Search results

Thanks everyone. I knew I would get some really good responses here- and you did not disappoint. In fact, I am sufficiently intrigued that I have adjusted my plans to hopefully get flasks of both the remake and the sib cross to see how it goes. @Tony - I will PM you on the flasks.

I am about to place a flask order and due to space limitations I need to make a difficult choice between a remake of Michael Koopowitz or a sib cross of two select cultivars. Based on what I little I know of the specific four parents involved between the two choices, I do not have any...

I wish you good luck with that and I hope it goes well. If I had more time to take the long and patient route, I would have liked to effectuate that kind of change here, but the resistance was surprisingly fierce. Curious to know if this is an issue in your area, but in Texas in general a big...

Thanks everyone. At the end of the day it was a minor loss in the grand scheme of things and I will just chalk it up to mechanical damage while keeping an eye on the remaining seedlings. Given there was no evidence of rot at all, I cannot think of any other cause.

Original reply deleted now that I see where this was specific exchange was headed.

Very nice color. When the plant gets a little bigger I imagine this could turn out to be pretty special cultivar.

Good evening all, I had a brand new issue crop up a few days ago that I have never seen before. No photos to share because I did not find rot discoloration or any other visible clues to suggest a problem. In the mail I received a batch of Paph bellatulum seedlings. All NBS and looking...

Well, I got a bit testy in the end with that post, but I will let it stand because it needed to be said. It should also be said most judges are not like that, and that even many long-time judges have adapted well into an environment where students are coming in with a much wider array of...

Good evening and thank you for your considered replies to this thread. It is good to see the enthusiasm- it reminds me of the many things I did like about the program. I have quoted one brief sentence above that I think is quite critical to not only my situation but the program as a whole. And...

I am happy to do that- please reach out in messenger. One caveat though- 41 years of growing, exhibiting, selling commercially, breeding and clerking at shows and AOS judgings counts for a lot, but I am not a judge. So I will focus on exploring the right questions to ask as you consider...

When I started growing orchids at 9 years of age, it did not take long for me to realize I had stumbled upon what would be the one great passion that would be with me for the rest of my life in some form. I turn 50 this summer, and, looking back on my life since that day my father took me to the...

Apologies- double posted.

Some great advice so far. I just have a couple of points to add. My one and only stint of unemployment came in the spring of 2010 and it was one of the scariest times of my life. I will spare you the story, but the basics are that I co-owned a regulated business that became unprofitable but...

Thanks everyone for your kind words. My only wish is I could get it to bloom a little bit sooner for shows- but then again it is nice to have something in flower at holiday time. As for the light setup- it ended up being a very simple matter after numerous attempts at complex solutions. I use...

I have always loved this plant, and this past summer when I finally configured an under-lights setup that I felt would accomodate standard Cattleyas and let them perform their best, I reached out to a friend who periodically made divisions available of his division from the original plant. And...

I joined the Houston Orchid Society when I was 9. My friend was 16 I think, and Jeff was 8 if memory serves. We all started at different times though, so between us we have decades of "Back in my day..." advice to dish out to anyone who cannot escape in time.

To further elaborate, there are a couple of ways to approach. You can split the plant like a pie with all the strings tied in the center, or you can create a grid or even a free-form shape that conforms to the growth and flowering habit of the plant. The idea is to create a situation in which...

And finally, if I may be forgive for being a bit of a proud parent- given my busy schedule and the fact this is a tough time of year for plants in bloom, I teamed up with my very good friend, and fellow Houston Orchid Society wunderkid (we were two of the youngest members in the society's...

And now some shots of a few of the Paphs, I went CRAZY over this bellatulum. The flower was quite large and the spotting was wonderful- still steeped in tradition but one step in the direction of the blotchy and near-solid red breeding. The petals were not quite uniform and symmetrical on...

Photos and commentary from the Fort Worth and SWROGA Orchid Show November 11-12, 2022. It was a milestone for me as it was the first show where I was an exhibitor, vendor and AOS (student) Judge. On a personal level, it was a good time to reconnect with many old friends, make new ones and also...