Yikes! Thanks Josh! Like I said, this is my first evergreen/spruce and I didn't realize repotting at this time was a bad idea! I have it in an East facing window that gets morning sun, would this suffice? I live in a 4-family apartment and worry about setting it outside as it may get knocked over or what not Also, I am still curious about the brown/black bumps on the branches...are those normal(cones/buds), or something to worry about(galls)? Thank you!

Robins are birds that I enjoy viewing, but not as they try to build nests under our porch lights which are on both sides of an area right by our front entrance door. For three days my husband has removed the straw, twigs, etc in order to prevent a completed robin's nest. They put the straw, twigs, etc. up, he takes them down immediately. Today after reading these posts, I sprayed the area with ant and roach spray that I use when the ants try to visit too close to our outside walkway. Two robins just came with straw in their mouths, but they flew away. I hope this is a long-term solution. This is the first time that we have had this problem in the nineteen years that we have lived here. I am already tired of the mess on our porch and the potential health hazard presented if the robins succeed in building a permanent nest. We have plenty of trees that the birds usually choose for their nests and are still quite welcome to do so. However, why our porch this year is a puzzle. Thanks to all who have posted for their solutions. To the haters, because one does not want a bird's nest in an area that he/she frequently uses in his/her home, does not label the person as an animal hater. Why should my quality of life be compromised daily upon trying to enter my home for the sake of a bird's nest? The answer is that it shouldn't and will not. We will win this fight and reclaim our safety and keep our good health.

I feel bad about taking the nests down, especially considering all the work they put into it, but after seeing the cooked eggs in there the one year I kind of wondered how they felt. Maybe they just don't care. Gotta give 'em credit though, they're persistent! I didn't think about a rubber snake or something. I used to tack a piece of cardboard up just setting on the sensor unit up to the house. At first I thought they might try to build under it, but they didn't. Looked tacky, but it worked. And I have to go check the dryer vent too. They built in there one year too. I really jumped when the bird poked its head out at me the one day! I noticed some grass hanging and I went to pull it away and the vent pops open and the bird sticks its head out! Then pops back in. Maybe they thought I was selling something or a religious recruiter! All I know is she made it clear: GO AWAY! :)

I can't really see anything particularly wrong in those photos. Good drainage is important as these are epiphytes. Their roots grow along tree bark and through mosses. They don't normally touch any soil. The problem could be the soil is too heavy and the orchid bark isn't enough to offset it. Epiphytes don't usually like much fertiliser compared to ground plants. The mainly survive on rain water which normally only contains carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The rest comes from decomposition of organic matter on the tree trunks. Normal fertilisers are a bit heavy for them and can burn the roots. Of course burned roots means no water getting to the plant. Having a couple of plants in one pot isn't unusual. If they're grown from spore they're germinated in masses of small plants. When they're separated out to replant in pots it's easy to overlook a couple of plants being together. In nature they also germinate in large masses but competition leaves very few survivors. I don't know (only guessing) but maybe one plant is stiffling the other. Out competing it as happens in nature. Separating them may be a solution.