More schlumbergera

Another Schlumbergera in full bloom. They all did great this year, some are starting to fade but have a second set of buds. I like the 2nd bloom better than the first, because it's less prolific and the individual flowers show better.

Another Orchid

This one is a paphiopedilum (Lady Slipper) hybrid. It's not labeled, but looking at internet photos appears to be Paphiopedilum 'Copper Glow' as pictured here. Here's another one that looks similar, called "the Queen". No way to know for certain. The word to keep in mind is "Paphiopedilum Maudiae hybrids"

According to this site, this mottled-leaf Paphiopedilum should have a night temperature not below 60 degrees F. (preferably 65 degrees F.), and a day temperature of 75-85 degrees F; constantly moist or damp, but not soggy; bright window but protect from mid-day sun.

I think I can manage those conditions, although our house is a bit cooler day and night in the winter.

It's all a gamble. Still, I could be spending money on... gambling? Booze? Furthering my education? I'll gamble a bit on gardening for a while instead.

Schlumbergera

Several are in full bloom now. Schlumbergera = "Holiday cactus" = "Thanksgiving cactus" = "Zygocactus" = sometimes, incorrectly, Xmas cactus

Salmon, cutting-grown 4 years old. Summered outdoors, North side of house.

3 years old pink. Summered same as the others.

Lost in Translation: Chinese signs

Some signs from my October trip to China. I think anyone would find these signs funny. To be fair, how many signs in the US are translated into Chinese? We get protests if signs are bilingual, with Spanish. So these signs acknowledge and welcome the foreign tourists. But they're still funny.

Protect the ecological environment. Advocate the new civilization.

Be careful off the grass.

The food signs were especially interesting. These were in a Buddhist all-vegetarian restaurant. In any other restaurant, "vegeterain" includes real pork, chicken, sausage, ham. In this restaurant, simulated 'meats' are all-vegetarian.

My favorite. The actual translation is "mouth watering duck."

"Fresh greens"

I don't know what this is supposed to translate to.

The Peach in Winter: Leaf Curl Prevention

This year's experiment with leaf curl prevention was so wildly successful, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to repeat it. So last weekend I did. Even if I don't get into the garden again for a month, I've done the most productive task.

I did the following:

1. Strip off remaining leaves. That's easy and fairly quick on these genetic dwarf peach varieties. They are compact, and the leaves come off easily. I strip off the leaves so that all of the spray goes on the stems, and so that they don't interfere with bundling the branches.

2. Rake up all debris, leaves, and weeds, under the trees.

3. Spray with copper spray. Copper is considered "organic" because it's a mineral. The concern is to over-do it, and have too much copper in the soil. So I was careful not to over-do it.

4. Bundle the branches into compact packages that would be easy to cover with white plastic garbage bags. I chose white plastic because it is somewhat reflective, to keep the branches from overheating.

5. Cover the bundled branches with the plastic bags.

6. Tie the bags into place.

7. Prune off any little branches that did not fit into this scheme.

My worries last year were that this process would damage the trees. It did not - this year I had the best peach crop ever, with only about 10 leaves impacted by leaf curl disease. Click on the labels to see the devastating effects of that infection. It's the reason people keep telling me "you can't grow peaches here"


I also sprayed the Moorman apricot and the potted dwarf apricot, that I will move into better shelter soon. I don't know if that will help - apricots tend to die quickly here, and I have not figured out why, yet.