MENA Gardens

[Nasturtium 500]

So exciting! I really want some catts and related species, but they are just never for sale around here so I would need to order or trade with someone. Sigh! Avs are little delightful sunny faces of winter.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

So exciting! I really want some catts and related species, but they are just never for sale around here so I would need to order or trade with someone. Sigh! Avs are little delightful sunny faces of winter.

I will have to learn to propagate them.... seriously I am thinking to turn my back patio "chillax zone" into an enclosed orchid house... I can still chillax there, too...

[Nasturtium 500]

I will have to learn to propagate them.... seriously I am thinking to turn my back patio "chillax zone" into an enclosed orchid house... I can still chillax there, too...

Those orchids are easy-- you just divide them like a perennial. Then you're set!

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Those orchids are easy-- you just divide them like a perennial. Then you're set!

Realllyyyy ? I can do that... what time of growing season - right after they bloom ?

[Nasturtium 500]

Realllyyyy ? I can do that... what time of growing season - right after they bloom ?

Yeah any of the ones that spread like that and do pseudobulbs-- so blcs, catts, and all the catt-like ones. Obviously not the phals. I think it can be done at any time, but I would personally wait until the bloom was over. It's not going to bloom on the older pseudobulbs. Those just help with photosynthesis is all. So you can chop it up and then repot and things will spread like normal.

Well, don't chop it too much though... leave a few pseudobulbs per division I would divide it in half and keep the blooming half intact, then maybe divide the older part which has stopped into half again-- since it's not blooming anyway.

Orrr just looking at it again.. maybe just in half. I dunno. your call! LOL.

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchids/orchid-care/repotting-orchids/orchid-repotting-made-easy/

^^ nice pics of the process.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Yeah any of the ones that spread like that and do pseudobulbs-- so blcs, catts, and all the catt-like ones. Obviously not the phals. I think it can be done at any time, but I would personally wait until the bloom was over. It's not going to bloom on the older pseudobulbs. Those just help with photosynthesis is all. So you can chop it up and then repot and things will spread like normal.

Well, don't chop it too much though... leave a few pseudobulbs per division I would divide it in half and keep the blooming half intact, then maybe divide the older part which has stopped into half again-- since it's not blooming anyway.

Orrr just looking at it again.. maybe just in half. I dunno. your call! LOL.

Mine is still pretty small... only 5 pseudobulbs - 2 big, 1 medium and 2 are very very small. So I will let it grow for a while before I split it in two.

I just started the cattleyas a few months back. Also got some other cat genera such as lealiocattleya (lc.) and brassolaeliocattleya (blc.) Also one oncidium and some vandas.

[Nasturtium 500]

Mine is still pretty small... only 5 pseudobulbs - 2 big, 1 medium and 2 are very very small. So I will let it grow for a while before I split it in two.

I just started the cattleyas a few months back. Also got some other cat genera such as lealiocattleya (lc.) and brassolaeliocattleya (blc.) Also one oncidium and some vandas.

One house I had had this lovely north-facing room with high and narrow Craftsman windows. So I put shelves on all of them-- glass shelves-- and had a wall of orchids. So lovely in the winter with the robin's egg blue paint and white trim. Gorgeous.

In the alcove of the bedroom I've moved my blooming orchids to the glass wall shelves I have and they are spilling down. I hardly have any orchids now since we moved and Ammar said "get rid of plants." I got rid of everything except the phals I had. Now I wish I had more catt alliance ones again.

So I am thinking about how to sneak all these things into Jordan when we move. Ammar=not happy with this idea. Me=not caring what he thinks. >:> Heehee! that's not really true, but you know how it is. Can you imagine ever leaving those now? They are so lovely.

Do you buy all yours locally?

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

One house I had had this lovely north-facing room with high and narrow Craftsman windows. So I put shelves on all of them-- glass shelves-- and had a wall of orchids. So lovely in the winter with the robin's egg blue paint and white trim. Gorgeous.

In the alcove of the bedroom I've moved my blooming orchids to the glass wall shelves I have and they are spilling down. I hardly have any orchids now since we moved and Ammar said "get rid of plants." I got rid of everything except the phals I had. Now I wish I had more catt alliance ones again.

So I am thinking about how to sneak all these things into Jordan when we move. Ammar=not happy with this idea. Me=not caring what he thinks. >:> Heehee! that's not really true, but you know how it is. Can you imagine ever leaving those now? They are so lovely.

Do you buy all yours locally?

OMG get rid of plants ???!!! :crying:

We have an orchid farm here in San Antonio that supplies a lot of what we see in the nurseries and garden centers, even the grocery stores - mostly phals. I have gotten gorgeous phals from them, dendrobiums and a few others. But the bare root ones I got at Lowe's, actually (75% off.) These are somewhat more exotic or unusual than what we see locally.

I know you can get orchids in Israel... maybe it's not a big issue to take them across the border ? Even bare-root... It's only a day trip from Jordan...

[Nasturtium 500]

OMG get rid of plants ???!!! :crying:

We have an orchid farm here in San Antonio that supplies a lot of what we see in the nurseries and garden centers, even the grocery stores - mostly phals. I have gotten gorgeous phals from them, dendrobiums and a few others. But the bare root ones I got at Lowe's, actually (75% off.) These are somewhat more exotic or unusual than what we see locally.

I know you can get orchids in Israel... maybe it's not a big issue to take them across the border ? Even bare-root... It's only a day trip from Jordan...

LOL probably his worst nightmare that I ask to go to Israel and bring back plants-- expensive and plants combined together lol! I already asked him that about Ikea and he was all "No."

Jordan just started some plant rules now just to be difficult for me It may be that if you talk to the right people though, you can waltz in with whatever you want-- like most things. So I am trying to get in on the hook-up with that. I won't bring soil or diseased things, obviously. I just want some bare root things and cuttings. Here it's easy-- you pay for phytosanitization certificate junk and you can get through (expensive but worth it if you need to bring a lot). There they don't have such a thing. They are supposed to seize it and inspect it-- but that takes weeks. So everything would die. I am scheming though. You wait and see!

Our Lowes here=the suck. HD too. I remember in NWA, our HD got really awesome orchids and they could go cheap. Not here!

I got some more Avs this winter-- entered a contest and won! I got 15 new babies for winning. Exciting! I've got 22 now on my little stand. I have a few more I would like to get, but we'll see.

I'm on some kind of crazy begonia kick. I don't know why. It strikes me that begonias would be lovely in your orchid/AV room. Some nice tall canes...

[sandinista! 1,816]

So being a planner, and having to plan well in advance if I'm going to get my husband to do the labor for me, I'm thinking I need some kind of structure this year to protect my still growing veggies in the planter bed from being destroyed when the fall rain comes. Last year so many things were still coming along, and ripening, and then rain destroyed them. We had nice sunshine into October but occasional, heavy rains

[Nasturtium 500]

So being a planner, and having to plan well in advance if I'm going to get my husband to do the labor for me, I'm thinking I need some kind of structure this year to protect my still growing veggies in the planter bed from being destroyed when the fall rain comes. Last year so many things were still coming along, and ripening, and then rain destroyed them. We had nice sunshine into October but occasional, heavy rains

So you could always have the whole hoop/plastic covers thing. That would also extend your season in the spring and fall.

[sandinista! 1,816]

Intriguing.

[Nasturtium 500]

Intriguing.

It may be more than you want to spend. But the metal frame would stay up year-round and you could either roll up the plastic on the sides or remove it completely during the warmer months, then put it back/roll down the plastic during cooler times. But rolled up would protect it from rain during the nice times. It wouldn't be the best looking thing in the world, but it would be completely functional and I think you could make it OK.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I like the hoop house thing. Not sure how big of an area you need to cover, but I love this idea for a raised bed. You could use plastic sheeting, or even better, semi-sturdy but flexible plastic corrugated panels to cover it, and remove them when not using:

[sandinista! 1,816]

That looks perfect WOM! My husband could probably build the hoops, and cut some panels. I'll think about the plastic sheeting too Nasturtium. I'm more interested in yummy food coming out of there and into my kitchen than aesthetics there!