Hi Whitecat8 -- If nothing else, you sure are thorough! With that going for you, these setbacks can't keep you down for long! ;-) Don't take your Aerangis fastuosa outside. There are too many hostile variables outside, especially if it's unprotected. I have a roach problem in my gh, and unless I spray and track down the little monsters where they hide, they seem to particularly enjoy munching on the fresh new leaves of this species. You wouldn't have roaches, but perhaps grasshoppers, a stray sunbeam, etc., could spell the end for your baby. This species doesn't have much in the way of roots, and they tend to be small and fine. It doesn't appear from your photo that it has attached itself to the mount, unless there is some attachment underneath the pad of sphagnum. Andy can grow his "orchids on a stick," but unless you have gh conditions like him (or duplicate those conditions in a terrarium), that type of mount is much too small and thin for an indoor grower. What you need is a 5"x6" cork slab. Don't remove the sphagnum that is already in place. Just snip the fishing line, press the plant and pad into position onto the cork, and pack more sphagnum around it without approaching the lower leaves. Not a lot more sphagnum, but a bit more. If there's a little nook or crevice in the center of the slab, then take advantage of it and nestle the base of the plant into it. Having air only circulate around one side of the mount, as opposed to all sides, will keep it from drying out quickly. Also, the additional sphagnum will help. Sometimes it takes a helping hand from a friend to get fishing line good and secure around a piece of cork. Tie a small loop on one end of the line first, make one loop around the mount, then feed the other end through the small loop. After you snug this up tight, you can wrap as needed easily, and then when you're ready to tie it off, gingerly hold the mount between your knees to free up your other hand. Knot the loose end against the small loop that should be on the back side of the slab. It doesn't take that many wraps of fishing line...usually four or five will do. More than that and you risk compacting the moss too tightly. Is your water heavily mineralized? When I was using municipal water in south Florida (just about the worst water you can imagine), I never had problems, and never was concerned about flushing. Now I'm on well, with low TDS, and that's not even a possibility. Unless you're noticing white buildup, don't fret about this. You may want to consider a large terrarium at some point, although if you've ever seen MrBreeze's pics of his setup, that's a dangerous path to go down! LOL! I think Calvin is doing this on a smaller scale for his angs. Low humidity, all by itself, is not generally a "bad" thing. It's how the increased evaporation rate affects the substrate and exposed roots on mounties, as well as developing buds. Low humidity with high air movement = bad. Low humidity with no/low air movement = probably OK. High humidity with no/low air movement = catastrophic. High humidity with high air movement = great. If you have high air movement and your humidity cycles between 30-50%, that's probably acceptable if you make the change I suggested above. If you allow your plants a seasonal dry rest in the winter, then your air movement wouldn't be as necessary most of the time. It's helpful to dry excess water off of leaves, but if your air is otherwise dry, and you water in the morning, that shouldn't be a problem. Most indoor growers don't do seasonal changes, however, so you probably would continue to run your fans throughout the year. The only reason I can see to run fans day and night is if you're using a terrarium. It certainly wouldn't hurt to run your fan over plants during the night in an open room, but, again, if you water in the morning, it shouldn't be necessary. You may reconsider running your humidifiers. There should be enough treatment in your water to eliminate issues, but if you have a concern about bacteria/mold, then treat it yourself. I don't know the capacity of the units you have, but eight drops (or so) of bleach per gallon should eliminate the potential for any problems with pathogens. Keep in mind that as the humidifier is throwing out mist, you don't want that settling on plants when there isn't air movement. I don't believe the bleach smell will be that noticeable at that concentration, but you'll just have to experiment. Also, if you want to avoid having to clean the filter, de-scale, etc., then just purchase R/O water at one of those dispensers at the grocery store...30 cents per gallon around here. Hope this helps. -Bruce

Rigo74,I'v never used super bloom, does it really work that good? I'v heard it was good but I'm not into trying new thing,I feel if you find some thing that works for you then stick with it.I really don't go by the book and I upset some people with the way I do things but it works for me The plants were a gift for the guy that had them, he 85 and was moving into a small apt. and couldn't take them, he said he got them when they were small and set in a north window for years, the smaller one was bigger but it was knocked over and lost most of the top half. he did save them for cuttings he still has them.that was was 6 years ago I all so grow epies 50 diff.hybrids, hoyas, disocactus,hylocereus (dragon fruit) rhipsalis,lepismlum (pussy willow cactus)selenicereus 4 diff hybrids,holiday cactus 5 named hybrids 3 unknowns,aporophyllum edna belany, Schneideriana maroon Huernia starfish plant (carrion plants)and lots of unknows epies that were givin to me or I pick them up cheap at tag sales. I guess you could say I'm hooked on them. here a pic of what the carrion plant flower looks like OK I"ll get off my soap box LOL Bear

The images weren't clear enough for me to be absolutely sure of the identity of your problem, but it 'appears' to be one of the many scale insects that can affect magnolias. I'm thinking in terms of one that is actually called Magnolia Scale, lol! (Check the attached image for comparison.) Your observation of the wasps and other insects makes sense, since these scale insects excrete large amounts of a sugary substance that many insects find attractive. Here is a link that might be useful:

thanks! if you can believe it, the ceiling was actually less money than it would've been to install new drywall. we had a leak from an upstairs shower that had damaged the drywall, so would've had to replace it anyway. the tin ceiling cost about $450 bucks for materials and was much easier to install than drywall would've been. the only part i'm proud of is actually thinking to do it....and convincing my wife, who hated the idea. the green cabinets read more blue/green in the pictures, but they're really just a straight darkish green. we wanted a bit lighter of a shade, but the cabinet company's paint colors were limited, so we tried using glaze and sand-thru to lighten the color a bit. the counters were chosen to work as a very neutral component, since we had so much color and texture going on with the cabinets, floor, and ceiling. they're caesarstone. acountryfarm, you're going to love the 36" inch shaw with the faucet we chose...i know you're a big fan of chrome, as am i. it's been installed and it's one of my favorite elements...i'll post pics sometime soon. imo there's no such thing as too many pics agreed! my wife makes fun of me for reading on this forum and calls it "kitchen porn".