Hi Mehitabel You know I was very stupid. It did not occur to me to photograph their condition when they came to me in the beginning. I do it now. I do have some photos that are from the phal rehab but it was well under way (5 or 6 months in). The link is below. It really depends on what is wrong with them. Usually: underwatering overwatering and/or not enough light. I posted pics of 2 phals we'll call the green one "Phal A" and the Violet one "Phal B". Both were rootless and dessicated from being mounted. Phal A had one aerial root which I forced into the spag. Break it if you have to. Whe they're that far gone, every little bit helps. He could not stand up, so I put him in a clear plastic cup with spag inside a pot, ie the spag and bag method but with plastic wrap. Lava rock on the bottom to keep him upright. I kept both in my "hot room" 80-85F with ~80% humidity, really good air movement and lowered the light a bit. I grow in phals in higher light. When he started growing aerial roots I buried them. I had to forget about him. Very easy on the water (know that's hard for you. hee hee) The Violet one was also mounted and had literally a nub for roots and the lower wrinkled leaves. He is still in rehab. I chose to put him in bark lava rock on the bottom to fill the pot. He is very over potted. I think it helps keep humidity at the roots to overpot and use rock. Rock is really wet but the roots are not touching it. My theory is they have to reach for moisture if they want it, ie grow roots. I wrapped the entire pot in plastic. Every time I saw an aerial root, I forced it down or covered it in medium. I sometimes weigh them down with large chunks of lava rock or whatever. I prop there flopped leaves up with chopsticks so as much leaf area as possible is exposed to light. Once they start to recover and it looks good, I bump the light gradually. They key is to run them dry. Phal B started growing these really odd violet leaves. It was kind of scary but I kept going. They would rip too. It was really frustrating. I knew the violet was not his normal colour. That comes from low light. I gradually increased his light. I have him outside now and he has greened back up. He not perfect yet but he will be. He now can take a lot of sun. He does not have the plastic on outside, it would trap too much heat. I also tease roots out by placing little pieces of wet spag on top if they are not in spag. This works like a charm especially for oncidiums. As soon as they are able to reach the spag, I take it away. It trains the roots down when you are running plants dry. They were lucky if they got watered every 10 days - 2 weeks. Locking them away in a humid room really helps as long as you can move a lot of air At this time of year, you may have good success outdoor with starting a rehab. Eventually when things start to get back on track, you should take them in. The leaves get too beat up outside. The sun is moving all the time and I really have to watch it. Constantly moving them. The rain can over water them too. Phals are really easy to recover. Oncid's are 60-40. Had one that was so thin and dessicated there was just no way to save it. If you want to post or email me about your Queen Beer I am always happy to share info. I was also an over waterer. There are ways around that. Pumice is a great medium. Its dry. Either potted or in S/H. If you water a lot you need a great amount of light . Thats the only way to avoid root rot. Hope that helps! Clara

I am glad your concern is resolved. Myself, and perhaps others, forgot as to what the original thread had contained so I had to do a site search for the information. I took the liberty of tagging the original thread for member review. It is best to keep additional information on the original thread rather than using a chat format. It aids members in reviewing, learning and it may expedite in assistance. When the thread appears at the top of the forum members will know there is new information. DA Here is a link that might be useful: Original Thread

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oldhousegal, I commend you. I'd love to be living that way - as they say "every journey begins with a single step". I found a website created by a grad student from Singapore who is studying "food perceptions" of all things. This entire website is dedicated to unraveling the "great pine nut mystery" (don't you love the internet!). Here is a picture of pine nuts. "S" is apparently what you want. "A" is what you don't want. Similar in size.. posting another pic below which is a close up of "A". close up on PNS (pine nut syndrome) inducing pine nut Funny... Target house brand of pine nuts has only had one reported case of PNS but Trader Joe's has had 69 cases.... maybe I'm not ready to give up on Target yet (maybe I am still being naive to believe everything I read on the internet.... looks pretty credible to me though - will link the website below). Here is a link that might be useful: The Great Pine Nut Mystery