Messages

91

Chit Chat / Re: It's now been a year...

« on: September 05, 2012, 06:44:58 PM »

Mike:
I'm happy to hear " the fetching in one" is moving forward and I wish her many "clean" check-ups in the future. 

Gary

92

Photo Album / Re: Louis' meager collection

« on: August 13, 2012, 06:28:11 PM »

Hi Louis good to see your photos again!  Deer have always been a pain in my neck too.  At my Chadds Ford house I built copper trellis's that kept them at bay until they learned they could jump over them into the pond.  All I can say is they are persistant!  Good luck with the fence!

gary

93

Pond Chat / Re: Shots from the garden

« on: August 10, 2012, 05:40:17 AM »

Thanks for the comments, been too busy watching the Olympics to check-in.  A nursery nearby was clearing out the mexican hanging pots for only $5 each so I grabbed them.  I also like the look on the tie wall for my front stoop combined with the wall art on the front that I had previously posted.  Both add significant color even in dead winter!

Gary 

94

Pond Chat / Re: Shots from the garden

« on: July 29, 2012, 06:45:52 PM »

Forgot to resize less than 200kb

95

Pond Chat / Re: Shots from the garden

« on: July 29, 2012, 06:40:43 PM »

I thought I attached some shots

96

Pond Chat / Shots from the garden

« on: July 29, 2012, 06:38:41 PM »

Been busy, but still had some time to enjoy the garden.

Enjoy,

Gary

97

Pond Chat / Re: some tropical lilies

« on: July 19, 2012, 04:40:20 PM »

Very nice Vickie

98

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Multi Blue Clematis

« on: June 24, 2012, 04:11:57 PM »

Hey Sean:

 Nice photo it looks similar to Blue Mist, I'll have have to dig around and find a photo.

99

Pond Chat / Re: N. Sandra Lynn blooming today...

« on: May 25, 2012, 04:47:18 PM »

Nice Photo Shawn.  It has more of a violet tint than I remembered from your previous photos or is it simialr to Dauben in cooler water the highlights get darker.

Cheers,

Gary

100

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: orchid

« on: May 15, 2012, 03:56:19 PM »

Hi Mikey:

Ferilization can be done in many ways.  At our nursery we use to have a very dilute solution that would go into a reservoir feeding the distibution lines for each orchid a couple of times a week.  Most of the fertilizer companies selling to the hobbyist, I find the recomendations are too strong.  You can usually tell by the leaves if they are green and firm  you don't need to fertilize, if the color starts to go use fertilizer on your next watering day...note water first then follow with the fertilizer solution and drain well.  A lot of people miss the first part since fertilizer can burn the roots.  The biggest culprit is overwatering. especially with Phals (most common orchid), the next culprit is overfertilizing followed by light level.  Once you find  a spot in your house or for those lucky to be warm all year round outside, that the orchid responds well, leave it there! 

Also forcing spikes from old burnt spikes is common, but didyou know storing your orchid at 45-50 F  for two weeks and then bringing it out to warmer climate initiates spikes.  We forced many orchids this way in our 15x20 cold room in Miami. 

101

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: orchid

« on: May 14, 2012, 03:39:51 AM »

Having been in an Orchid growing family for many years I'm hoping that I can make some comments without offending.

1. Lynda is correct that keiki is the correct terminology and statstically for phals you have a 60% chance of success.  Other orchids have higher or lower chances of success depending on the type.
2.  Sphagum is common with more people going to pellets or bark.  Quite frankly it depends on the orchid.  For example Epi's and Jewel orchids love wet feet.  Others have addressed that it looks like a healthy Phal, but potting media is too tight these roots need air!  in the wild these are air plants.

4. A cute trick to not overwater orchids is to use the 3 ice cubes/ week... clever marketing idea, but it works.  As growers the old touch method for Phals works well,,, moist leave alone dry turn on the watering system!

5. Blue orchids do not exist.  They do not inject the stems but rather soak the roots constantly in blue dye... too much work for injections!!!  No problem with this as they do it frequently with carnations and roses.  For Phals at home I generally soak the roots every 2 weeks during the winter and a 10 day cycle during the summer.

6 You can repot any time, the reson why people don't repot during spiking/flowering period is they don't want to accidently break off the spike!

102

Pond Chat / Re: Third blog post of the 2012 season - today's feature is anacharis blooms

« on: May 09, 2012, 06:57:01 PM »

Just caught this after my PM. So are you back in G'ville?  I will be going to the Florida:South Carolina game in October...maybe we can catch up then!!!

103

Pond Chat / Re: Third blog post of the 2012 season - today's feature is anacharis blooms

« on: May 03, 2012, 06:58:25 PM »

Looking good Lady Gator.  I like how the anacharis blooms with the first of the season waterlilies.  One of my favorites is with red spider and the anacharis

104

Pond Chat / Re: 14 tropical blooms today

« on: April 07, 2012, 09:56:53 AM »

Nice photos.  We used to have a similar set up for propagation on a few of our ponds one 30 x80 ft(2) and the other (25x25).  Really kicked out tubers for us to generate in xs of 30k lilies a year.  Only thing is from April to October it was so hot we only went in it at 5-8 AM. 

105

Pond Chat / Re: above ground ponds

« on: March 25, 2012, 07:16:33 PM »

I have built a lot of above ground ponds, initially at our nursery in the Redlands (Miami area) and later in Chadds Ford (Philly area)  and now Virginia.  In general pre-formed materials do not have the flexibility needed for freeze thaw areas.  I highly recommend building the pond with solid materials and a liner.  Make sure the bottom is free orf rocks, roots, etc.  You can add a few inches of sand followed by roofing felt (belive it or not this stuff really helps prevent rocks , etc. from penetrating the liner.  Now for how deep should you fo depends on your frost line or if you plan to have heaters in the pond.  However, I would reconmmend going 1 foot lower than your frost line (Check with your local building inspector for frost line depth).   This gives both lilies and fish somr place to survive.  The fish will go into hibernation, but make sure fish load is not too high.  As for the materials I have usually dug down so only 16-20" come above ground since this is a good height for sitting.  If you use wood for the structure then a 8" cap hides the liner and provides a nice seat. 

In the how to section there is a variety of ponds that people have built which should give you some ideas.  Regardless have fun.

106

Chit Chat / Re: Beef Kubideh Kabab Gyro.... Oh MY!!

« on: January 28, 2012, 02:06:22 PM »

Reminds me of BK Continential.

107

Chit Chat / Re: Happy Birthday Jerry!

« on: December 22, 2011, 06:09:35 PM »

Happy Birthday Jerry!

108

Pond Chat / Re: Turtle Island news.

« on: December 18, 2011, 04:07:27 PM »

Hi Mike:

 Very impressive, I will be curious how they fair the winter with you.  Do you have an idea when you will go commerical with some of your lilies?

Have a happy and fun holiday season!


Gary

109

Pond Chat / Re: Visit to New Orleans

« on: November 21, 2011, 05:35:56 PM »

Nice photos, I have stopped in to see Rich a few times and he's always willing to talk about lilies.  I remember I brought my photo flash drive and we went through pics for at least an hour or so.  He was even interested in a few of the photos, which I was excited to give him especially from my amateur skills that pales to Sean and Louis.  He indicated to me a while back he had lost Mahogoney Rose, but one of the pics looks similar.

Speaking about Louis is he still around?  I miss his photography skills, dry humor, and posts.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

110

Pond Chat / Re: Banned former Member sending emails to try and steer you away from AP

« on: October 23, 2011, 02:55:06 AM »

Sean and Jerry:

Again thank you for moderating this forum.  While I have not posted as much as in the past, I do stop in occassionaly and still think its a great forum! Both of you deserve the credit along with the solid contributions from the current memebership.  It's disappointing that someone has so much time to cause this much comotion and cannot let go of the past. 

Anyway, hopefully everyone, including Andy, will move on.

Gary

111

Pond Chat / Re: A couple of photos

« on: October 14, 2011, 09:32:15 PM »

I just saw this Stella D Orio with bright butterscotch petals.

112

Pond Chat / Re: A couple of photos

« on: October 14, 2011, 09:30:13 PM »

A couple of more...i really like Yellow Comance.

113

Pond Chat / A couple of photos

« on: October 14, 2011, 09:26:14 PM »

I didn't see the frog when shooting Wow, sort of a surprise with the pic.

114

Pond Chat / Re: bumping old threads

« on: October 14, 2011, 09:22:05 PM »

Hi NewPondgirl:

Again I think the site is a wealth of information, I'm sorry that you received a sick email.

Jerry, I'm actually happy its not a current member

115

Chit Chat / Re: What to do in Bradenton, Florida for 2-1/2 days? September.

« on: October 11, 2011, 06:18:10 PM »

Hi Annette:

 Glad you had a good time.  Remember Berns has been there a long time and I think the neighborhood has been Gentrified once already, perhaps it's time again.  I hope you at least gave the upstairs a look, but I suspect not.  Sort of a temptuous area that I dare anyone to pass up.

So how did your DD do, did she get the offer?

116

Pond Chat / Pick up the recent Home & Garden

« on: September 20, 2011, 06:45:06 PM »

Thought most of you would like this article about Landon.

HOME & GARDEN   | September 15, 2011
In the Garden:  For Waterlilies, an Odd Refuge in Texas
By ANNE RAVER
A small city in west central Texas is home to a collection of waterlilies that contains 90 percent of the world's known wild species, and more than 4,000 hybrids.

117

Chit Chat / Re: A very sad, tragic day

« on: September 14, 2011, 07:15:05 PM »

My condolences' to Sara Lou and her family.  Truly devastaing for someone so young.

Gary

118

Chit Chat / Re: Men's Age, as Determined by a Trip to Home Depot

« on: August 25, 2011, 05:47:21 PM »

 

119

Chit Chat / Re: What to do in Bradenton, Florida for 2-1/2 days? September.

« on: August 16, 2011, 01:14:04 PM »

There are a lot of beautiful islands and island communities around there, just follow the scent of $$$$$.  Certainly you know that from LaLa land.   All kidding aside if you are flying into Tampa the Dali museum is a must see.  If you are into steaks, the best steak house in the US, I've been to a lot of them, is Berns (http://www.bernssteakhouse.com/).  Simply the best, it certainly puts to shame the chains (Morton's, Ruth Chris's, Sullivans), as well as other noted Steak houses such a s Peter Lugers.  This does require reservations well in advance though and is not cheap. 

There are a few water Gardens nearby, but I'm having a senior moment and can't remember them.  However, the best way to see the area is by vehicle (bike or car) and being flexible to explore.  The heat and humidity is also not as oppressive as south Florida so it should be reasonable.

have a god time.

120

Pond Chat / Re: A PITA Pond?

« on: August 14, 2011, 04:17:35 AM »

Wow, I've only had a few slips over the last 30+ years.  Each one of the falls was due to rushing except for one discussed below.  I agree having  good water shoes helps with traction, but the key is to understand the potential hazards. A solution for those who want to stay out is to make long  and 5' wide ponds.  Some of our commercial ponds were  actually raised  by 3' and I made them 30'x 5' so it was rather easy to get to on either side.  However,, I always enjoyed going into the ponds since it was a way to cool off from the hot sun of South Florida.

The worst fall came about from a neighbors kid who was trying out for the HS golf team.  Little to my knowledge he liked using my lawn as a water hazard and you're probably ahead of me here, clearly one landed in the pond and yours truly found it the next day.  Unfortunately, I hit my head on the edge of my pond and needed 6 stitches.  As I came back from the emergency room with steam coming out of my ears, clearly I had figured out what happened by then, I layed out an elaborate plan.......