Dear Pirate girl and Al Thanks for input about soil. The type of soil with the wood chips and peat moss is ALWAYS soil that is in the pot when I purchase the plant new, so one would think this is the appropriate mix. Even so, (I eventually need to transplant and find I have lost roots.) (I don't care for this type of soil it because it is confusing, troublesome watering,) and I struggle with it looking moist but being dry and/or watering as I explained earlier and finding the soil too wet and eventually diminishing down into the pot. Eventually I transplant/because more soil is needed (It dries out too quickly). I usually have shallow roots at that time, sometimes caused by overwatering & sometimes caused by underwatering. I have tried many different soils in my transplanting and have experienced more bad (compacted soil) than good results. I have used appropriate soils recommended for specific types of plants & still struggle. Most recently I have tended to use lighter soils which evidently contain more peat than I like. However, Using this with my clear pots has given me my best results. Pirate girl, I have washed roots of many, many plants when transplanting some plants I was trying to save and/or nurture. Some thrived, some didn't. I don't know reasons why. Maybe if I did, I would't be online writing now. :) Al, after thinking about my experiences, I personally beleive & and agree "the soil is the foundation of every conventional container planting". I think I just cannot get it right. Thanks, Melba

I have one of these, the white-flowering kind. I bought it in a three-inch pot a year ago. It was blooming and had two spikes on it. I was with a horticulturist friend of mine when I got it and he said that I should not transplant it for a while as it likes to be rootbound. So, that right there may be a tip for you. I am not sure if giving it plenty of room can actually mess it up, but if you have the choice between giving it too much room and too little room, I'd say go with the latter. The other thing I am wondering about is lights. I don't think this orchid likes to be in the light at all. Mine is in a window that faces south-west. It gets about two hours of direct sunlight per day, and the rest of the time, it just gets dim natural light (we get filtered light because of nearby mature maple trees). I have never put it under any kind of artificial light. I also never spray it with water for humidity, and I don't use a humidity tray either. I water it very seldom and I have actually noticed that if watered sparingly during bloom, the flowers last longer and the blooming period is stretched considerably. I suspect that humidity makes the flowers go mushy and that's why they drop when they do. I think this orchid likes careless watering. Again, if you have the choice between overwatering and underwatering, you should probably choose the latter. As I said, it had two spikes last year when I got it. It just finished blooming for the second time and this time around, it had six spikes - that is TRIPLE AS MANY! My horticulturist friend bought one from the same dealer the same day and he has transplanted it last spring. The only difference we have noticed between my as yet untransplanted one and his is that his has somewhat longer and wider leaves now. As for blooming periods and number of flowers, our respective plants are at par. To sum it up, this particular orchid seems to like moderate light and moderate watering, especially when in bloom. I do not give it any care other than sparse watering (over the whole blooming period of about three months, I watered it maybe four times). Some of the older leaves had a bit of brown spotting at the tip, but that is perfectly normal and not a sign of disease. Whether you chop off the tips or leave them is entirely up to you and should primarily be dictated by your taste. Just make sure that, if you do chop off the spotted tips, use clean scissors and chop off as little plant material as possible. As for yellowing leaves, in my case, I usually have a few of those after the blooming period. I gently tug at them and if they don't come off, I leave them and try again a week later. Again, I think this is a matter of personal taste. If you don't mind having a few yellow leaves, just wait for them to drop off on their own. I think yellowing leaves simply signal new growth, and the plant drops these leaves only so it can concentrate its energy on the upcoming new growth. In my case, yellowing leaves are always followed by new growth a month later. In a nutshell, my message is that this really is one of the easiest orchids to keep. There is widespread misconception about orchids being extremely tough to grow, and this may push some people into babying their plants. Babying can often harm plants. So, I would simply leave my orchid be, water it sparingly, not use grow lights and only transplant it when I don't see any new growth for a while. This is by far the easiest plant I have in the house. I keep being surprised at how easy this plant is to grow. Even my ultra tough geranium requires more care than this pretty little number, and that's saying a lot!

Dear Newsview, I am no expert, but I can share what I have learned in 12 years of growing roses in the hot Central Valley. Winter watering is critical. Water is restricted where I live, so I try to irrigate in winter in dry years to help my roses grow a good root system through the winter months. I second your idea of pruning in early summer. Many of my best roses quite sensibly take a nap during summer months. You might want to interplant with some aromatic plants--I particularly like lavender--for summer interest and to help repel insects. Weeding, my worst failing, is also critcal. There is simply not enough water to support the roses and the weeds. Herbs, like the lavender just mentioned, rosemary, etc. have fairly low water requirements. Also, I hope you are spreading a thick mulch to feed your plants and suppress weeds. I have had very good results with alfalfa pellets, available from feed stores, spread around the roots of my rose bushes. These can be covered with a layer of composted manure--available at Savemart at a very low cost--wood chips, or other mulch for appearance. You might want to consider switching to some organic methods, which I think--nonexpert personal opinion--might work for stressed plants. I have had good results with alfalfa tea; there are recipes here on the organic care forum. The search function should turn one up for you. Essentially, you soak some alfala in a fairly large amount of water untill you can't stand the smell, then dilute and use as a soil drench. I have all but given up on bareroots--body bags as they are called on this forum. They might do well in cold climates, but in our warm springs, the tops are happily growing while the roots are still dormant. Some expert CA gardeners still buy them and report good results, but I have found I prefer ownroot plants. And do check out the website for Sequoia Nursery. World renowned breeder Ralph Moore, from Visalia, CA, has introduced wonderful cultivars which do particularly well in warm climates. At $12.50 each for his newest floribundas plus shipping to your location, you will still pay less than at your local garden center for a far superior plant. I have also learned to plant in fall and winter, and never later than April. Unfortunately, what is sold at one's local garden center is not necesarily what grows well in one's local climate. I, and many other gardeners, have to do our own research to learn about what we can and can't grow. You might want to visit one of the splendid public gardens in S. CA. to see what kind of roses you might like to try. I am partial to Noisettes and Teas, but this is a matter of taste.

Hi Seajay! I am glad to see you are making progress! It is very rainy here today on the Gulf coast! I have a contractor remodeling our master bath right now! The soak tub has been converted to a walk-in shower. And the old shower is being framed as a closet! They have been here since Tuesday, and they are almost done today! Yay! The painter we are hiring just called and wants to start next Tuesday! OMG, my head is spinning!😂🤣😂