i have never been to it before either. i hope it's good. i'd like to see some nice plants and maybe buy another orchid. (i have no idea what to expect as far as prices either... i don't want to be charged an arm and a leg b/c its a show... are prices usually less or more at shows?) yeah, it's sat and sun from 10-4 in Hanover, NJ. here's the link: http://www.njorchids.org/Flyers/2008%20NJOS%20Show%20Flyer.pdf ~Debbie

We attended this show for the first time last year and enjoyed it. We are planning on attending again this year too.

Hello all) I have mine still coming in March and I have bought kingianums every year for the past at least 6. I just can't seem to get any to re bloom too. I wish I knew what I was doing wrong. I have enough to give each one an entirely different habitat and yet not a one re blooms. I don't get how the vendors can bring so many in bloom like that unless they are ordered before hand then brought to the orchid shows from special growers to sell. I have a couple on a cold window sill south facing I water when dry often tht gets very cool at night and warm by day. I have another that I keep on my very cold porch on the very dry side hoping to encourage blossoms that I water once a month or so, nothing. Then more in a wamer room with lots of light and water frequently, nothing Then another I keep outside until almost a frost and still nothing...lol If anyone has the key to blooms, please share)))) I frequently fertilize them all summer long....I also use rain water. What a bunch of beautiful orchids you all picked up for yourselves. Congrats. I love going to these shows in the middle of winter. It brightens my day and very therapudic. That is where my tax money goes, or at least part of it. Mike

I got this. Correct me if I misread something; I'm visually impaired, so reading some of this stuff is nightmarish depending on how people post things. I put recommendations at the bottom. Explanations are in the text. Problems are highlighted in bold. Sample Depth: We usually use 4, but I adjust automatically, so no big deal. Exchange Capacity: 10 (just round this stuff). Right in the middle of things, and where you are, a sandy silt in all probability. Sure, it could have a bit of light clay and more sand. It's a nice soil, though, and a good place to be. It's easy enough to change, but also solid enough that it holds plenty of resources. pH: 7.2. We'll discuss this in-depth more later under Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium, but right now the watchword is "don't lime." This is not a barrier to a great lawn (grasses are perfectly tolerant of slightly alkaline soils). Your lawn color may suffer due to iron fixation, though. OM: 5%: Good! With a higher pH, I'd still feed organically to try to make the slightly off-balance pH matter a bit less, but it's not critically important or anything. Sulfur 13: A bit on the low side, but nothing unusual. Higher pH tends to kick out a bit of sulfur (which doesn't soil-bind well), so it's to be expected. If you follow the potassium recommendation, this will go up a little over time, but it's not a problem to begin with anyway. Phosphorus 287: With a higher pH, I'd set the goal at around 250-300 on Logan's test, which puts you right in the groove. No phosphorus is required or desired. Higher pH limits phosphorus availability, but you have enough to make up for that. I only use the actual numbers for Ca, Mg, and K for calculations and use the percentages for the reporting. Which, in your case, I'm having trouble reading, so bear with me here. Calcium 76%: High, but not ridiculously so. It's part of the cause of your high pH, and the solution is to simply not lime. Natural acidic rainfall will kick this down over time. Normally, our rainfall is very acid but, at the moment, not so much. Once industry is back online, it be acidic again. Magnesium 17%: High. Again, not ridiculous, but higher than I like. Magnesium tends to tighten soils and make them hard to dig--and people with high Mg soils tend to think they have clay when they don't. Magnesium will touch off a higher pH than calcium will. I could abolish a bit of this, but there's no real need at this time as it'll drop naturally over time. Potassium 0.9%: Low. Part of this is the soil fraction being consumed by the (stronger cations of) calcium and magnesium. Part of this is an actual soil shortage shown by the number above of 232 pounds per acre that should be there, but isn't. We use potassium sulfate to fix this one. I've made a recommendation below, and you can get potassium sulfate (sulfate of potash) at most landscape stores, or they'll be able to order it for you. I've recommended a slight overapplication due to your higher pH; not all of this is going to stick, and I want to kick out some sodium with the sulfate as well. Sodium 1.3%: High-ish, but not ridiculous. You didn't state you live near the beach and I would expect higher sodium if you did, but this is still a bit higher than I like. I'm not inclined to kick it down this year as the potassium recommendation will take some out, but if it should fail to do so (i.e., it's getting added back in by weather-blown salt spray), we'll do something. Minor Elements: Amazingly good, actually. Even boron is in-line with a "good" rating, and that rarely happens (right on the nose would be 0.70, but grass isn't particularly demanding, so 0.58 is just fine). Manganese is high, but I only mention that because it counters iron a bit, which I discuss below. It's otherwise not an issue except as a curiosity (mine is actually much, much higher). Iron 183: This is fine, really, and not a shortage. But it's not going to produce good color on a lawn at a pH of 7.2. I'd recommend feeding with Milorganite (organic, and with a large amount of iron) or OceanGro (still OK even though it has a lot of phosphorus, which you technically don't need ) for a season or so. It'll enhance color a lot and I think it'll make you happier with a lawn that seems to disappoint you due to poor color. Recommendation: May 15: Apply 2 pounds per thousand square feet of potassium sulfate. Feed with Milorganite or OceanGro at or slightly above bag rate to enhance color. September 1: Apply 2 pounds per thousand square feet of potassium sulfate. Feed with Milorganite or OceanGro at or slightly above bag rate to enhance color. October 1: Apply 2 pounds per thousand square feet of potassium sulfate. Feed with Milorganite or OceanGro at or slightly above bag rate to enhance color. November 1: Apply 2 pounds per thousand square feet of potassium sulfate. Feed with Milorganite or OceanGro at or slightly above bag rate to enhance color.