This is a great thread! There are so many considerations for us summer out/winter indoors people. In the summer I have cattleyas, dendrobiums, oncidiums, and bulbophyllums out on a porch, with direct sun in the morning and late afternoon, and shade overhead at midday. This year I put out paphs too, on the bottom shelf where they had more shade. Everything does very well and adds a lot of growth. In the winter, they all move to a sunroom facing west but with a south exposure too. Life for my orchids improved immensely when I added Wonderlites (in the west and south windows) and big humidity trays to this set up, and it cost very little. Most winter days it is about 60% humidity, high of 80 F and low 55F. I have a tiny space heater to boost heat on really cold nights. My electric bill is just $25-30 a month. It helps that this room can be closed off to retain the humidity. I have the catts in clay pots and water about once a week. I think the humidity helps them cope with drying out completely. Another factor I think is that I choose catts that aren't seasonal bloomers but bloom at various times of the year. Originally I chose them just because I wanted to get more blooms, but I also figure they have a built-in urge to keep growing and not go dormant when the light and heat wane. They make lots of leads and lots of blooms during winter. My only basket plants are brassavolas that I water every other day. Calvin, I think your plan to cut back on water and fert until you see signs of growth is exactly the way to go. Generally I think it's important to observe the plants really closely and follow their lead. By the way I suffered from tinted windows for a month or two before I realized what was going on, but mine came with a little label that warned against using ammonia or detergent to clean them. The anti-UV tint was just a surface film that was gone with a few vigorous washings. By the way, I also remove the screens in winter as they cut down on the light. Good luck and keep experimenting! Margo

Hello, I have alot of of 6" round pots, they are teracotta in color. I think I ordered them from AM Leanord a few years ago. I used them for potting up perennials in the spring, but have since gone to square pots. I also have some smaller mum pots that you are welcome to. I would love to "shop" your trade list, so email me if you are interested in these pots, and we can make a deal!! Enjoy your day! steph

Hi Sande and Yellow..hope you both had a nice 4th. Sande, do you have JB pamphlets or books? I think mine were lost or tossed when we moved here 20 yrs ago..Baker wrote one book I particularly liked, dedicated to house plants. I might look for a copy. Since they were published in the 70's they're probably out of print, so if I can't find a new copy, I'll hunt for used. I found two other out of print plant books, used, on Ebay. One was 1.00. What a bargain! The book's name is Hyponex, the first plant book I bought. This is my third copy..lol Sande, what did you use Listerine for on your outside plants? For insects? I think I read it's also supposed to prevent or cure fungus, especially roses. Not sure though. What is hydroton? Did your Sans make it? Is it mealy-free or did those creatures from hell win? I agree it's best discarding one plant than chancing other plants getting infested. Then again, I have some rare plants that would be difficult tossing. Therefore, I'd do everything in my power trying to save it.. Only if it was impossibly infested would it go. If cuttings were possible, I'd try that. Yellow, lol..did you really have the Mealy dream? Wow, if so, that IS weird. Your subconsious is hung-up on mealy, worrying non-stop. How many times did you find mealy on plants? After your experiments, it sounds like they're impossible to kill! I can't believe they lived in snow. Perhaps if you left them out longer than 1/2 hour they'd have died. What was the temp that day? You soaked in water? Were there entire bodies submersed or were their heads above water level? I wouldn't think it possible! They're like roaches. I've read roaches will survive a neucler war..how gross..Maybe mealy will too. If so, what will happen to plants nationwide? Will they all be devoured? I wonder if your plants had Soil Mealy..before using the clay pot, you better wash it out with bleach..scrub and rescrub. Soak overnight in soapy water. Also, check neighboring plants. Thank God my plants have been fairly insect=free over the years. In the last 4-5 years, the only plants that contracted mealy were two Purple Passions/Gynuras. One variegated. I tossed them. Last winter I won a succulent on Ebay..one arrived with a white coating which I assumed was Mealy..I used rubbing alcohol, but it died anyway..I'm not sure mealy was the culprit, it also looked like mold. I don't blame you for fearing them...ever see a magnified picture of mealy? They're disgusting..if they were large bugs I'd run away..lol. My biggest fear is spiders..I dont care how helpful they are, how they eat plant bugs..I'll treat plants without their help, thank you..lol..I fear the tiniest of spiders, even 1/4"..so you can imagine seeing a 3"+ spider..oh God have mercy..Sometimes when I order plants from Fl or Ca, I worry a big spider will be in the plant..over the years, I found different types of reptiles..I tried catching them, but they're fast. Last autumn, I found a coccoon in my Crown of Thorns..The only reason I discovered it was my Crown had 2 or 3 leaves left..I wondered, what the heck? I took the Crown to the sink and voila, the coccoon was living on this plant. We thought it was a butterfly, but it turned out to be a King Moth..lol. I took care of this little guy/gal until it left its home. He/she was huge. Bad ending so don't want to get into it, but I tried. Ohh, gotta go, I'll finish later..lol... Baker uses some rather odd stuff, including urine. LOL. If I recall, it's applied outdoors, possibly to keep certain wildlife away. On the other hand I learned a lot from him..Even recycling containers that come in handy at times. Since reading his book, I've become a pack rat. lol. He's even discussed saving and using water from humidifers, washing machines, and so much more.. It makes sense, it's a way to save $$ on needed supplies.

"Wow, Steph, your son is a "safety first" kind of guy, making sure his mom is snug, but safe in her new digs." and thank goodness for that! I know that for the past few yrs he's wished he could get out here and help me a bit. Between a new baby (now 3 yo), 3 houses to fix up to rent out (1 at least needed a new roof), the 'new' to him but very, very old cabin (that needed rewired asap), heating system changed (it heats by wood burning. the wood is free from the land around it (only fallen wood) but he still needs to cut, haul and stack it) plus his job so it's not worked out for him. I do wish he could have been here longer tho - just to sit and chat! I did see the video of the gkids! He'd mailed it but my dvd player wasn't over here yet so I decided to wait til he got here. Then he said 'why didn't you view it on your computer?' duh. I totally forgot this computer will play dvds! It never crossed my mind. Tho, it wouldn't have worked and would have frustrated the heck outa me - cause it needed whatever that prog was that he downloaded to it. It took some figuring for him (and my system is slow - he says). Things like that drive me nutso. but he transferred them onto my computer so I can review them anytime now. "WOW Steph. I need a nap after reading all that has been going on at your place" shades - lol! that's why I posted above that I was exhausted just watching him and crossing things off the list. He'd sit down for a few minutes outside to chat/rest but then he'd be up and going again. He said he felt bad he didn't get more done - but I kept saying 'but you've done so much already!' The best thing he did tho was the boost to my heart - and my eyeballs! I had listed about 18 or so things that he could do (with tools I had here) and things up high I couldn't reach and the stuff outside I'm not strong enough to do (a lot of arm use messes up my back also) and he got through at least 11 of them - plus a few things not on the list. And 'picking up stuff' outside on the list did NOT mean 2 huge trash bins full, plus a large box and a few piles next to the bins for future weeks to put in the bin. yikes - I had no idea that much was out there! guess spread over the acres it didn't seem like a lot. plus he picked up/put in bins stuff from the 'set up' work here that I'd have just left for the 'guys' to take when they come back (someday hopefully). At least for now. I just thought with all the stuff laying around my place it looked scary and unkept like so no one would want to bother it (break in). Shoot, it gets cleaned up too much and looks too good I could be a target. Someone might think I have something worth stealing. I never worried about that in the old trailer - lol! oh, and a few things on the list were things I wanted to ask about just because I wanted his opinion on a few things. I thought it'd be good to get another idea/opinion on a few things in case my thinking was too stuck 'in the box'. With all the redoing he's done I thought he'd have a different view of some things. And he moved my 2nd dog house from the front of the old trailer back to the outside of pup's pen (she has one inside the pen). Now she has one outside too. That was a good idea so now if it rains while she's cabled out of the pen she can get into the house and stay dry. I won't have to run out in the rain to put her in the pen. On Fri night we went down the road to my sister's house for dinner. He got to see her new house, land and view. He was very impressed with it! (it is beautiful) We had a great dinner (salad and veggie burgers) but I was getting sooooo tired I was having trouble walking. jannie - that's smart thinking. the pup's 'shedding' does look a lot like my flooring. That's really important to think about when getting new flooring!