Good Morning Marquest, Lamoroa & Karen, Marquest...told you I'm a bad influence..lol. I found my FF at Jewel's Grocery store. While shopping, as usual I 'had' to check out their small plant department. There sat a FireFlash..only problem, I had NO idea what this gorgeous plant was. I picked it up, then placed back on the shelf. After returning home I couldn't get NOID plant off my mind. A few days later we needed more groceries. I decided, if by chance the NOID plant was around, 'considering there was only one,' I'd buy it. Well, it was nowhere in sight. How disappointing! Two weeks later dh and I went back to Jewel's. (We shop a lot, right? lol) I mentioned the NOID plant..First stop was directly to the plant dept. It was dh who spotted the NOID hidden behind a larger plant..He picked it up and asked, "is this the plant you're looking for?" I grabbed NOID so fast dh didn't know what hit him..lol. Ironically, while walking down each aisle, a few people walked up to me, complimenting FF. After the third person commented my new, un-purchased-yet, NOID plant, I kept it close so no one would 'accidently' take it from my cart..It wasn't until NOID was in the car did I feel safe..lol. I don't know how long it took before someone on GW posted a pic of their Fire Flash. FF was no longer a NOID, it had a name. What a shock discovering NOID was a Chlorophytum. Since that day, I've never seen FF sold anywhere in IL. I believe it was meant to be----be mine. lol. Marquest, your FF is lookin' good..Has it flowered? Lamora, Karen/Pirate Girl is right. Often people assume if they add extra fertilizer, they'll wake the following day and find a Jack in the Beanstalk plant..lol.. Over-fertilizing causes spindly growth, or even death. I usually fertilize with half the amount the directions suggest, 'depending on fertilizer type.' Lamora, LOL, on being impatient..You better not get into succulents..Some take years to resemble a plant..lol. But, worth the wait. Oh yes, one must be Super patient when it comes to training or house-breaking a pup/dog. Some pups learn fast, others take a little longer. I have to give credit to our older dog, Sam, who helped house-break our second puppy, Coco. Coco would watch as I brought Sam out back, curious where Sam was going. lol. Within a week, Coco was doing his duty outdoors. What type of puppy did you get? AWWW... Philodendrons and Pothos do well in an east window. Not too harsh nor shady. Be careful placing plants outside. Start off in a shady spot..I set my plants out on cloudy days. A few hours per day is better than nothing..and yes, I do understand how some people have sticky fingers..Horrible! Half the time, dh's don't know if a plant has been added..lol..Either be really nice, iykwim, or act natural...nothing 'new' is happening, lol. Now that you've seen Marquest's Fire Flash, what do you think? Oops, you gave your opinion the following post..lol..Someone will be getting a new plant..:) Toni

I have two Beallaras. One is in a south window, close to the glass, but the window is covered with a white sheer mesh curtain. The other is in a west window, again, up against the glass, but no window covering on this one. I haven't had the one in the west window long enough to say it will rebloom there, but it's looking good. The one in the south window was planning on blooming, but I got really busy with work and let it get too dry one too many times. Both of them have wrinkled pseudobulbs and spots, one of them has accordion leaves. But they are otherwise growing well. My recommendation is using the wooden skewer method. I just left mine stuck in the medium and pulled it out when I wanted to check it. If the skewer is damp, don't need to water. If it's dry, then it's ready for watering. Or you can cheat, like I'm doing now, and pot it in a clear orchid pot. Honestly, from the pics, yours looks good to me. It's a nice spring green, not too yellow, not too dark. You've got lots of leaves. I don't know if it's a Beallara for sure, but I'm guessing you can take care of it like it is some sort of Oncidium type and do well. Once it blooms, you should have a better chance of figuring out an ID on it. Don't worry about the wrinkled pseudobulbs unless the new growths are going wrinkly too; the older pseudobulbs just seem to do that. I agree, keep an eye out for a bloom spike around the fall. Good luck!

Hi Faye, Glad to answer questions for you, however, I think you have a beautiful garden and obviously are an accomplished gardener. After a terrible summer drought and water bills that were just stupid we did have an irrigation system installed about 2 yrs ago. It's an in ground Hunter system and we hired a professional. We also had to have a new well dug to feed the system. How often do I water? Probably too much. I have the system set to water at each station for 40 mins. It's more important to water deeply than to water often. We are having a dry period right now and I tend to let the system run everyday when we don't have rain. I probably don't need to water more than twice a week. As for fertilizer...I use granulated 10-10-10 in the spring in the flower beds. This year the bag is still sitting in the garage waiting to be spread out, lol! When I put the fertilizer out I just throw it by hand all over the flower beds. I am blessed with really great soil and I believe that is the big reason my plants do well. I have lots and lots of worms. When 3 of the 5 LARGE flower beds were made (2003) I added compost and good topsoil. The other 2 original flower beds have been in existance for 20+ years. My beds are what I call "raised beds" as they are approx 5" above the lawn level. I think this helps drainage. I also keep the beds mulched. I'm honored to answer your questions and thank you for the compliments on my garden. Vikki

Bless your heart. LEAF - how sweet! SECOND - I was in the same place when I first started out - didn't know the terms, and it seemed nobody was willing to draw it all out - used general terms - blah, blah, blah. I wrote several on-line artists, and still got no answers. I even went to my local tile store for info when I was about to mosaic my front walk, and the old man owner told me "you can't do that unles blah, blah, blah." "Yeah, right, I thought - you just watch me." My next move was to call Mapei's 800 number. Yes - thinset is mortar. I use Mapei because it already has the polymer admixture in it - just add water. Mapei man on the phone assured me that what I wanted to do was possible, and so I began. Not one tile has budged on my front walk, except where I mosaiced over a crack on a very hot August day. I need to repair the crack, and mo over it (someday). You just have to step out and EXPERIMENT. I'm glad you're going to start tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you, and YES - Mapei Ultra Flex II is thinset - or mortar or cement-based adhesive. Go for it. You're gonna have tons of fun, once you get over this fear factor. I put my front walk project off for months and months and months. It's still there, after - oh I don't know for how long - probably four/five years.