Hi Imagardener. Your blooms are beautiful! Yes, I too am obsessed. When we travel it's often in a travel trailer and DH knows the last to get packed for a trip will be the 'kids. Either my tiny seedlings, recovering plants in fragile health, and/or anything requiring daily attention. And ALWAYS something in bloom!

Hi WC. :-) I just now saw your post. Orchids are amazingly forgiving! Just ask mine that survived not being watered from September to ... ohhhhh ... maybe January sometime? Yes some died of my neglect. Others were ravaged by the little gang of Cockateil hoodlems that made the great escape and ~trimmed~ many spikes and leaves of the various plants. :-/ I took the orchids outside today so they can bask in the sunshine and humidity Nature offers. I'm sure yours will recover and look even better than before! It will take some time but they'll do OK. Glad to hear you're doin' OK too. :-)

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!

Kelly/Pug: The E.millii in the pic is a hand me down from my mom. I received it about 3 years ago. It was getting too big for her to move it around and too tall for most of her sunny spots in her house. She gave me a cutting which I have grown to about 18 inches and also coaxed it into branching. It is also known as Crown of Thorns or Christ Rose. Some believe this is what could of been used as the "Crown of thorns". This plant is native to Madagascar as was imported to the Middle East a very long time ago. They thrive in Thailand and many hybrids have been developed there. Some of the hybrids have more flower than leaves. The flowers are truly cyanthia and are a little tacky/sticky(I do not know what purpose in nature, maybe help in pollination). I have 19 varieties at this time. The first one is a group photo. Hard to see the details. The other 3 are my newest COT additions. One of the actually has reddish green leaves. And E.millii siegfriedii which is one of my older cot that has leaves which are completely red on the bottom and green on the top of the leave. My large one is most likely a E.millii splendens. Denise from Omaha grows a lot of these as well and I am pretty sure has a blog setup where she mentions these plants. Out of Africa is a good place to find some of the cot varieties. I am currently on the look out for a variegated COT. There is a cultivar named 'Fireworks' which is currently for sale on ebay that I may pick up. I think I will start a mini lemon tree too. When i go south for vacation the end of next month I will be sure to pick up something that I do not see around here often. All this talk is making me want to visit a nursery. Also one of my favorite plants Dorstenia Lavrani. Their is a male and a female form. The female form with age looks similar to a mini grove of palms. This plant is super easy to grow and care for. The flowers look like mini stars that explode to eject their seeds. -David