Hort, who are these professionals? You will be hard pressed to find them. I've been trying to grow things for 37 years and still plants cark it. That is why we need an orchid forum. Sometimes you will find in posts little hints that make a difference. Anyway, it all comes down to conditions, conditions, conditions. Your Wal-Mart Dendrobium is probably a hard-cane, i've got about thirty of them and not many people grow them around these parts because they are considered "Difficult" . As for the disease, your plant is just showing what happens when conditions do not suit. I had one that grew too big, thought i would trial it outside a glasshouse and put it in a sheltered position of the front porch, sheltered position, morning sun. It declined! Moved it to my shadehouse. It declined more and then died. Your plant has declined to such a point that perhaps you should discard it and start off with a new one. These are the "weeds" of Florida, Hawaii, Queensland, Australia. They like moderate humidity, warmth, even watering, though slightly less in winter and sunlight filtered by some like shade-cloth. How can i tell you how to grow them seeing my total orchid experience is here? That is the real problem with orchid growing, you have to do some research and follow that up with some interpretation in relating what you read to your growing place(s). Even then many you try will just die.

Here is the last of the Walmart bulbs in bloom. It just bloomed this week. I think this one is Amigo. Although I confess I did not label my Walmart bulbs. The red is really deep. The photo doesn't do it justice really. It's a true red, not the orange tinge that is reflected in the photo. It got two flower scapes and they both bloomed at the same time. So it really packs a punch.

I have been sitting her trying to think of a logical response to this idea of boycotting Wal-Mart because they are somehow responsible for "destroying so many tomato crops in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic" that I just do not know where to begin. Have entire civilizations ever been wiped out by crop failures before Wal-Mart existed? Perhaps we can trace the roots of the great Irish Potato Famine of 1845 - 1851 that is believed to have killed more than one million people in Ireland from starvation on Wal-Mart. Gee, while we are at it perhaps Wal-Mart should be investigated for starting the swine flu pandemic currently sweeping the world. Or perhaps the great Chicago fire of 1871 - maybe it was a Wal-Mart executive and not a cow kicking over a lantern in Mr. O'Leary's barn. Maybe Wal-Mart is responsible for causing Mount Saint Helens in Washington State erupting on 25 May 1980 - I mean Wal-Mart existed at that time, right? Oh! oh! , maybe Wal-Mart is responsible for the salmonella outbreak that involved spinach in 2007or Jack-in-the-Box's ecoli outbreak a few years ago. Right??? NOT!!! Perhaps, if we put on our thinking caps and really think about this for a minute, just maybe, we will realize that perhaps whatever is "destroying so many tomato crops in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic" is part of a natural sequence of events that can occur AT ANY TIME because such things are part of NATURE. Unless you think Wal-Mart has some netharious desire to "destroying so many tomato crops in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic" (let alone the power to actually do such a thing if they wanted to) because they are an evil mega conglomerate out to suck the lifeblood out of every city they have stores in. I say that such stupidity does not belong in this forum. If you are so totally devoid of intelligent thought please go talk to yourself and leave the rest of us to have meaningful conversations that have true value to others. I am sure you find your comments to be intellectually invigorating, more intelligent people recognize your hypothetical assertations as irrevocably absurd. Is your thinking so warped and twisted and bent to think that Wal-Mart would do such a thing? I mean really are you that thick in the head or obsessed with "whatever" to write such rediculous comments? Do you not understand the concept of nature, viruses, bacteria, diseases,etc. Or are you so used to making such inane statements that you actually believe what you have written? If you actually believe what you have written, all I can say is,"I hope your side of the gene pools ends with you". The drivel you have offered here is beyond even what the most strident Wal-Mart/big box store hater would think, let alone put in writing, and puts into question your ability to have a single coherent thought beyond that of a tomato hornworm. Actually, it is quite apparent that my tomato plants have a higher IQ than you do. Go back to the corner of the room you came from and leave the rest of us to engage in more weightier matters, because I am quite sure you are not able to understand what is being discussed nor will you ever have anything the rest of us would consider interesting. Let me see, too harsh? I don't think so. Tom

It doesn't surprise me they raised the price. I always thought their prices were on the lower end anyways and that's when I'd buy fabric. If you look, they really do have some nice regular and seasonal fabric. This past summer I found the most beautiful bird fabric with green leaves all over and a matching large panel with birds. I think it's the most beautiful fabric I'd ever seen and that's one reason I bought it. It surprised me I got it at Walmart. The gal was telling me one lady came in and ordered 18 "bolts" of it. Yeah, even if they raised it 50 cents, I still think it's nice fabric at a good price. Sal