You have a Phalaenopsis orchid (aka Moth Orchid) AOS Culture Notes. The "long stem" is called a spike and the "swells" on it are called nodes. It is possible for your spike to branch from one of the nodes, but this isn't guaranteed. You are more likely to see a new spike come from the base of the plant. Flowers on a Phalaenopsis may last 2-3 months, so a week isn't very long, but it's possible that the flowers you bought were already a little old or they could be fading due to the change of conditions when you brought them home. The orchid is potted in sphagnum moss, this is common way of potting phals. It retains a more moisture than typical bark mixes so the plant doesn't need to be watered as often. Whether you want to repot or not and in what medium is up to you. Bark is generally harder to overwater. You want to water your orchid when the medium is almost completely dry all the way through. Remember the top of the medium may be dry long before the bottom, but if you water before it is all dry you will eventually rot the roots. A good way to tell when it is time to water is the skewer test. Stick a bbq skewer or a pencil into the medium. When you think it's time to water, pull it out and touch it to your cheek or back of your palm, if it feels moist it's too soon. After a while you will be able to tell by the weight of the pot and have a good idea for how long it takes your plant to dry out. As to light, I would recommend that you stick right up against either that east or west window. Phals can take a few hours of direct morning or evening sunlight, and your plant will reward you with faster growth and more flowers. If you haven't already, I would also suggest reading the FAQ's (the link is at the top of the main forum page). If you're a reader, a good book to get is Ortho's Orchids, avaiable at most HD & Lowes stores. Good luck, ~Jem

Brian, I'm glad I helped nudge you over the edge. This will be a long message. If you are going all wood, I'd recommend the wedge-grooved frames. The top bar has what's called a wedge, although it isn't tapered. You pop this out when you assemble the frame. Then when you put the foundation in you nail it back in place to hold the foundation in. The grooved part refers to the bottom bar of the frame. The foundation fits in this groove. For foundation I used wax foundation which is the hooked, crimp wire. The hooks are 90 deg bends, which are held in by the wedge. You can use split pins in the sides of the frames to stabilize the foundation. An assembly jig speeds up the whole process of putting frames together, and a foundation form board speeds up installation of foundation. You will need glue plus 10 nails 1 1/4" long for each frame. 4 hold the top bar, 4 hold the bottom bar and 1 through each side into the top bar to keep it from pulling up. You don't really need all 6 brood chambers when you first get your bees. If time is short, get three deeps put together and 30 deep frames. This will be enough to get your packages installed, then you can work on getting the rest ready. You can use a division board feeder or even an entrance feeder to start getting them fed. If you go with an entrance feeder, reduce the hive entrance with a pc of 3/4 pine cut long enough to leave about a 2" wide space for the bees to fly in and out. So, if your feeder is on the left side of your entrance, place the reducer almost touching so the bees have to fly in and out the right side of the entrance. This makes it easier for them to guard the hive. If by chance you get all of your deeps assembled, by all means go with billb's suggestion to feed from the top which would be the better of the 2 choices. You will have a lot of work to do in a short period of time, but it will work out. Keep us posted and don't be afraid to keep the questions coming. stay safe. Tony

Ha---I agree with that. 3 years ago I only had 2 daylilies--Chicago Sunrise and Mini Pearl. At the last count I had over 40. And it is all my Dad's fault for showing me a daylily catalogue he got in the post and asking me which I wanted!! I was very restrained to begin with (just buying Wisest of Wizards and Beat the Barons) but soon added more, and more, then I discovered Lily Auction and found I could have seeds sent to the UK, and so on------!

These first fig trees will not be your last, It is a kind of madness you will be getting many many more I am sure. YOu can pot the fig tree anytime. I have transferred figs over in leaf out, I don't like to do this however, I like to do it when it is dormant. Keep an eye on it if your worried about drying out. Good luck and glad you had fun aquiring many nice sounding plants. Ciao