I used blood meal & bone meal for years, until the neighbors labrador retriever dug up my newly planted perennials. I called the neighbor and she said well...........that's what happened! You used blood meal and bone meal! I told her "I" didn't have a dog! There is a leash law and I would appreciate if her dog were not running loose. :0( Found one of that neighbors chickens in my yard a couple of weeks ago; I called her and she said she didn't want it back. She's a bad pet owner! It's not the pets fault it's in your yard digging up plants.

Thank you all so much. The compliments are more than generous, and much appreciated! This is indeed an annual show. In fact, all of the local societies have an annual show and sale down here in Southern California. It ends up being a whole season of shows, lasting late spring to late summer! I suspect I will do much better next year as well. Mostly because the two people who beat me will be forced to move up into Advanced, while I still get another year as a Novice. Plus, I am intending to enter *two* car loads next year! ;-) I can't speak to any other club's show, but the way it works at ours is pretty casual. On Friday, you bring in each of your plants and place them on the appropriate table. Then you fill out a little card, yellow for novice and purple for advanced, with your name and scientific name of the plant. You simply place the card with your plant and voila! its entered. You take a final count and write your name and the number of plants you've entered on the master list and your done. Hauling the plants is a lot of work, especially for those of us interested in fat plants. I suppose it ends up being a painful experience for all those cacti growers too. What is truly amazing is the amount of work the vendors put in hauling their wares and show plants. These people are moving a dozen flats of 4" plants, *plus* a bunch of gorgeous show plants too. I suppose a number of plants get damaged in the move, but so long as you are careful, it isn't like anything really gets ruined. I had a pot tip over (that really tall Dorstenia) but I just repotted it there, it wasn't a big deal. For the risk involved, the reward of sharing our plants with a curious public and the adulation of your peers is well worth it. While there is no formal rule about what type of container your plant is in, there is a deeply ingrained tradition of using relatively muted, earth-toned ceramic pots. More and more the pots are being considered as much a part of the hobby as the plants themselves. Actually, for all I know, it has always been like that, but even in my short experience that would seem to be the case. Technically, only 10% of the plants "score" is from staging, but in practice, that just isn't true. There was a particular guy at this show who had some really stellar plants in pretty unique pots. I personally loved them, I know some others did too. The judges on the other hand, hated them. Time after time, plants that should have won on their own merits, were losing to plants with more conventional pots. Given that condition is supposed to account for 70%, and size/difficulty account 15% it is hard to deny that the container and staging factor more into what plants win than what is stated in the rules. In short, there were a couple of plants there in plastic nursery pots, but if you want to be one of the "cool kids," you've got to stage your stuff in fancy oxide-stained ceramic! :-) I quite often forget the stupendous luck I have in living in SoCal. Even a small show like ours is really full of some amazing plants that could easily be among the world's best. I wish that everyone on this forum could experience a show, but between geography and climate, it just isn't possible. For those of you lucky enough to be able to participate in a local club or show, it is an opportunity you shouldn't pass up. For everyone else, all I can do is post pictures!

WOWOWOW. I knew I there was a reason that the hummel Jade is my favorite next to mine of course... I love it!!! Beautiful and BIG! Thank you for giving those of us hope who own nothing but a 5 inch Hummel, or smaller one, not to say a few leaves besides we are trying to root. I can only hope I am around long enough to see mine grow that big.. Mike

Ok, first of all, the vivarium hardscape is awesome!! You have such a good foundation for adding epiphytes. Now, I am *assuming* that the background is made from expandable foam with coco bedding siliconed over it. In that case, you are set(if your background is different than this let me know). All you need to do is buy some stoloneforous bromeliads. Basically, they are broms that grow from sticks. The best type to use for vivs are the miniature neoregelia types. All you do...it's so easy...you just clean off the brom, stick its stolon (stick) into the expandable foam, and keep the center of the plant filled with water. Good beginner broms: neo fireball, neo superball, and any other mini neo species. Go to www.tropiflora.com, click on the "cargo report" and you're in bromeliad paradise. Bromeliads are very hardy. They can take a beating and it's hard to kill them - just water them a few times a week so that their centers stay filled with a little water. Now, for your lighting situation, why are you using actinic bulbs!? Those are for saltwater aquariums. They give off a weird looking blue light. My advice: use between 5400K and 6800K lights (basically light that mimics sunlight). As for the heat issue, just shoot for tons of ventilation inside of the light hood. Vents, fans, anything to move air through. Just be sure that you're not sucking out the nice humid air inside your vivarium. Hope this helps. Danny