Your sunroom and climate sound perfect for growing Catts. What a glorious sight when your orchids bloom and fill the room with their perfume. I'm jealous because you will have an easier time growing them than I do. If you can find a local society you will have the opportunity to buy or trade plants. You will get divisions of plants growers are giving away and will be closer to blooming size than a seedling. Generally bloom size depends on the number of bulbs the plant has. More pseudobulbs, quicker blooms. I've had Catts bloom on their third growth but some didn't bloom with six. You must realize that most Catts make one growth per season. If something went wrong during that year, that bulb won't flower. Now you have lost a year and hope the next growth will flower. Very slow, very frustrating. One difference between growing dirt plants and orchids - orchid growing requires great patience! I don't have your conditions. With good sunlight and warm temps you can choose Cattleyas which tend to throw multiple leads, or growths. Those will bloom earlier. If you can join a society (or just visit) look at what people bring in and ask questions...how easy to flower, how often does the plant flower, etc. Most societies have auctions and you can get great plants at low prices. They invite growers from all over who display their orchids. I rarely buy plants anymore. I wait for the auctions because I can get unusual plants at great prices. Most are already blooming. You are not looking for challenges. You want flowers. You want orchids which can manage mistakes without croaking. You have great conditions to be successful and I if you can meet with people in your area you will find Cattleyas which will do well in your home. Jane

You should check this one out! The Los Angeles Cactus and Succulent Society's 11th Annual Drought Tolerant Plant Festival "Water Wise Dollar Wise" Learn how landscaping with drought tolerant plants can save you money and water. � Interior Educational Displays � Exterior Demonstration Gardens � Raffle � Silent Auction � Plant and Pottery Sale � Craft sales Saturday�s Guest Speakers Include: Lili Singer, "California Natives in the Garden" sponsored by the Theodore Payne Foundation(11:15am) Mike Buckner, "The Art of Staging Succulents" (2:15pm) Chief Mark Stormes from the LAFD, "Vegetation Management in the Los Angeles City Brush Zone" (1:00pm) Nels Christianson, "Gardens of Brazil", sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Bromeliad Society (10:00am) Sunday Kids Day � Arts and Crafts � Create Father�s Day Gifts � Pot -A -Plant � Games �Educational Gardens Drought Tolerant Plant Festival Saturday June 11th 9am to 5pm (Lectures start at 10:00) Sunday June 12th 9am to 4pm (Kid�s events start at 10:30) Sepulveda Garden Center 16633 Magnolia Blvd Encino, CA 91436 For Times and More Information 818 220 8005 or www.lacss.com Our website http://www.waterwisedollarwise.com Here is a link that might be useful: The LACSS 11th Annual Drought Tolerant Plant Festival June 11th and 12th 2011

Not taking sides or promoting as I concur there may be some potential concerns as to disposal of a CFL. I always keep in mind an old style mercury thermometer had 125 times the mercury of CFLs. Plus some of us, hand raised here, use to take a finger and play with mercury when a thermometer broke. I still have all my fingers and I didn't grow a second head. I have been wondering too if some of the resistance is based on the initial cost of purchase. When a homeowner can go to the dollar store and get four incandescents for a dollar versus the outlay for CFLs and LEDs there has to be some eye opening and questions. I also keep in mind some people just can't live with change of any type. The world didn't end when the nation went from analog television to HD. I have had two CFL's fail; one flickered and one just stopped working. Like many of my others, they were warranted for nine years. Each time I e-mailed Sylvania and provided them with the requested date of purchase, location and the UPC number. The first time they sent me a $5.00 voucher/coupon and the second a $10.00 voucher/coupon both good for any Sylvania product. No muss, no fuss, and each time I made some money. I know someone out there wonders as to how I disposed of the two failures. Answer: I drive past the recycling center every day going to work. DA

My biggest this year, so far, has probably been George Detsikas Italian Red (it was about the size a 2lb tomato should be, but it was probably lighter), although I got a Pink Berkeley Tie Dye that was pretty big, and a Sweet Ozark Orange, too. They were somewhat smaller than GDIR (but they would weigh more if they were the same size; I'm not sure if they weighed more or less as is). Chapman was big, but not as big, this year. Amana Orange was another big one, about as big as Chapman, this year. Last year, my three largest were Cuostralee, Chapman, and George Detsikas Italian Red. I didn't grow Cuostralee this year. They were all about 2lbs. I watered a lot more last year. As far as my most productive tomato per weight, I believe Pink Berkeley Tie Dye is the winner, this year. It was a lot different last year (extremely late maturity; small fruit; small plant; a few fruits); this year it has large fruits, a large plant, lots of fruits, and it wasn't super late. I used seeds I saved from last year, this year. Anyway, it looks like PBTD and GDIR are good candidates for dry farming. I think Thessaloniki is a good candidate for wet farming (it's much smaller and less prolific, this year, but it was one of the best last year).