the whales, what a wild story :D they're saying the orcas have always been there, they just had no idea they had about 200 in each pod. that sounds like a lot, but I'm not ever going out past the islands anyway! lol the dolphins,well,that's sad, I hope no more beach themselves, I think it's 5 adults and 2 calves so far. I looked this article up.. """2.13 Why do whales and dolphins beach themselves? If a single whale or dolphin strands, it usually is a very sick (and exhausted) animal. Such an animal often has some infections (pneumonia is almost always one of them) and a lot of parasites (worms in the nasal passages are very common). Sometimes these animals can be rehabilitated, but often they are so sick they won't make it. Some species of whales and dolphins occassionally strand in groups. A stranding of 2 or more animals is usually called a mass stranding. There are a number of theories that try to explain the occurrence of mass strandings. No theory can adequately explain all of them. In some cases it will be a combination of causes. The most common explanations are: - deep water animals (the species that most often are the victim of mass strandings) can not "see" a sloping sandy beach properly with its sonar. They detect the beach only when they are almost stranded already and they will panic and run aground. source: W.H. Dudok van Heel (1962): Sound and Cetacea. Neth. J. Sea Res. 1: 407-507 - whales and dolphins may be navigating by the earth's magnetic field. When the magnetic field is disturbed (this occurs at certain locations) the animals get lost and may run into a beach. source: M. Klinowska (1985): Cetacean live stranding sites relate to geomagnetic topography. Aquatic Mammals 11(1): 27-32 - in some highly social species, it may be that when the the group leader is sick and washes ashore, the other members try to stay close and eventually strand with the group leader. source: F.D. Robson (?) The way of the whale: why they strand. (unpublished manuscript) - when under severe stress or in panic, the animals may fall back to the behavior of their early ancestors and run to shore to find safety. source: F.G. Wood (1979) The cetacean stranding phenomena: a hypothesis. In: J.B. Geraci & D.J. St. Aubin: Biology of marine mammals: Insights through strandings. Marine Mammal Commission report no: MMC-77/13: pp. 129-188"""""

Thank you for the feedback but... Ok, say you decide to buy a questionable plant, either because its the only one of its kind on display or because you know that you have the skills to bring it around, my assertion is that you can do this without mussing a single root. There also must be a difference between a trade plant or rescue and one obtained at full list either from a mail order source or locally. In any case, good light, proper temps, etc. are going to be necessary if you do a repot, otherwise all those cut root ends are just entry sites for opportunistic infection. Well proper temps, good light, etc. will bring about the same recovery, perhaps quicker because there has not been the additional setback from a repot. Many here don't even know how to do a repot. When the first orchid I ever bought needed its first repot I took it to a local pro and watched them do it. Even though it hadn't grown in the best light ((I wasn't illuminated yet) the pro removed far fewer roots than I would have assumed. I suppose my argument is that the roots aren't going anywhere, if you don't get them this time they will be waiting next year. I say this will all possible respect for your obvious experience and talent, Richard (the Tenor of the Forum endorphins have not yet been metabolized) and Paul, I know less (nothing...) about your growing but I respect your opinions also. H

Where are you climate wise, city, etc.? Can you post a pic? How big i the bark you're using? Cymbidiums are generally pretty easy to grow. And bark is easy to modify with perlite or large to small pieces depending on grow conditions. What I do when in between sizes is fill bottom 3rd with Styrofoam peanuts packing material OR very large pieces of bark and then fill the rest with small terrestrial orchid size bark.

The spectral distribution of daylight fluorescents and daylight LEDs are the same. So for the same amount of lumens, they are identical. You want those lumens to hit some number of square feet under the lamps where your plants are. Frosted bulbs will throw a lot of the light off to the sides, where it won't hit those square feet at all. In fact, LEDs without diffusers point the light mostly in one direction. Diffusers are the white enclosures around light bulbs. Fluorescents have built-in diffusers, and shoot light in all directions. Bottom line is that LEDs are not only electrically more efficient, they send the light largely where you want it. If you're just using the light for seedlings, the color of the light isn't going to make a big difference anyway. Having said all that, I happen to like fluorescents, because when I seed my transplant pots in my converted garage in the winter, I want them warm. Fluorescents make enough heat to do that. If you don't need warmth, LEDs are more efficient.