Don't cut the 'bald' ones off, whatever you do :) Please do let us know your growing conditions - little can be said to help without that info. I'm glad to see people growing these awesome dendrobiums though for sure If the leaves are sticky, something is likely wrong - wipe down/spray with the anti-pest treatment of your choice just to be sure. These dends like other dends are somewhat susceptible to a thrip-like disease, which I have yet to identify for sure. Small black pellets, white streaking and tiny black/brown crawling insects are tell tale signs. I grow two cruentum primary hybrids and a few hybrids with 25-50% cruentum parentage, and I have an inkling that the hybrids are more robust than the species, although I'm not 100% sure. All the cruentums I've seen in real life look pretty ratty and nasty, but the primaries (green lantern, dawn maree, peng seng) and other hybrids (Lori's star, frosty dawn etc..) are much taller, fuller, with nice leaves and strong canes. But hey, who knows...I suspect some sort of pest infection combined with lack of light and musty potty material. In terms of my conditions (which may or may not apply to you!), I grow my dawn maree (cruentum x formosum) in window that gets direct morning sun, it's potted in coconut husk and is essentially root bound. It gets watered within 1-2 days of being dry during the growing season (now) but gets less water in the winter. Nearly killed my Lori's Star (Dawn Maree x Lori Tokunaga (cruentum x infundibulum) by A) watering too much when it didn't want water, and B) not watering it at all when it DID want water. As a result, it lost ALL it's leaves. Nearly chucked the thing, but saw three new growths this season, so it is now right next to Dawn Maree and is recovering (kind of). Just a note on repotting: If your plant has a new cane developing, it is risky to repot because you are disturbing all the new roots that are growing into your medium, even if the medium sucks. In my limited experience, I've found that the best time is to wait for the first emergence of a new growth, BEFORE roots come popping out. You will see a black furry nub at the base of the old canes. I waited too long for the aforementioned plant (ie roots were coming out already), and hence the 'kind of' recovery - the darn thing has been sulking. I predict the canes will be small and stunted this season, and I'll probably have to wait till next year for any sort of hope of blooms. If your new cane is smaller than the previous canes, your plant is likely not a happy camper. And if it has no new growth at all, then water VERY sparingly...(a mistake I made - I foolishly thought "Maybe more water will wake it up!"...learn from my failures!) It will wake up when it wants to and then you can do your thing. Oh yeah, and sphag is BAD for these guys fyi!! Others - Peng Seng (cruentum x tobaense) is under T5s, but gets similar watering and is happy. Frosty Dawn (Dawn Maree x Lime Frost (cruentum x scrabilingue) lives right next to it. Both potted in course coconut with charcoal and expanded clay pellets (quite airy) Dend tobaense (close relative) is not too happy - leaves are looking like they want to drop. It is potted in a finer mix of bark with sphag on top (vendor's choice and I neglected to repot)...I spied a new growth coming along yesterday and will likely repot this weekend before the growth starts making new roots. Hope that helps - these are awesome plants and I can't wait to get a green lantern. H&R orchids grow these fabulously and are responsible for most of the hybrids out there...they are visiting my OS this summer and I'll have to exercise some severe self control. -calvin

Usually, the aphids will be a problem only for a couple weeks at most. Then the good bug (like Lady bugs) will come along and eat 'em up--problem solved. Of course, if you have been spraying insecticides, you've probably killed off most of the good bugs--which is why you may have to stop the insecticides for a year. The next year, the good bugs should show up to help you. While you wait for the good bugs, you may have to manually get rid of the aphids for a while--gently run a finger and thumb up around a heavily covered bud. That will kill most of them there. If you are squeamish, the soap spray will help--until the good bugs come along and take over the job. Or some people use a stiff spray of water to flush the aphids off the buds. If your blooms are getting all eaten up, I'd guess you have a different bug problem than an aphid problem. If it happens, take pics and show them to us here. Maybe we can help you figure our the problem and solution. As far as fungicides go, most of Bayers products aren't that good or have some negatives built into them--my advice is to stay away from anything they sell that says all-in-one or three-in-one or anything like that. On the other hand, the Bayer spray called Bayer Garden Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs is excellent. Follow directions carefully, and everything should be fine after a couple sprayings. Hope that helps. Kate

The plant is Portulacaria afra, and over-watering is the likely cause - or a high salt concentration in the soil solution. Stop spraying it with fungicides. Also, it's possible the black dots are feeding sites of mites or thrips. If the plant simply topples over on it's side one day or currently seems unstable in its pot, you'll know the issue was over-watering. Wrinkled leaves indicate a drought response, which could be caused by over-watering, under-watering, or a high level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil. I suggest you start with the basics. Get the plant in an appropriate soil - one you can water to beyond saturation w/o worrying about root rot or impaired root function.. Your soil, followed by how appropriate the light source is are the most significant factors determining how well your plant can do. Learn how to cover the basics. Appropriate soil, light, watering habits, and nutritional supplementation. Get them right and all your plants should thrive. It's easy, honest. Most growers choose a soil because it's convenient, not because it's appropriate. Nutrition is monkey-easy, using one product regularly gets the job done nicely, and watering issues essentially become NON issues if you get the soil right . Let me know if you would like to start a conversation that should set you on a path that will help you maximize the amount of satisfaction to be had from the efforts you put forth. It's amazing how much better your plants can fare when their not caught in the middle of a battle for your plants' vitality between you and the soil you chose. Al Here is a link that might be useful: Something to help you avoid all the common pitfalls.

my point.. if i had one... leaves marred late in the summer.. ON HOSTA... REALLY.. REALLY.. DONT NEED ANY CHEMICAL SOLUTION.... its a waste of money.. effort.. and since its useless.. IMHO ... pollution to mother earth ... dont get me wrong... i will kill anything that is a threat ... but again... marred leaves.. on hosta.. in august.. just isnt worth the effort ... as to the JB .. or whatever.. this years plague.. is not next years .... ignore them ... if treatment is needed.. it would be to the lawn.. where the grubs hang out for years.. before they turn into JB ... EXACTLY ID the bug .... and do the research.. and act accordingly ... you said: a large population of Japanese beetles around my plants (smaller ones than we normally see here) which might be a proper ID or not.. besides.. it sounds like the parasitic wasps may already be attacking the m ... and chemicals may kill the good bug.. that is naturally doing the job for you ... ken