Calvin I also dont care for Oncidiums. I dont understand them. I try to like them but every time i look at them im just like eh, Phrag Besseae I like, but paphs make me think of flies! Also im Very afraid of spiders! so i dont like paphs big pouches a spider is going to get in there and get on my face when i bend down look at the flower i just know it will happen so No, No Pouches! Im also not a fan of Disa and Zygos, bulbos,or dendrochilum Harlequin Phals or ones with a bunch of spotting. Peloric anything. Im starting to loose my love for Floofy ruffles On Catts gravitating to examples of the species At whitecat those flower buds scare me! look like thumbs but then they turn into some kind of bug. ~Sam

Thanks for all the input folks, it's nice to know that other people have had to deal with the same issues as me. I excised all the brown/black mushy areas and dusted the wounds with cinnamon powder. The plants have been sitting indoors in the sunroom with a fan on them for a couple days now, and seem to be holding steady. No imminent deaths yet, so that's good. I'll give them another day or two and then water them a little with peroxide solution, and then put them back outside so they can start their recovery. Howard_a, I appreciate your perspective about the direct sun and sudden change in environment. I did wonder about that myself, although I've seen sunburn before and the leaf damage on my plants looked different than that. I've left plants on the porch or even the bare sidewalk and they've still been slow to sunburn, so I don't think two days of morning sun in and of itself was enough to cause this problem. The combination of high heat and light might have stressed the plants' tissues and made the existing water problem worse...but based upon the anectdotes of other commenters here, I'm betting the main problem was the still the excess water. Orchidflowerchild, I'm glad you've got a setup that works well for you. This is only my second season of growing orchids outdoors so I'm still trying things out. I've had problems in the past getting mounted or bare root plants enough water during the non-rainy season...even when I try to remember to water them daily, they end up shriveled. I am a pretty lazy gardener;) I guess the issue with outdoor plants in Florida is that due to the vastly shifting seasonal climate, you're going to have to make some sort of compromise w.r.t. potting medium/setup. It'll end up either too dry or too wet! I think now that I learned this hard lesson, I'll know well enough to bring my plants in during super wet periods. Tuezday1, I haven't been growing Catts for very long so I'll keep your advice in mind. Thus far they haven't been very fussy, and seem to like it well enough under the grapefruit tree. They've got a lot of open space around them so they get quite a lot of bright morning and late afternoon/evening sun, in addition to the dappled midday shade provided by the tree.

I agree about so many plants being poison. The farming/ranching community and those who live in town do have different views on things such as this. In town, our domestic animals are more picky about what they eat (in most cases) than livestock are. So we tend not to worry. My mother loved the tropical look of castor bean plants. She had a whole row of them along the back fence. As a little girl, I used to collect the pretty beans and play with them. What if I had put one of them in my mouth and accidentally swallowed it? Well, I wouldn't be here today. And back in the 50's they probably wouldn't have even been able to figure out what it was that offed me. LOCAL CHILD DIES MYSTERIOUSLY.... The beans are too pretty, I wouldn't ever plant a castor bean seed where children are apt to be. However, I can't remember the last time I saw any child munching on leaves, so I think the other things are relatively safe. The human race is still learning about the medicinal properties of plants. Many can be beneficial for what ails you if you know what you're doing, but can be lethal if you don't! I watched a program recently that reported there are scientists who are collecting seed of every kind of plant they can find, for long-term storage, because all is still not known about the healing properties of many plants and they're afraid something will go extinct before they discover that it has a substance in it that cures cancer or AIDS, etc. Native Americans knew that chewing the bark of a willow tree would cure headaches. Aspirin, one of the safest and most widely used drugs in our country, used to be made from an extract of the bark. Now it's made synthetically, I believe. If you go to Wikipedia and enter the name of an herb or a flower, there will most likely be a section of how it has been used medicinally. This was one of the skills of the Native American medicine man. He knew his plants. It was a skill that was handed down for generations. But in my youth, doctors had low opinions of those who used "natural" remedies, suggesting there was no possible way anything like that could even work, and believing the patient would waste time in healing by going down that path. It is amazing to me how things swing back and forth within a long period of time. Now, in my so-called "golden years", doctors have started actually recommending the use of certain herbal remedies, and the eating of certain foods. I also read that the "witches of Salem" were actually victims of hallucinations brought on by ingesting mold on rye bread, which was a staple in the community. This mold was similar to LSD. No, I'm not a witch, or even leaning in that direction, should anyone wonder. But isn't it interesting when you consider the possibilities of the plants around us? (I wonder if Bermuda grass has any healing properties) ;~)

Hi katie, lisanti. I grow both of the vines mentioned. The Wisteria is by far the more aggressive vine. I don't think anything would be necessary to help the Wisteria climb to the roof because the long, long, long shoots it sends out could be left to grow long, and then thrown up to the lanai roof. A couple nails on the supporting posts would also allow it to climb. The main disadvantage to the American Wisteria is that it is very aggressive, and like lisani says, it can take a year or 2 before you see this part. The Aristolochia. What can I say? My very favorite vine. Sure, the flowers are small, and if bloom or fragrance is the prime concern, then skip planting this one. But is covering an area with lush, shingled green is where you're at, then Aristolochia is unbeatable. When other vines have shifted to flowers and making terminal buds, this one is still growing. When summer drought has turned to cool fall, this one grows, covering any bare areas that resulted from the drought, re-greening the bare spots where the Pipevine Caterpillars have eaten. At the same time, it is a gentle vine, never growing more than a foot or so down (the tips die unless they are at least a little pointing up). It doesn't make the runners typical of Wisteria, so it can go years without pruning. The one drawback to the Aristolochia is the dieback in the winter. Many of the smaller vines die, leaving a tangle of small brown vines. During the summer, this dead material is invisible from the sunny side, but behind the vine (your inside room), the brown is visible. If you are a neat freak, this is not the vine to plant. On the plus side, you can cut it all down to the railing and it will re-green. The plant is like the tortoise of the fable. It doesn't jump out and start growing with the first ray of sun in the spring. But it also doesn't stop growing after a flush of flowers like many vines, it keeps greening and greening whatever it is growing on, all summer long. And unlike the Wisteria, it doesn't run over to the neighbors and swallow their house too. I like my Wisteria macrostachya, but the Aristolochia is better behaved and less work. Aristolochia last year.