Hi Here is a pic of what I like to call a Vanda bed . . Was made from leftovers from the shadehouse . Going into its third year . Contains 8 different kinds of vandas both stap and terete. as well as some epis at the base They are growing between two conjoined queen palms. have had great growth but flowering has been disappointing so far. What have you got to lose by trying?? gary

I'll bet it really is a pressure canner. I still have the one my mother used before I was born -- that was 1945. The original book that came with it shows pressure canning recipes as well as cooking, and, of course, it's a perfect fit for four quart jars. I know that steam canners are not recommended, but I found a recipe in the Ball Book (new one) that said Steam Canner. I'm sure it was a misprint, or something from an old book that just wasn't caught, but it's fun to think they aren't infallible.

Mike, you have probably noticed in your own photos that from year to year iris can bloom a shade or two different. The two pictures of Paris Fashion that I have have a couple of factors. The darker one was taken when the bloom first opened. Paris Fashion will lighten a little with age of bloom. It was also taken in a year that saw a lot of cloudy cool days. That is probably as much "color" as Paris Fashion will show. The other picture was taken on a sunny day and probably looks whiter than it should. Local climate will play havoc with some iris. Ghost Ship by Paul Black looked almost unrecognizable one spring. All its background coloring was gone and it was just a plain yellow. I wasn't a great fan of Social Graces and it appears Performing Arts hasn't crossed my radar. It seems that I recall it being pretty much the color that the catalog shows. I will try to get a picture of it when it blooms. Supposed to hit the 80's and 90's this week so I suspect we will have an abbreviated season.

As a landscape professional and an ISA Certified Arborist I will provide my best guess and provide some feedback. We have these trees here in Hawaii and I see the yellowing out "Bleaching" often. A lot of that has to do with nutrients. It very well could be the natural cycle of leaf drop and new emergence of juvenile leaves, however... We as homeowners tend to just plant the trees and give it some water and kind of let the trees go on their own. We expect the trees to give us pretty flowers, fruit, and shade and we typically don't give back. All living things have nutrient requirements and for us we eat food to get those nutrients. Trees however have to get that food supply from the soil, once those nutrients are depleted in the soil or are not available at all because of soil conditions, that's it! The tree now depends on reserve energy and stored nutrients. As new leaves emerge they have a higher photosynthetic requirement therefore the older leaves give up their stored nutrients to feed the younger leaves, thus yellowing out and dropping early. All trees deserve at least 1 deep root feeding annually to replenish depleted nutrients. You may find the the older leaves stick around longer and drop throughout the year as opposed to one big drop. Food for Thought! Thanks for reading my rant. Hope this helps! Hit me up at jay@alohaarborcare.com with questions or comments.