'strap or rope' ? No straps or ropes I can see, you may be looking at a chopstick that is lying across the back of the pot in the last photo? I can't even wire these trees in the pots because most only have one drain hole, tried drilling a few wiring holes out and the pots just shatter, even the cement ones. If this one becomes hard to stabalize I'll use chopsticks and support it by tying them to the tree. So far no problem though.

"...so-called tropical orchids..." If I can quote myself and make a correction in the vagueness, I was refering only to the Bulbo/allies group! This is, maybe, also valid for the 'Rainy season and orchids' topic. As several have stated, so much depends upon your personal micro-climate, needs and level of care. (There is a lot of overlap in where these things come from.) Also, for me, much of the amount of success was dependent upon the actual size of the mounted orchid. A larger one is able to absorb more without problems. My first attemps at mounting orchids failed, several years ago. I had deflasked some Bulb.echinolabium seedlings and mounted them too soon. I couldn't keep up and lost all of them. Personally, I under water most things. So, I have to take that into account. Even during the summer, I have 50F temperature swings. I could see my breath last night and today the temps are in the 90'sF in the shade. We're supposed to get over 100F over the next few days. (At least the tomatoes will do better!) ;~) My many different methods do better at different times of the year and with the amount of free time to fuss over them. I just watered my outside mounts for the third time today. Most have sphag, but many do not! As the temps will drop accordingly, I won't water late. The only way that I was able to keep my, non-Pluero, s/h with sphag healthy this winter, was to do a major increase in the light, warmth and air circulation. Cold wet roots/media and stagnant air would have caused the death of many. I let the sphag get crispy at that time, as well. Now, they're sucking up water faster than I can keep up. Even my Pluero types do better with higher than recomended light levels. I had a burnt out bulb, in my palludarium, that I delayed replacing and lost a valued new growth on my Pleuro. pectinata. ;~( I have several that I grow usings my version of Bill Thoms methods. Like I said at the start, it helps to learn from the best! ;~) I use a non-draining tub/container with s/h pellets and a loose layer of sphag on top. It stays damp w/o being wet and the Bulbos are allowed to seek out what they need. I think that making many orchids work a little, for their needs, makes them stronger. It's like infrequent deep watering vs. constant shallow watering. ;~) My water is beyond soft, so I don't worry about mineral issues much! I just have take into account my conditions and care level. Since I love the look of mounted orchids, I mounted many of my species Bulbos, last summer. The amount of care and level of, hopefully benign, winter neglect also went up. It's just too difficult with my curent sub-standard conditions. I just do/try what works for me! This is a really great topic to bring up! To paraphrase an old joke, "If everyone liked the same thing, I be beating guys off Grandma with a stick"! ;~) Scott

ellen- I would also encourage you to wait it out until May to decide if things are dead. I had a passion flower that lasted a long time, many years, but winter of 2007 did it in. I was out looking at my fig that only ripens the small figs left from the previous year and for the first time in maybe 10 years it looks like all the little figs are dead. I don't remember really low temperatures either, I'll have to find a record of temps this winter and see if I missed some. If the plants didn't make it just look for some that are hardier to replace them. A few good sales are coming up, like the Hardy Plant Society April 11-12, and in Vancouver the Master Gardener's Sale Mother's Day weekend. Also the Clark County Home and Garden Idea Fair in Vancouver is free admission, April 24-26, http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/community/hgif/index_html Or arrange a plant swap for the area with the Gardenweb folks. Like they say in the MLM field, "Some will, some won't, who's next?". BTW, blueberries do excellently here and some are very attractive, even evergreen- replace some of those "ornamentals" with something yummy.:-P Here is a link that might be useful: Hardy Plant Society sale

Hey squirrelheaven, Are you serious about your ferns? Mine have never volunteered. Everything else seems to. I love the JP ferns and wish they would reseed. It took them forever to get to a decent size. oakleyoak, I think yours just need some time to get established. In MN, we have had a mild summer. Hi lesmis, my yard is such a work in progress. I have spent this summer widening the garden area. I had to move over 200 brick edgers to widen everything. Now I need more mulch! Here is a pic where I moved the bricks and added mulch and plants: Here is a pic from earlier this year. I swear my dogs pose when they see a camera. Here is one where I moved the bricks but need more mulch and add plants: The Pink Diamonds are just a type of hydrangea that were trained (or grafted) into a tree form versus a shrub. My neighbor has a Limelight tree form. It is lovely!