My phrags/paphs aren't started yet, they usually spike in October. Carol, if you divide that Silver Eagle, perhaps You'd be interested in a trade. I have a couple that will need to be divided. Steve, littlem mentioned a phrag and I saw mention of a paph too. One of my favs, B. Little Stars is finally opening some of it's spikes. I wish I could get this plant to bloom out its spikes all at one time, it would be fabulous. It's a small plant and started last month opening the first of five spikes. It does make it's bloom season long, so that's pleasing. Apart from that one, I only have a few dends just starting, a couple phals still in bloom and a new one starting to bloom. Several more setting spikes. A fav catt Siam Jade is budding, numerous others in sheath but not showing buds yet....things are slooooow!

Email Clark Riley at http://www.cyps.us/ He has been a long time member of the M.O.S.,and has years of experience with cyps.I am sure he can give you all kinds of info for what you are looking for.

Very similar experience to previous posters... I left a decent paying job because I got tired of office politics, and found the work extremely dull and meaningless. I grew up spending 90% of my time outdoors in pristine land, helping my father with gardening. Anyway I left my job, started temporary work, so that I could take classes in horticulture. My instructor in HORT 100 said if you are in this field to make a good earning turn right around and go out the door. (LOL at least he was honest and by far was my favorite instructor) I would say he was a good mentor. In my last year of classes, I had my daughter. Being extremely tired, I decided to just work part-time at a lovely local nursery. I am fortunate to have a husband who earns good money but he cannot understand the path I have chosen. I often would fantasize about how much fun it would be working outside(as some of my customers frequently say)�complete strangers come up to me and tell me they can see on my face the passion I have for plants. I LOVE what I do..LOVE working with customers and discovered how well I can sell. The outdoors is my office and I wouldn't have it any other way. I also discovered I am a REAL plant nerd. Downside: Being family run, the pay is criminal...Why oh why is pay so low for those of us experienced and educated. It is one thing I don't get. Yes I work my tail off doing manual labor, but I also have to juggle orders, customers demanding on-site designs, advising them about plant pests/diseases, etc. I train high school students who don't want to work, and run the place frequently when my boss is out. I paid out of my own pocket for training, certifications, classes etc. Now several years later, I feel it is time for me to move on it is not easy. Good jobs are scarce. If I were to give advice to anyone considering this field, I would say make sure that this is something you have utmost passion for because it is not a cake walk..it will be what you make it, and it may take YEARS to finally make money. Am I sorry I chose this path..NO it is in my blood:)

What positions are you interviewing for? Are they true entry level positions or are they more than that? One thing that often gets overlooked in this industry is that there are great numbers of people who have been interested and self educating in it from very young ages. You are one of those, but you have to know that you are one of many. It is very easy to look at your own experience and view it as a strong background as it may well be. But, it is easy to forget that hiring choices are made by comparison with others looking for the same position. You are still only an entry level job candidate as are the many, many, other candidates with similar backgrounds. These are non-quantifiable resume items with the exception of the Associates Degree which you do not yet have. Hiring is more about matching a person to a position much more than it is about counting points on a resume and awarding the job to whomever has the most points. If you are emphasizing skill sets and knowledge that is for a position that is unavailable, there is a posibility that you would not have the prefered working relationship to the person(s) in that position. That isn't good for anyone. Think about what those "40 year old women" might be bringing into the job as far as experience goes. You want to count your own non-professional gardening experience as being a strong background, but would you not count the same for these people with 16+ years of experience. You don't know if any of them have Associates Degrees, Master Gardener's Certificates, Bachelor's Degrees, or Phds. Finally, every work place has its own culture. Some of those evolve one way or another to have a certain makeup that makes for a comfort level for those who work within it. If you or I don't seem to fit into that culture it may be disruptive. Work is often the biggest social interaction in a person's life and disrupting that can be devistating sometimes. Employers are very aware of this.