I purchased a number of packets of seed and have found that some will germinate and grow easily, while others seem determined not to germinate at all. One variety germinated great for me in January. But I accidentally killed the seedlings. When I started some more they refused (to date) to germinate. I don't know just exactly why this is. I'm quite excited about the potential of growing from true potato seed (TPS) and saving my own seed. But this does have me feeling like quite the novice! I did get seeds from Huagalina and Chaposa to grow and they are doing very well, out in the garden. Here are a couple of pictures: Huagalina derived seedlings May 9, 2012 Huagalina derived potato plants June 21, 2012 I have learned that once they seedlings develop their first set of true leaves, no matter how small, I need to start with weekly fertilizing until I put them out into the garden. Otherwise, with the soil medium I'm using, they simply languish and die. Here's a link to Tom's site. George Tahlequah, OK Here is a link that might be useful: New World Seeds & Tubers

Dan - I didn't rake you over the coals, but you can't have it both ways. I wouldn't say you said something unless you did. It's not in me to fabricate support for the things I put forth on these forums. Following is the is a verbatim quote from you. Clicking on the link will show the thread context, if you're interested "I dont see what is wrong with useing the same soil over and over. Look at our wild areas and you will see soil growing beautiful forest useing the same soil over and over. Stop contaminating your potting soil with man made junk and chemicals that are not a part of nature, and you can use the soil over many times. I may not have the over saze plants and highly productive plants but I dont have to spend a fortune on soil and chemicals." [sic] I'm sorry, but you continually promote a soil you clearly admit is not giving your plants the best opportunity to reach their potential. I've argued the point with you that this soil, while it may be perfectly adequate for you, is probably going to give a very high % of growers problems they will not be able to deal with because the problems are inherent. Comparing a forest to a container planting and decrying "man-made junk" in container soils does illustrate basic misconceptions about container media. I pretty near feel obligated to offer a second opinion and some support for it when you suggest oak leaf mold as a stand-alone ingredient for a container soil, much as I did when the subject of Hyponex soil in containers arose. Al

Howdy All, This thread has grown!! Laura, And all this time I thought Serissa's were slow-growers. One month later, and your babies are tall and full. How much pinching will be done? Also, are you planning on seperating or allowing each plant to grow in the same pot? You mentioned you wanted Serissa to resemble a tree. Laura, people are never satified..One might feel a family/friend gathering having fun is a wonderful event while another will call the police and claim their neighbor is distubring the peace. 'Their' nosy peace. Aw, son wants a ski trip. Actually, I don't blame him, but I agree, a trip is expensive. If he contributes, it'd be a lot less stress on everyone. Congrats on your sons graduation...you must be one proud mom! I guess, if you plan on buying him graduation and Christmas presents, the ski trip would account for both occasions..plus his contribution, of course. :) Oh God, Laura, your Orchid is absolutely gorgeous! Bi-colored flowers are striking. I can't really see foliage; which variety is the orchid? Oh, before I forget, and if I didn't mention this before..one time dh and I built a model plane called Black Widow...P-61..Are you familiar with P-61, kit plane? Actually, it was dh's project, he did a fantastic job. Well, the plane was set on top of a nice shelf, centered in the middle. About a year later, for some oddball reason, our cat decided to jump on the shelf. Down went the plane..no, it didn't glide, it broke. I've never seen dh so angry! For a second I thought he'd kill our poor cat, but thankfully, he didn't..he did yell at him though..lol. Laura, do you fertilize orchids in bud/bloom? JoJo....awww, Goober is sooo affectionate..He's aching for your attention..:) 'mom, don't play w/that machine..I'm more important.' lol. I think Goldfish tends to bloom more in summer, but since mine hasn't even put out a bud, maybe someone else knows the correct answer. lol Oh JoJo, your dh made the mistake of his life, opening the door, thankfully to your advantage. Woohoo! ") Sales, sales, where are the sales??? lol. I love Clydesdales..They're most beautiful..the horse posted in a real stud. Love Cyldes legs and feet... JoJo, you're a very attractive woman. Your son is so cute..He'll make one handsome man in the future. After a third browse, I just realized how huge that plane is. Oh, you're going to move Goober? lol. SS. I love your sense of humor..In fact, funny people are great talking to..happy and care-free..Well, most of the time anyway..It's too bad life wasn't care-free.. As long as you don't mind people discussing plants or other topics on your thread, we'll continue chatting..planes, trains and automobiles.:) Thanks for allowing me to set the bar...lol. Hey, so far so good. I swear, when misting plants, I check Jades..and each day more new growth appears. One Crassula is in another room, 'warmer/south window,' as an experiment...Don't inspect that guy as much. It's up high. Seems when I move a plant, it's like Domino's. One plant knocks down another, which turns into a bloody mess. Or is it muddy mess. lol. Wait, I thought you trimmed your variegated Jade? Now, I'm clueless..lol. I used to visit C&S's daily, now I check once in a while..even though I think I have more succulents than tropicals.. Every so often I'll post a thread, 'ask questions,' or look at pics..I LOVE MeyerMike's JAdes....Those colors! But, you're right. I got the idea cutting Jade/s back when someone ordered a huge Jade trunk on Ebay, then posted on C&S. There's so much to learn on the forums..you know? Yep, we can sit down, relax, 'you drink coffee, I'll have tea,' then you can tell me the story about your sink. lol Is it plugged up? I hope not..it's a pain unscrewing pipes, then trying to remove dirt, stones, whatever. As careful as I am when showering/soaking plants, it never fails..leaves/stones/soil ends up down the drain. I love ST, but did the price increase? I usually buy pints..It went from 20 to 34.00.!!!! Don't know what to do..In my case, it's uneconomical buying 2-4oz bottles. If you're serious about the scoop, I'll take it, but please let me know the price of postage.. Hoarders. lol. I save all types of valuables, 'some would deem junk,' for plants..Especially trays, plastic domes, and jars. Buying a brand name or even generic item would really shrink a wallet, so why not stock up?? lol. Have a great wkend...Toni

Light looks good, and humidity is rarely if ever an issue. I have never ever heard of a phal dying from low humidity before. I suspect the problem is the moss-bark mix. Personally, I don't believe in this idea of top-dressing with sphag, mainly because I've found that when allowed to dry, sphagnum moss turns into an impermeable moisture shield. I'm sure you too have seen this happen - the water just runs off the moss unless you give it a good soak. Subsequently, you have a crusty layer of dried sphag, and a sopping mess of bark underneath that can NEVER dry out properly. Try it - layer some sphag over some bark in a pot (I'm assuming you are using plastic?), water it as would your orchids. As the moss looses fluff and compacts, it will turn into a dry disk, while the bark underneath will remain wet and soggy. With uniform moss, at least the entire moss wicks moisture from itself so you get more uniform drying. This is what works the best for me. Bark, I can never use in my environment, so I won't bother giving you advice with that. I have experimented with a mixed sphag-chunk, bark, and charcoal mix with decent success. I believe the mix of mediums with different water retention properties (charcoal - none, bark-moderate, moss-maximum) and different sizes helps in some mysterious way. This is, however, completely different from a layer of sphag over a layer of bark. I'd say chuck the two layered potting method