A photo would really help. If this is a Meconostigma type of Philodendron, a Tree type, (Which is what P. bipinnatifidum is) you probably cannot propagate a new plant from a stem cutting. Usually only a rooted pup will start a new plant. If there are aerial roots growing from the stem high enough up you can try air layering by wrapping damp sphagnum moss around the stem at the base of the air roots and then wrapping plastic wrap over that, keep it damp, not too wet,all the time and when you see new white roots growing in the moss you can cut the stem below the wrap and plant it up. Might work, might not Leaf cutting won't work with these plants. If it is a vine type of philodendron, a Monstera or Rhaphidophora, both of which are commonly misidentified as philodendrons, then you can easily take cuttings from the stem. Or you can get a couple of lengths of bamboo and prop it up by tying it to the bamboo.

Of all things, I really hadn't expected orchids to become the interest in "The Great Debate 2010." This whole conversation takes me back seven years. In February 2003, I was attending University majoring in none other than Horticulture with an emphasis in Business and Marketing! Wow! Ironically, I stumbled upon this discussion in hopes I'd find some help for an ailing Tolumnia I intercepted via raffle (free ticket) at our local Orchid Society meeting last evening. Anyhow, back in 2/03, I was shopping at a local Target store and a beautiful bloom caught my eye. Being from a 'lowly' farm, raising 'only' heirloom vegetables in our seven-acre family garden that nearly completely supported us and paid off the section of land and all our buildings on it, I had never even seen an orchid in person. Nor could I specifically remember ever "hearing" about one. I bought this orchid for $15.00 and it came in an ugly pot to boot. I cared for this orchid not knowing a thing of what I was doing and, quite frankly, didn't even bother to buy a book or do research about it. I was too busy and I was only thinking about the bloom in winter when there weren't any other flowers to be found through the snow and bitter cold. I didn't know why there was not tradition soil in the pot and I didn't know what to do to repot so I left it alone for three years! It rebloomed every year and I didn't know why, but I was greatly pleased. I am sure that, by now, you're all wondering why a Horticulture student (with a burning passion for plants) hadn't done any research. It's simply because I didn't have the time. I was going to school at least full time, had a part time job and a work-study job as well. I barely found time to eat and catch my coffee buzz. I must have, at some point, purchased a book about orchids because I have one and can't remember for the life of me where it came from. It's rather great! "Orchid Growing Basics" by Dr. Gustav Schoser. It helped me a great deal with repotting and making sure I was giving it the right conditions. It was all dumb luck. I put it by my bedside over a marble tray because it was pretty. Whoopie! No science, nothing fancy. Last year, when I joined our local orchid society, I realized the fact that it has a tag means SOMETHING. I only kept it because it's my "thing." I even did that with my ever-famous blue lake 274 bush beans (green beans) I grew for our garden and sold them at farmers' market every year. He's a Phalaenopsis "Brother x Lancer" by the way. He's beautiful and has taken lots of abuse from being neglected due to having babies. I have since never seen a tagged orchid in a big box store. I have purchased other orchids in big box stores, but lose my interest and throw them out. I've been soured out by the big box orchids due to finding them with viruses. My poor husband, who knows the way to my heart is through a houseplant (preferably Calatheas, Hoyas and Orchids) rather than a dying cut dozen of roses, bought a Dendrobium for me at Wal-Mart (when we were destitute and poor btw) and it had a serious virus so I had to throw it away. Can't have my blessed Phal. get sick by accident! The poor guy has no idea about orchids. I feel he was let down by the mass producer (from where, I do not know, it was all in Asian lettering) and Wal-Mart. The Dend. was unnamed and came in a nice, pretty pot. When the mass producers don't take care to name the orchid and ensure sterile conditions for the health of the orchid, does the money put into the prettier pot (a marketing scheme for sure) and instructions for care matter anymore? I'm sure he paid more than I would have for the Dend. Not to mention, it ended up a virused one anyhow. Unfortunately, I get the feeling from mensplace, that an orchid is an orchid is an orchid. One size fits all and, if it doesn't, the "orchid specialists" are of superior being than those who aren't "in the know." I've never felt this way. I have had orchids die, I've had to throw them out due to virus and I still have my first one (beginners luck). Why so many options for media, lighting and other care for orchids? It's not really an "aha moment" when you realize that orchids are found in nature all over the world. There are also different climates all over the world. Each orchid has its climate which is most conducive for the species to survive in. If you can't come close to duplicating that climate in your home (or any other chosen growing place) then the orchid fails to thrive and/or survive. As for marketing, the big box stores and the mass-producers *do* open the door for the love of orchids for the most part. Since my first experience in 2003 there have been strides made. The pots are prettier. This year, Wal-Mart is even selling them in beautiful glazed pots for $9.99. Yes, they are the Phalaenopsis (as always). I don't know about instructions for care as I do not purchase (doesn't mean I don't pay attention to what's going on), but at just $9.99 that's probably a free orchid with a pretty pot. The orchids roots will for sure rot if not taken out of the glazed pot as soon as it's purchased (luckily, the Phals. don't drop all the flowers/buds when repotted). I don't know about you, but I'd rather have a nice orchid than a nice pot. Feeling ill informed? Well, maybe someday "Big Brother" will mandate GPS units be put into the pots of the orchids so you can automatically receive culture sheets for your orchids in your mail box as well as advertisements for more orchids, pots, fertilizer, media etc. Until then, we've all learned about places such as the public library. You can utilize modern technology such as the WWW (specifically GardenWeb forums - many newbies to orchids meander this way) or search for an orchid book on Amazon.com. All these are common places for the everyday joe. I think I may have purchased my book at Barnes and Noble as I was partial to B&N in college for the coffee and quiet study time. On to scientific nomenclature: just so you know, *all* plants have Latin names. Latin, as I am sure you know, is the "dead language." It can never be misinterpreted and/or changed. When referring to any plant by genus and species (in some cases subspecies also), you can only be speaking of plant "A" whereas if you use a common name you could be speaking of plant "A" or plant "B" or even plant "C" depending upon where you live. For instance, if you start talking to me about "Swiss Cheese Plant" I'm going to assume you're talking about Monstera deliciosa, but you could be talking about Monstera obliqua. In any given situation, the care for plant "A" could be (and usually is) different than the care for plant "B." Latin names describe the features of a plant. Nearly four years ago, I made the choice to be a stay-at-home mom because I could not stand to be away from my baby and didn't want him to be raised by a stranger. We live off one income and it's very modest. We micromanage our money so we can provide for our children and still have family fun. Unfortunately, this also means I can't really afford to go out and buy orchids at my leisure; especially not the good ones. That's what I thought until last year when I joined our local orchid society! I got TWO NAMED orchids last night for $10.00. I also got a free orchid with my membership last year. It's a seedling and won't bloom for another few years, but who cares? I love plants and I love orchids. I only want ones with names because I am serious about them. What if I want to show them someday? I'll be able to with the name tags. Are we orchid growers, hobbyists and/or specialists snobs? In some way, yes. We all have our preferences for our own reasons. I have strong preferences for Calatheas and other rare tropicals, Hoyas (which you can also pay a pretty penny for - just head on over to the Hoya forum and find out) and Orchids (mixed preferences within genera). What I find lacking in the posts by mensplace is factual information pertaining specifically to orchids. The reason "we" only go for certain orchids are for personal preference, whether or not we want to show (for which there ARE standards to win ribbons and awards for each) and what kind of growing conditions we have to offer. Before you judge "us" and make further attacks, I urge you to learn more about the processes of growing and showing orchids. Don't be afraid to ask "Why? What? When? How?" when you don't understand. We don't judge here. We each offer our own personal experiences, preferences and growing conditions. Take what you will, leave what you won't. No one is going to hand-feed you instructions to match your situation perfectly. No one gave me a manual for these boys that I have! I have to find the best information to fit my situation and it's all trial and error. It's the same with orchids, but much easier.

Hi everyone!! Yippie, partners!!! For those who are new to the group, send an email to the person you are receiving from with suggestions of what you are interested in from their list. I like to try to give my partner a lot of ideas to make it easy for them to decide what to send me (I basically list everything I like! LOL). You can also send an email to the person you're sending to if you haven't heard from them yet. You decide what you'll send from the list of plants your partner is interested in. We like to pack the flat rate boxes full in this group so keep that in mind. :-) Don't forget to get a delivery confirmation number and post it here when you send your box. I sent both deb and dee emails. Hope they didn't end up in your spam folders ladies! LOL!!! I will be able to send my box early next week. bigmama my friend, i sent your side box out today. Hope you like it!! The dc #'s in the car, will post later. Regina, I've been thinking about you with that nasty storm, hope you're ok!! Night everyone. Amy

Yes, on the ground. It would take a boat load of tables/benches to put them up and then they may get knocked off from wind and animals. Always something to consider. Water most days even if only a spray overhead. Sometimes I miss pots that really get dried out but once I find it I water them thoroughly. I have used a wheelbarrow in the past (and garden cart when I had one). Wheelbarrow is good for when I was moving them all to the very back of the lot. It still took a lot of trips back and forth. I hated the distance so the last two years I've moved them slightly off the flagstone under a big beech tree. I have the tree limb-ed up quite a bit so the shade is not too dense. I find that once they get acclimated to the outdoors once more, they quickly adapt to a few hours of sun and do better in my view. As for hoses, I set up my own quirky system years ago - a four way manifold (or five as the newer ones usually have) so I can have 3 hoses to feed sprinklers and one to feed the next station and so on. I use the battery operated timer (four zones) from Orbit. So at one time I had five stations and programmed each station to water all its zones so that it would not operate at the same time as any other station. Each zone was set for 45 minutes. This added up to some big water bills though - $300 each month one summer but I was trying to keep the entire backyard as lush as I could. Gave up on that idea going forward. Once a plant is established in the ground for the first two years then I don't water it regularly thereafter except for severe drought. Hoses break, timers and valves wear out, sprinklers get clogged or fall apart, etc. I find I replace some of these parts more often than others. The worst thing are the manifolds themselves. I don't disassemble everything as this means more work. UGH! So anyway I usually have one port open at each station just for a hose with a handheld nozzle so I can hand water. I find this better than sprinklers as I can observe what needs water and what is getting too much. I can also discover problems such as a knocked over pot, digging by rodents or my dogs, fallen limbs on the pots, etc. If I go on vacation then I set up a sprinkler and make sure the timer is set and working before leaving for two weeks. That is what I've been doing here for over ten years now. Basic kit (some sprinklers, hoses (to cut), repair kits, and timer with manifold) This was 2007 Extra valves since Orbit only provides a manifold and two valves with the timer kit. I also bought hose repair ends (male and female) since I was cutting a 120 foot hose into smaller hoses and also bought the quick disconnects. The timer kit has changed a lot since then as these were small to read and confusing to program. The brass manifold valves get corroded in place and very hard to shut off/turn on using just your hand so it is out too. The quick disconnects seem so simple but eventually they are next to worthless - do not waste your money on these. So here is a brass manifold with four valves and all with quick disconnects and the timer ready to be attached to all the valves. Lay the hose out in the hot sun to take the loops out and cut to what lengths you need. Shown below are some hoses cut and also two with the original ends on them. Once you put the repair ends on the cut ends, then start assembling everything for your garden layout. PS - try micro irrigation too but I find it a pain after a year or two because parts will break each year and all those spaghetti hoses can be trip hazards the next year. Here is a micro sprinkler head for example. It may throw water out six feet if staked high enough.