Water (amount of not pH) may well be a contributing factor in your case but no, bottom watering is no problem unless the plants are left to sit in water for more than the few minutes it takes to suck up what they need. Some folks just prefer top watering. *shrugs* In this case I'd be inclined to top water them too - for a week or so - in the hopes of flushing out some of that fertilizer. Hard water from the well is much better for plants than anything from a water softener. But I think the primary issue is that strong fertilizer. It is awfully strong for seedlings if used full strength, even for young plants. It's phos level can easily burn roots and burned roots = yellow older leaves on established plants. In a 4" pot no more than a 7-10 day feeding of no more than 1/2 strength fertilizer is required. But with that particular fertilizer even half strength would be too strong. It would still be a 5-25-5 dilution. I take it down to 1/4 strength myself AFTER giving the plants a chance to recover. If I am right you are going to lose many of those leaves to leaf drop. They will turn flaccid and drop from the stem. If that happens then you'll know for sure what caused it. If you want to give the plants the best chance at survival, even with the dropped leaves - strip off the worst leaves and transplant them into new potting mix. Shake off as much of the existing soil as possible when doing so and plant them deeper into the new mix burying the bare stem. Hope this helps. Dave PS: not a guru :) just nursery owner for a living.

This old post has stayed alive! I thought I'd comment to clear up a common myth: lady slippers do not need a mycorhizal fungus to survive. In nature, they require a symbiotic/parasitic relationship with a fungus to germinate and develop their first growth bud. After they spring out of the earth 3 years or so after their seed was dropped, they become photosynthetic, and no longer needing those fungi they expell them in some cases; however, often they stay *Partially* parasitic on these fungi which reside inside thier root systems mostly (so no need for transplantation of their soil). There are genera that stay entirely mycotrophic for their lifetime such as Corallorhiza, and Cephalanthera austiniae since they have no clorophyll. We are sure of this information because we grow these plants from seed in sterile jars on a sugar medium, and then transplant them into media, sometimes thousands of miles from their native habitats and native soil fungi. They grow fine this way; and Wendy Lee, you are correct that they don't like to have their roots disturbed during the growing season. As for endangerment, only a handful of the genus's 45 or so members is considered threatened, and only a few are considered endangered, certainly not Cypripedium parviflorum varieties nor Cyp acaule. That absolutely doesn't mean that it's a good idea to go dig them up! Species coexisting, absolutely! Many species of Cypripedium can co-habitate regions of suitable climate since they have similar growth requirements, at least within a few hundred yards! As for retail, here's a list of seed prop sources: http://www.uslink.net/~scl/ http://www.hillsidenursery.biz/ http://asiaticanursery.com/index.php/cPath/17osCsid=b32c4ea8dc7d74a5fc8974f9469d1c8c http://www.thimblefarms.com/98orchidtf.html http://www.c-we.com/cyp.haven/ http://www.orchidmix.com/cyps.htm http://www.vtladyslipper.com/ http://www.infonet.ca/cypr/engl.htm? Best Regards, Ross

No Sylvia, I am not the OP .... I'm just one of many who offered my own opinion and heartfelt experience - FWIW. I trust OP and other readers will be grappling with the input and various perspectives here.... as well as their own emotions and past experiences around death.... and in the end it'll be what it is, some combination of grief, relief, regret,and love.... My own experience/knowledge is that "good" deaths are indeed possible - one of my dear kitties died of feline leukemia and got progressively weaker/more frail but purred / recognized and wanted me present til the very end....her last few minutes she became a bit agitated and then she passed... it was simply like a wave going through her and her spirit left.... More recently though.... my old calico faced a death that would have been highly traumatic for both her and me and according to my vet could have quite likely involved many minutes, evem hours of her struggling to breathe.... so that led to a different outcome and a rather agonizing decision to euthanize.... Those two experiences informed my view that I dont think one size fits all and that a good talk with a vet who knows you and your animal well is the best tool for making a decision. Honestly, Syvlia - if I was to choose between one of those two ways of death for myself I would choose the first one - to pass naturally and peacefully - I would so HATE to put anyone through the agony of having to decide what to do .... But alas.... peaceful deaths are not always possible... maybe even a rarity, I dunno..... I do recognize that! I apologize if my words came across as insulting - that was not my intention.

Thanks for all of the feedback, folks. Renting is still certainly an option, but that $8,000 tax credit keeps whispering to me. I don't need the $8,000 tax credit to make this "work", but it would certainly be nice. As far as additional expenses that come along with homeownership, I must say that if I stay in this area, I'll be paying approximately $1500/mo + utilities, along with whatever outrageous pet fees and pet rents they will add on. For what it's worth, I've got money in accounts I'd rather not touch right now, but I can access. I also have my debts covered by insurance that kicks in if I'm disabled or unemployed. I've got a sizeable amount of available credit (the balance are small, but the credit limits aren't), in case of a terrible emergency. When it comes down to it, I've got more than enough cash/cheap credit around to tackle any catastrophe worth dealing with on a $130K property. I'm an insurance freak, so I don't have any debts that won't be paid if something happens to me, and even the pets have veterinary insurance, so a veterinary emergency won't make me choose between paying my bills or paying the vet. Again, for what it's worth, I'm focusing on houses without pools (don't want the maintenance expense), I'll be working from home (no commute/minimal gas expenses), and I am also focusing on houses new enough that everything won't start to break as soon as I move in. I've wanted to buy a home for years (but lived in an absurdly high COLA area), and I really feel like I've thought this through as much as I can without making sure I'm getting a reality check from everyone. Short of saving up for years to pay cash for a home, I'm not sure I'm in such a bad position to buy a house. With that said, I don't want to be the poster who just posts to get everyone to agree with her, regardless of the facts. So, I really appreciate the feedback. In my situation, with the pets, it just seems like I'm throwing away so much money on pet deposits, pet fees (nonrefundable), and absurd rents to continue doing the "sensible" thing and renting until all the moons align and I can pay cash for a huge portion of a home. One of my biggest considerations is the fact that I could take a 50% pay cut and make out. The mortgage/utilities on these houses = still less than I've paid in rent in years (and at much lower salaries). At what point does, "I really really want a yard and a dog" come into play? I get the impression that, for some locations/situations, renting will always be the most "sensible" solution, but then why do people even bother to buy homes? So, really, when do the scales start to tip in favor of buying a home vs. renting a home? Thanks, all! I've got a lot to think about.