. Here is a new flower for me- came from a marketplace purchase. Rhodophiala bifida red. Love those tropical bulbs!
Oh, Jnana! You have orchids, yes? I went and did what I swore I wouldn't- opened that pandura's box to orchid collecting. Now I am going to need some advice! I haven't had much other than Phals and dendrobiums before now. Help! Anyone! I guess liquid feed once a month or so?
Halloween? I'm there!!
Is this about the Iguana thing? Look, if you guys are serious, I think I can supply you with an Iguana. I'll start thinking about how best to catch it- probably better a snare than a traditional trap. Also, they are in the neighborhood but not always in our yard- they kind of come and go. I also have some friends who can probably help out.
Tell you what I've been wondering about lately- how peacock tastes. useless things have really exponentially increased and they love to stand in the middle of the road in the morning with no intent to move whatsoever. Try explaining that to your boss......the peacocks made me late!
Although the the rain lasted until the early afternoon here, die hard Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden members were still out in force this morning. I was lucky enough to find the Aristolochia gigantea that I wanted at today's Member's Day Plant Sale. My mother and I also visited Pine Island Nursery and I bought us mango trees, an Icecream for my Mom and a Neelum for me. In spite of the rain we had a fun and productive day.
Peacocks are not good eating. They DO stand in the middle of the street, unfazed by the traffic but worst of all is that shreeking noise they make. Is that supposed to attract the female? I swear if I made that kind of noise, I'd sleep on the hide-a-bed for a long while.
I almost ran over one in old Delray Beach the other day. At least, the snake we are babysitting does not make noise and does not interfere with vehicular traffic. I'm serious: who wants a peacock around? I wouldn't!
Sylvain.
Where are my manners? I speak of Lucy and I never introduced her to you. So, without further ado, here is our adoptive snake, Lucy the ball python playing around my fingers about a week ago.
Sylvain.
Wow Amy--you were right! I added som fun stuff to my garden today from the Fairchild sale. The sky really opened up just after I got on the road to drive home.
The one real surprise was a congea tomentosa! I was wait listed for two months at a local nusery for this plant. I've wanted one for a while to train over a back wall.
I also got:
trees: Calliandra surinamensis
palms: Kentiopsis oliviformis, Pinanga coronata, Copernicia alba,
bushes: Tetrazygia bicolor, Wercklea ferox, Brunfelsia plicata,
I also got some fun butterfly plants and irises for the school garden.
Ahhhh! Copernicia alba. I am jealous. What a beautiful palm!
And such a pretty snake, too. Makes me miss having a snake around as a pet.
Your mangos sound awesome delecie.
Sylvain, that's a pretty snake.
F4F, you are in trouble now LOL. Once you get a few it's hard to stop and soon orchids everywhere.
I'm really bad at keeping a fertilizer schedule, but the experts recommend a weekly fertilization with a weaker solution and once a month use the full amount recommended in the fertilizer of choice. Some people put a very small amount of slow release fertilizer in a bag made of coffee filters or similar, which is then placed by the roots. Everytime the orchids get water they get a small amount of fertiizer. I've never tried it, but I may do it soon as I tend to forget more often than not, and this way it won't matter if I forget.
In my experience, I've noticed that they need way more sun and light than what the books recommend in order to flower often. Vandas need daily watering expecially in the summer, Dends. like a twice weekly watering and the same for Cattleyas (some say once a week for a long period). Phals prefer to have a moist medium at all times, but never soggy as they can rot easily. Also, don't let water accumulate on the Phal's crown as that is a sure way of killing them.
This is just a general guideline as there are countless ways out there. You'll have to play trial and error until you find the best way for your environment and conditions. For instance, I water way more often because my orchids are hanging against a west facing wall. During the hot months, the wall can get very, very hot and the orchid medium gets dry in as little as a day. If I followed a recommended watering schedule most of them would dehydrate in no time.
I hope this helps you some.
Here is a collage of all the orchids that I have in bloom right now. A couple have faded in the past day or so and I have a couple new ones that aren't in the collage,
Jnana- my orchid angel. That was really helpful! I have not been watering enough, that is for sure. I like the time release in the coffee filter idea a lot.
Your orchids are sooooo beautiful. Thank you for posting such a lovely collage.
You have quite a few beautiful ones in there, Val. Congratulations.
Sylvain.
Thanks Sylvain and F4F.
I have a question for you. One of my goldfish dissapeared. Could it be that the other 3 ate it? This was one of the replacements to one that died.
The pond is in the enclosed patio, so no birds, or other animals can get to it. I moved pots, searched everywhere and the fish just simply vanished.
Maybe UFOS beamed it up for studies LOL.
You know about fish, so what do you think could have happened?
This message was edited Oct 6, 2008 11:28 AM
Coulg it have jumped out? Maybe wanted a closer look at your beautiful orchids....
LOL Nancy.
I thought of that, but it was a small goldfish and I looked all around the pond. No sight of it.
After I wrote the post, I went to check my other 3 and found that one of the large goldfish that I've had for 5 years was floating upside down - dead. Sniff=sniff.
I wonder what it's happening. I'm upset that my fish are dying. At least. I found this one and gave it a proper burial.
Could it be that the other one was sick and then this one ate it and got sick too? I'm thinking aloud here as I'm at a loss.
Sylvain you are the fish expert, please enlighten me.
Due to the heavy (7") rainfall last Saturday, Fairchild is having a plant sale this coming Saturday, October 11 from 9:30 to 1:00. If you check their website, there is a list of plants that will be available at this sale. We will have lots of beautiful Anthuriums, some pretty flowering shrubs, such as Hamelia cuprea, Hamelia patens (firebush), lots of Copernicia alba, and a beautiful flowering tree (fragrant!), Stemmadenia litoralis plus many more.
Stemmadenia is nice. It's not a very large tree, either, so that may be a plus in addition to the fragrance.
val i love your orchids as usual
amy i will try to go to fairchild this saturday. i wanted to go last sat. but i have been fostering this bulldog that got adopted last minute so i had to drop him off. this is a picture of brutus. we fostered him for 3 months.
cass
He's a brindle, too! Where was he when I was on the hunt for a doggie? So glad Brutus found a home.
there is a place in coral springs called adopt-a-bull rescue which rescues bulldogs. he was our first foster dog can't wait to do it again.
this is our bullie molly.
What a wonderful pix of her, Cass. She is sure a sweety. How's "The Diver" doing?
I've just finished posting information about this Saturday's special plant sale at Fairchild. We even have posted the entire list of plants available at the sale. Visit: www.fairchildgarden.org for more information.
Valerie, tell me... how big is that pleco of yours now? A large pleco is the first culprit when otherwise happy fish start disappearing or dying off. They do get aggressive in their old age plus they're mostly nocturnal. They do their evil deeds when everyone else is sleeping. Maybe it's time to get a small one again. Does your pleco have a piece of wood go gnaw on? They crave cellulose and will try just about anything to get it. If it is indeed bigger than you'd like, I have an aquarium here that could house it. I could bring a replacement pleco if you'd like.
Cassandra, what an adorable dog. You had it for 3 months and then someone adopted him. That's great for the dog: living at your house and finding a good home (we hope). However, I think of the heartache when a foster dog has to go. Hey, we' re the kind of people that mope around for a week when one of our cichlids dies.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
Sylvain, thanks for responding. My pleco is about 6 to 7" long and about 3 to 4" wide. He has a large piece of wood . My fish were very happy and healthy so that's why I'm at a loss as to why they are dying. The one that died yesterday was my biggest and healthiest looking. I found him coiled in half and when I picked it up some of the scales came off like dust. He was perfectly happy Sunday morning.
So you think that my pleco could be killing them off? Should I just get rid of it? I'll happily give it to you. He seems very healthy and has grown like 6 times its original size. He was barely an inch long when I got it.
I hope that he leaves my other 2 fish alone in the meantime. Sniff, I'm sad that Goldie died. It always came to me when I got close to the pond and would nibble my finger.
Thanks Cass. Your foster bull is beautiful. Looking at him makes me want another doggy to keep Lulu company. What a sweet face! I'm glad that he was adopted.
Would love to go to Fairchild, maybe I'll convince some of you to come with me.
Molly sure is a sweet doggie. I just love those chocolate brown eyes.
Val, I also have a pond to dump old plecos into if you don't give it to Sylvain first. I lost several gold fish last month- the prettiest one, too. We suspect it may have been a bird. If I knew my scat really well I could tell you what it was!
I have to admit that list that Amy sent is really tempting me, but my mom is in town. She likes Botanical Gardens as much as me.........yeah, sure she does.............
I'm definitely thinking about it. I just have to play it by ear until I talk to DH. I guess we would go in the morning and come back so ditching my mom and son might not be so bad.
Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers!
I was at the one at the corner of University and Oakland and got some real deals in the plant dept. I think that they are closing it down. I got the Miracle-Gro Shake 'n Feed, 4.5 lbs for 4 bucks. They had others at the same reduction. What a Bargun!!!
Val, plecos are a mixed blessing. They are quiet for a while and do a great job in the pond or aquarium. Then they grow big and they start getting territorial. They are well armed and can very easily kill fish even bigger than they are. Once a fish dies, it quickly starts decaying. The scales falling off your dead goldfish is normal, not a sympton of a disease.
My 75-gallon tank is empty now except for 4 babies pseudotropheus socolofi Come to think of it, I don't think I want to introduce the big pleco into the tank before I introduce adults. That would be asking for trouble. If F4F will give it a good home, I'd rather pass on this one although it breaks my heart to do so. I love large plecos, the uglier the better.
I'll have to check my calender for Fairchild's and keep you posted.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
Here is a link to the article about this Saturday's sale at Fairchild:
http://www.fairchildgarden.org/index.cfm?section=livingcollections&subsection=livingcollections&page=specialoctober112008plantsale
If you come, just ask for Mary (my real name)
Thanks Sylvain for all your good advise. I should have inspected my dead fish yesterday for injury, but I was saddened and grossed out at the same time.
My last question and I promise won't bother you again. How do I catch the pleco? It's a very skidish fish everytime I approach the pond it goes to hide someplace where i can't see it. Being such a dark color doesn't make it easy either, it blends really well with my black plastic pond.
Which ever way i catch, it sure will look like something for funny videos. I'll have someone take one while am at it LOL
Nancy, thanks for the tip. I'll check my local Wal-Mart to see if they have things on sale. Are you up for a trip to Fairchild this Sat.?
F4F let me know if you go, I can bring you the plants and maybe the pleco (that's if i am able to catch it).
Promise me you won't laugh at my orchid picture and I will let you know by Thursday.
FYI, I've already been quite a naughty shopper lately- I know not all of you are palm nuts like me, but.........
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/909854/
Good stuff!
Just one more pretty picture for the SFGG........
And if that isn't enough- http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/909630/
Go Florida!
I shouldn't, but I'll be available to Sat, Val. Should I just come down to you as usual? What time?
(My garden work will have to wait!!)
Val, I'll call you tomorrow about your pleco.
Sylvain.
vAL NANCY are you guys talking about this sat for fairchild or next sat.?
This Saturday at Fairchild is the Bonsai Show and a special plant sale due to the very rainy Members' Day Plant Sale on Oct. 4.
