Hi smithjm, Welcome to the world of orchids! What you have there is a Dendrobium orchid. These are sympodial orchids, which basically means that it grows laterally, putting out a new growth when the old one is mature. Each of those growths is called a pseudobulb and, in the case of Dendrobiums, a cane. Flowers generally emerge from the most recent cane, but the other canes are there as water and nutrient storage organs, so leave them together. Dendrobium is one of the largest families in the orchid world and has been separated into groups. Your Dendrobium belongs to the Phalaenopsis group, because its flowers look like Phalaenopsis (moth orchids). It needs bright light (some people in Florida put them outside), warmth and humidity to grow well and flower. From what I know about them, these orchids do not rebloom from old spikes, so you did the right thing to cut off the old one. Orchid flowers last a long time, but most orchids are not always in bloom. You will have to wait until the newest growth (looks like the growth on the right hand side of the picture is growing right now) has matured (gotten to the same size as the cane that has already flowered) to get more flowers. If you want to repot, now would probably be a good time. Be sure to use a pot that is just one small size up, since the larger a pot, the longer it takes to dry out, which can lead to root rot. To repot, remove the plant from its current pot, removing whatever is loose of the old media and cutting off dead roots (stringy, hollow -- good roots are firm to the touch). Clean it up in the sink. Keep all the growths together. Hold the oldest (smallest) growth at the edge of the pot and then fill in with orchid media. I'll let someone else give you a recommendation as to which media to use, since conditions in Florida are much different than they are up here in Canada. Clay is a good idea, as they are heavier than plastic, which is good as these plants do get top heavy when blooming. Clay does dry faster, though, so be sure to keep up on your watering. Have fun - as many of us here can attest, this is an addicting hobby, but oh so much fun. Julie

When Minnie Hill Palmer passed, The Acre was deeded to the city and fell under control of 'Parks and Wreck'. The Chatsworth Historical Society was formed to save The Pioneer Church and finally came to support The Acre. Candy and Dean Craig resurrected the gardens and added many OGRs through their friendship and connection with John MacGregor, Clair Martin's predecessor at The Huntington Library. They were rose garden volunteers there and it was they who introduced me to the place and got me started there. Candy also had a friendship with Peter Schneider, the editor of The American Rose Rambler, a marvelous rose newsletter, and now the editor of The Combined Rose List, which he generated with Bev Dobson (who originated it) and whom he succeeded. The Craigs lost a daughter to a drunk driver and Peter named an apricot floribunda he created for their daughter, Eden Ellen. There was a bed of it growing there for many years. They surrounded the house with roses, making it a popular venue for weddings and other parties, arranged through "Parks and Wreck". With tightening belts and the aging of the Historical Society and surrounding rose societies which often used the gardens to hold their pruning demonstrations, it appears roses (not all, but from the photos, many) have been removed (or, perhaps died) to reduce maintenance and probably to increase room for events. Candy held an annual Rose Festival in conjunction with Pioneer Days, a community festival, for many years where she sold old, rare and unusual roses to help pay for the potting soil and other supplies required to maintain the gardens. Many of them were passed through her by Peter from his imports and were the source of things such as Julia's Rose, Greensleeves and quite a few other unusual European roses not in US commerce at the time. A number were propagated from the OGRs existing on the property when they came to be the volunteer caretakers and many more came from The Huntington and my old Newhall garden. There are still some roses there, I'm not sure which though. It's suggested to start plants out in pots which best fit their root ball size so the roots fill the pots and knit a solid root ball. Starting a band out in a five gallon can will frequently lead to weakened root ball between the crown of the plant and the pot edges due to the long length of roots between the center and edges. Removing the root ball from the pot could then permit loosening or even damage to the roots at their weakest point, between the crown and edge of the mass. Starting a small plant in a gallon until the roots fill the pot wall surfaces shortens that distance, creating a more solid root mass. Increasing that from a gallon to a two or three and permitting it to then fill out the increased mass results in a more solid soil/root ball which is less likely to fall apart or otherwise be damaged by removal or handling. The organics in the soil break down, digest, over time, leaving only the inorganic material (sand, clay, stone, etc.). Eventually, all potted plants require replanting to replenish and refresh the soil in the container. A looser, weaker root ball is more easily damaged than a tighter solid mass, so the plant will experience less damage and shock from the root ball falling apart. If you're trying to protect smaller pots from heat and cold extremes, it's far easier to protect multiples than one. They can be grouped together so each helps shade and insulate the next. (another logical "excuse" for larger pot ghettos!) If your goal is to keep the plant potted until it's matured sufficiently for planting, this would be the more secure method of accomplishing it. If you intend to keep it potted, it still may be safer to start with a smaller size them transplant into the desired size to stack the deck in your favor for safer repotting when the time comes. You may be able to safely accomplish transplanting after starting the smaller plant in a larger pot, but the chances of the soil ball breaking up are greater. Kim Here is a link that might be useful: American Rose Rambler and Combined Rose List

I have a Toro leaf blower/vacuum. Shreds nicely for dry brown leaves, but freshly fallen autums leaves or wet leaves do not shred as well, they mainly get vacuumed up and partially broken. My pinecones are about 1.5 inches (daughter calls them the "baby cones") and we get plenty. I rake them out of my garden beds and lawn into a pile on the lawn. Then I use the leaf vacuum and suck them up. They chop up into a fine reddish brown mulch. Even applied in spring, these shredded cones have not led to any pine tree sprouts. The mulch smells nice if you like the smell of pine. WARNING - very dusty job. The bag that collects the shredded material will send out dust from the shredded pine cones, more than the dust from leaves. If there is a medium wind, I do it standing upwind of the bag so that the dust blows away from me. The earthworms LOVE the beds I have applied the pinecone mulch.

Ang, most likely it isn't the rollover lines but the phone system itself. My office phones are powered by a PBX board, an old one that I put in the office the day I opened it in 1989. For me to get caller ID requires that I add on to the board, to the tune of $1100 per line (6 lines) so that isn't going to happen anytime soon! (you indecent little hussy, you!)