Well this is certainly easier than the thread that popped up a few weeks back asking us to choose ONE plant! :) I'm trying to cut back as well, but only so I can get more of the things I actually want. My problem is, I don't feel good selling anything until it's blooming because a) I can get more moolah for it (orchids bring me one notch higher towards not being under the poverty line) and b) I think people enjoy seeing what kind of flowers are on a plant before buying. Then things bloom and I don't have the heart to sell them. Time to get serious about this. Soo..if a fire broke out in my house and I only had time to grab ten of my plants, I'd probably snag: 1) Aerangis distincta (about to bloom for the 1st time but also dying at the same time...kills me a little inside every time I look at it) 2) Aerangis splendida 3) Aeranthes grandiflorus 4) Angranthes Grandilena (aer. grandiflora x ang. magdalanae) 5) Dendrobium Peng Seng 6) Dendrobium Tobaense 7) Dialaelia 'Snow Flake' 8) Dendrobium dawn maree 9) Polyrhizza lindenii (just cause that little bugger finally put out ONE root and there's no way in hell I'm gonna let this little glimmer of success slip away) Aerangis kirkii Luckily I don't have anything too valuable or irreplacible in my collection

Catts, I love Orchidwiz. But I agree, the price is steep. I couldn't bring myself to spring for it for nearly a year, and then my husband sort of got it for me as a gift. It was hard to judge how I would use it without actually having access to it. I hafta tellya, it will feed your obsession, but you can find out so much about the orchid *before* you buy it. eg, someone I *think* it would be worthwhile. EG, someone was asking here about Lc Rojo blooming time. On orchidwiz, you could look up Lc Rojo, find its parents. Then you could look up the awards (there are 12), where you would get a description of what the very best ones look like, how many flowers at once from the very best growing, the size of the flower (Rojo has small flowers), when awarded (ie when they bloom), etc etc. Sometimes you can see a picture, or pictures of it compared to the parents. You can also look up the % of different species in it on average. This is useful with complex hybrids, eg Blc, where it may have more B, or more L, or more C in it, and that will give you a bit of idea about growing and what the flower might look like. The fault of it is that it doesn't have pictures of everything, but he has assembled all the public information on every orchid. Very enterprising. Well, it may not be everybody's thing, but I enjoy it. I'm like Norm in "Cheers"-- just like to know things :)

As I age, my hobbies change. Some on here will remember how Cactus & Succulent crazy I was for years... pretty much gone. I moved in 2004 and my microclimate changed drastically. So I had to change what I grew. Orchids became more prevelant, which devolved into mostly Oncidiums and Cymbidium orchids! The microclimate involved many more epiphytics, AND there was a YARD involved so more in ground gardening and less container gardening. In 2007 my career changed paths (totally UNEXPECTED paths) and I've been learning a whole new industry since then. May of this year saw me promoted into a Manager position, in a one person office, so it is All Me. (That sucks up way more of my time than I like.) Read (less than I used to) Compost Have four cats Have had my Class M California license for more than 25 years and have been more actively riding my trike (Brothers of the Third Wheel have been featured in several Major publications this year) Got sucked into Farm games on a well known social network Photograph my beautiful plants, at a near professional level Lost a dear pet suddenly and needed a new hobby to keep my hands busy, and my lap full... so I started designing and crafting jewelry. (Yep, that's pretty much where I've been.) You can see it here http://www.artfire.com/users/The_Clockwork_Boudoir Not to mention a recent introduction to Steampunk... Just what I need, a new hobby! I've developed a more sophisticated musical palette thanks to my 24 yo son, and will be attending a Black Keys concert on my 50th birthday... Wondering if I'm in crisis territory?

The bottom line is you did bring in someone licensed who confirmed it had all been done correctly. I would just move on, he's out of your life now and you do not have to deal with him any longer.