I dug the beds out and put heavy hard plastic down about a foot. No escapies so far. I have lot of new shoots coming up right at the barrier but non beyond it. The roots hit the barrier and then shoot up and out. I used a double layer of the black landscape edging. One on top of the other. The little grooves hold them together long enough to get them in right. You cant just push them in you have to dig it out and place them in. I just used some pcs of duct tape to hold them together so I could back fill the holes. They are prtty shallow rooted plants. I could imagine you could bury a 2x8 or 2x10 and acheive the same thing.

I assume you are in a clay soil and I am in a sand soil. I have just sat in the dirt and, mostly with hand and trowel, escavated the gold. There is a tool like a hay fork but it has 6-8 tines, closer together (good luck finding one!). This will make the digging go faster, but you will have to accept the fact that some of the tubers will be pierced. These can be used at once with no problem and the others can be cured and stored...Can you say sweet potatoe pie, candied sweet potatoes, etc. I'd suggest that you start digging where you want to plant as the roots can be invasive. Have fun! I have a problem with wire worms getting into sweet poatoes, so enjoy your bounty. They are good for your health.

Well based on that lower leaf’s color and general texture, I would say the plant isn’t receiving enough nutrients or is deficient in minerals i.e., calcium, magnesium to be able to sustain leaves, flowers and a second spike. To grow the first spike, it had to pull nutrients from that older leaf but there just wasn’t enough for the other spike. Nutrition issues will also affect the color, volume, and size of blooms. Sometimes we think, oh it is blooming, it must be healthy but I have seen pots of rotten roots from the big box loaded in blooms. I have had spikes form on unhealthy plants due to cooler temps cause them to spike but I steadily lost leaves because those blooms needed the nutrition and pulled it from the leaves. I have had to cut the blooms to save the plant. When the plant has been giving the emphasis to bloom it has to find the nutrients somewhere. If it loses that leaf altogether or another one, I’d cut and put that stem in water to enjoy. If your not already feeding this plant well, I would do so. Better Grow Plus is a good one and recommended by the American Orchid Society. Make sure the ph after mixing solution is around 6 and keep fresh bark or moss if using those. If it is below 5.5-6.0 add a smidge of baking soda, if above 6..0-6.5 then use a smidge of citric acid. Smidge means just grains and creep to the right setting using your PH meter. You will most likely need to add Calimagic (calcium and magnesium) and a little additional magnesium via epson salts too. But you need to know your water is it hard, what about TDS, if tap. If using tap, try to switch to rain, or distilled or RO. Rain is best and don’t use water run through softener due to salts. I also use RAW potassium in summer, KelpMax year round, and Inocucor Garden Solution Probiotic year round. If you use tap water, fungicides, pesticides, etc, you might as well skip any microbes because the chloramines and chlorine will kill them. The same with mycorrhiza added to potting mixes. The same goes for products like Physan 29 - I checked with the mfg - they said it kills both bad and good microbes. If you want great info on feeding via ppm and calcium, magnesium, etc see youtube Rick l and for water culture see youtube Orchid whisperer. Other great sites are First Rays, St Augustine Orchid Society and the American Orchid Society. Not to mention your local orchid society - in almost all states and many cities in each state. They have meetings you can check with long time growers for help.

Hello Susan, My experience has been that clay pots work better for Zygos. I have divided plants and maintained identical conditions except for the pot. There's no question that at my location, clay is better than plastic. The plant losing leaves from older pseudobulbs is quite normal at this time of year. If you are losing leaves from your new growths, THEN you have a problem! The dark spots are "normal" for Zygos. Everyone who owns Zygos is alarmed, at first. Save your concern for other matters. Flowering from small growths is normal for Zygos; it is not "so unusual" as you described. In fact, Lycastes flower as new growth emerges. Both genera are classified as SUBFAMILY Epidendroideae, TRIBE Maxillarieae, SUBTRIBE Zygopetalinae. Yes, Zygos are water hogs. That's a very good reason to NOT pot them in plastic. Give them the water that they love! They will fare better in clay. The water will evaporate more quickly so that the plant is prepared for the next rain! Maybe, in your growing situation plastic pots work better. I have related my experiences in Maryland. I have been growing Zygos for at least 25 years, mostly successful. :-) --Stitz--