I finally got around to "gimp-ing" these pics for upload. This shot shows the remains of the very dead looking sheath that produced the very nice flowers that follow. The color is off slightly from what I expected since the emerging buds were so dark red. Every single crispy brown sheath that I had written off as gone is now producing these lovely flowers. Several new growths have green sheaths starting that I now fully expect to turn brown like these did. I am telling you that these were brown, dried and crispy, and looked completely empty when transilluminated. Sadly though beautiful these flowers lack the sweet fragrance of the Potinara that it turns out is not visible in the background of this flower picture. I had to add the picture of my Den atroviolaceum because the flowers are so full of spotted coolness, though it is admittedly off topic as it has no sheaths. This last picture is of a present I thought I did not want, but got anyway and am now glad I did. The same thoughtful daughter that gave me the plant for father's day gave me the feline for Christmas. He is known as Yoda, so named because he has the oddest ability to fold his ears back and make his eyes all squinty when his head is rubbed which makes him look exactly like the movie character of the same name. He also terrorizes the Cymbidiums that live closest to the ground and this weekend tipped over an Onc. that was on it's way to the "Kevin bin". For some reason the leaves seemed to be taunting him and he went at the plant in earnest. I think that he fancies himself to be a real tiger. On an up note, immediately following the Oncidium Cat-astrophy, Yoda was entertained by one bit of bark from that pot for what seemed like several hours which allowed me to leave my guard post and finish some potting and watering. Ending lesson for me: I will never again give up on a brown sheath.

Hi Holly, I gave up trying to grow big, summer flowering catts. Around our Potomac neighborhood, the conditions are "perfect"--every morning--to have buds rot. I tried bringing the plants indoors. That interfered with the development of the flowers to the point where they looked askew. You have a greenhouse? THAT may be all that you need. Will the plants get the drop in temp at night that they need? Not that it's significant in late July! :-) Only you will know! Keep us up to date on whatever you learn. Maybe, there's hope for me. While Leesburg Al's tips using Physan may be helpful in some situations, I don't think that link will do much to help your particular issue. Orchid Al--is it worth the drive to White's Ferry, to go over and see his newly renovated facility yet? I'm planning on going in October anyway. I might go earlier if I learn that it's worth the 1.5 hr trip. Heaven forbid! I wouldn't want to waste any gasoline and risk the wrath of Environmental Watchdogs! --Stitz--

Ideally, I'd love to have both of mine mounted. That was the main reason why I delayed all summer trying to get roots otherwise. It just wouldn't happen, for me. "...transparent plastic container w/ lid..." Not to be negative(I'm pretty unconventional, myself!), but do you think that the lid is a good idea? That could be a little too much. Sort of a killing them with kindness. Just a thought, but I'd maybe baby the root area and temper the top part. That might encourage it to put out roots w/o the worry of rot. It sorta feels like too much, to me. I like to harden off the new growths somewhat more. But, you do know your own conditions better! ;~) Still, keep a close eye out for problems with that much moisture. My root area is kept quite moist because my grow area is pretty dry. ...and my watering tends to be Monsoonal! ;~) ie: feast or famine! I know that my use of the sphagnum, as a cap, is either unusual or frowned upon. I started doing that after during my first summer of s/h. (3 or 4 years ago, I think!) As I've mentioned, I'm on a ranch and can go for many days/weeks unable to thoroughly check on things, let alone care for them. Even standing in rather deep water, things were drying out too much. The sphag cap gave me more of a safty net for those times. I had every intention of removing it, from most of them, for winter. Instead, I seriously bumped up the light and the winter heating. Initially, I used a seed starting heat mat and then just heated the room more, as I had too many for it to be practical. As yet, I haven't watered those two since the photo was taken. (I might in a day or so!) Most of my s/h does sit in standing water when practical. The difference being, I think, is that I generally use tall pots. Although the bottom layers are wet/very moist, the upper pellets are far dryer. My Bulbos, in s/h, really must have the sphag and I actually use far more sphag than I do with any of the others. (With the exception of the Pleurothalids!) This seems to encourage the roots to dig, looking for water, but not really be in it.(Unless they find it and most seem to like that.) The only way that I've ever been able to get roots this time of year is with a lot of heat and very bright light. To be more specific, root warmth looked to be a major factor for me. Regardless of the amount of light, s/h in my (specifically) winter experience requires warm roots!! I'm not sure about other opinions/experiences, but that made all the difference in the world for me. I first noticed it during my heat mat stage. The ones on the mat did so much better than not. They kept growning, while the others either started to fail or kept static. The water did evaporate quite fast and likely bumped up the humidity. What ever I do, is the result of taking knowledge from where ever I can get it and playing with it. Plus, a little feel for things. Maybe! ;~) That really does help. "Regarding the bud sheaths on these " Not only did I not mess with the bud, I didn't even know that it was there until I saw the flower. We were doing some construction and against my wishes, the power had been off (to my orchids) for days. :~( After I threw a fit, I got power back on and found the flower during an inspection. I wonder if the nearly week long semi-darkness was a factor in getting a bloom? I have heard that sometimes they need a shock or nudge to bloom. No idea if that's true. Good luck on however you end up doing it and I look forward to your blooms! :~) Scott

Good morning, Jose! You are correct. Top-growth means that the Jade has enough roots to push new foliage. The new foliage will, in turn, provide energy for the roots, which will then make more leaves... and so on and so forth. Another thing to consider is that your Jade will be grown 'hard' in a small container - the mix will dry quickly and will warm and cool more readily than a larger container. This combination will make for a slower-growing, more compact plant. I had Jade cuttings in a similar mix in the same size terracotta pots and they barely grew at all. Eventually, I un-potted them and changed the mix so that it was more moisture-retentive. I think that I had originally erred on the side of caution - with a mix that was too gritty and open. If you want that Jade to grow large, slip the whole root-mass into a larger container without disturbing the roots. Now is a perfect time to do it. Josh