Cymbidiums (cymbidia?) are growing nicely in full sun now. Currently feeding with 30:10:10 and occasional Epson salts, both at about 1/2 teaspoon per 1.5 gallon. This is less than 1/4 strength for the orchid food. It's weakly but more like every-other-daily instead of weekly, for the ones in full sun. The leaves are that nice light green that websites talk about being ideal for cymbidium and some other orchids.

Miltassia or something similar, I think. It's interesting, most of the oncidium intergerics have similar pseudobulbs and leaves, just different flowers. Miltassia is intergeneric Miltonium or Miltoniopsis, with Brassia. Other than the flower, the plant looks like Oncidium or Odontoglossum - completely different genera.

7/16/11 From an orchidtalk discussion, this is a Banfieldara.  From a RHS forum, some Balfieldara are:

BANFIELDARA = ADA x BRASSIA X ODONTOGLOSSUM x
> ONCIDIUM
>
> BANFIELDARA Gilded Tower =
> = Adaglossum Summit (Odontoglossum x Ada) x
> Brassidium Gilded Urchin (Brassia x Oncidium)
>
> BANFIELDARA = ADA x BRASSIA X ODONTOGLOSSUM
>
> BANFIELDARA Gold Star =
> Brassada Memoria Bert Field (Ada x Brassia) x
> Odontoglossum Yellowstone Basin

Nice looking plant, view of the plant as well as the flowers. I like looking at the entire plant. Photos with just the flowers don't tell me as much.

Yellow Oncidium. It grows so easily. It bloomed once, and never since. It's now in full sun, resulting in sunburn, but also the new growth is that light apple-green that is sought for many orchids. Maybe that's what's needed to get it to bloom. Better get sun while it can, it's already July.

On Epson Salts - It's not clear that they are helpful. Some people think they help the plants grow faster, assuming there is no other source of Magnesium. "in an experiment the use of Epsom salts brought seedlings to maturity and flowering faster than those which were not provided with magnesium sulfate in the form of Epsom salts". The amount is given as ranging from one teaspoon per gallon with every watering, to 1 tablespoon per gallon, 4 times per year. I've rarely been using them, and at the low rate of one half teaspoon per gallon.

The death of one daydream

Inspection didn't go so well. There was a lot more insect damage to structural systems and floor joists, than the owner apparently knew. Bummer. Not just carpenter ants, but apparently termites and 2 kinds of beetle that I never heard of, which apparently hollow out beams, leaving a nice looking shell and nothing inside. Most likely, the support structures and joists will need either substantial work, or replacement. I can't see the current owner going for that. I can't take it on, so we'll probably move on and look at some other places. Damn.

Cherries

Haven't counted how many bowls of cherries this year. Lots. Too many to eat them all fresh.  I need to get out and pick many times this tomorrow, so they don't spoil.  Not bad for some dwarf backyard trees.  Backyard orchard culture works.

Clever cherry pitter is handy for anything other than eating them fresh. I pitted a cup of cherries, added orange juice almost to the top of the cherries, a teaspoon of sugar, about 1/3 cup of silken tofu, and blended them to frothiness in the smoothie maker. Very good "milkshake'. Freezing some for pies. Pies have to wait for the kitchen resurrection. That's another story.

Maybe the new weekend retreat.

We've been looking at some places more out of the way, with a little more land but not too much, off the main road but not too far, in reasonable shape but not too expensive, not needing major work but open for puttering. This is the current main contender. A little further north but not too far, climate is still going to be similar to Portland/Vancouver.

The yard is big enough for a couple dozen trees in the "backyard orchard" style that I already use at home. That means dwarf and summer pruned trees that are small enough for all fruit to be reached without a ladder. Hip fractures are not needed. An ongoing fruit crop through summer with multiple bowls of multiple varieties is welcomed.

I've been studying up on paw paws. Grampa used to grow them. They would be experimental in this climate - in theory not impossible, any more than figs are. Paw paws survive a lot colder than figs do, but might need wetter & warmer summers than  we have here. I can devote some ground here to them.  There is room for failure and success. Also more mulberries, plums, cherries. May kiwis.

I may have lots of fig trees if those cuttings grow. I don't know where to put them. There is room here. Also some grape vines, some rhubarb and some other stuff.

Inspection is tomorrow.  The place needs to pass before I get carried away.

The house is an updated, old farm house.  Relaxing.  Does not appear to need any work.

Lilies are blooming

These started as a little throw away potted lily, about 6 inches tall. As the years pass, I divide them now and then. They continue to multiply. They've also grown taller. I may have been over-generous with compost. Before I raised the level, the grass in this location barely grew.

These asiatic lilies are bigger every year too. I did add a layer of compost last year before mulching with bark nuggets. This year I won't add any. They don't need to grow any larger. Must be about 7 feet tall.

Orientals and trumpets are next.

Orchid Progress Report.

Here are some lessons I have learned from experience with orchids, so far:
1. If you buy one in bloom, at least you get the pleasure of having it bloom once. If it has a number of unbloomed spikes, that may be a few months of blooming, depending on the variety. See the Burrageara photo, a fine example.

2. Sometimes you just have to try a few varieties of a genus or species. I've had great success with Dendrobium nobile, mostly Yamamoto hybrids. I've had no success with Dendrobium phaelenopsis, multiple varieties. I think the nobiles like it cooler, and the phaelenopsis like it warmer, and just can't adapt to my environment. Similarly, I've rebloomed a couple of Oncidium intergenerics that are extravagant in their flower production, but can't seem to get a standard yellow Oncidium to bloom no matter what I do. The Cymbidiums I've collected all looked pretty much the same out of bloom, but some are growing rapidly, while the one next to them sits and sulks.

3.  I'm not sure how much the container type matters.  I have some in glazed orchid pots, with lattice sides that allow drying of medium quickly.  Others in clay pots.  The clay does seem to build up salts.  The references recommend occasional drenching with rain water to prevent salt buildup.  I've been bad about doing that.  Some are in plastic pots.  I think Cymbidiums do well in plastic.  I've been going to clay for the Oncidium intergenerics lately.  Still trying to decide what's best, or if it matters.

The Yamamoto Dendrobiums are on the south deck under the grape arbor. For much of the day, they are in full sun. The young starts are growing quickly. I am feeding them high nitrogen 30:10:10 except for Apollon Spring Dream, which has the start of buds, looking a bit floral - so it's gettin 10:20:20.

A Miltoniopsis hybrid that, according to my label I bought and repotted in late 2010. After reading they can be difficult, I didn't expect much but never got around to throwing it away. Now producing a flower spike. There you go. That's why I salvaged another Miltoniopsis that I almost threw away - time will tell if that "dormancy" actually killed it.

Burrageara Nellie Isler. As I recall, this is Stefan Isler with some additional Miltoniopsis, hence the larger skirt. Quite fragrant. There are 3 unbloomed spikes, so I expect it to bloom for a long time. I repotted it into a squat 6" clay pot to give it a chance for growth, as well as better wet/dry pattern than the miniscule plastic pot it was in originally. These are labeled as "azalea pots".    I haven't seen that repotting, even in full bloom, is a set back for most orchids.  Leaving them in their original pots can be a challenge, because they are often packed very tightly and in a medium that might have worked in a greenhouse but not necessarily in my hands.

Here are the Cymbidiums. These are North of the house, but get full sun for several hours daily, as can be seen here. They will have to move when the contractor comes next week to tear out the old kitchen - not sure where I'll put them. I just up-potted one that I thought dried out too fast, not a big deal just pulled it out and put into a larger pot with as little disturbance as possible. The medium was recent, from this winter, so it did not need an aggressive replacement. Also here is an oncidium, now unfortunately sunburned. Doesn't like the sun that the Cymbidiums and Dendrobiums love, but it also hasn't bloomed in about 5 years, so maybe this will help it bloom. The new growth are pale green which is said to be a good thing.

Grape progress report.

I wondered if I almost killed them during the pruning this year, because I removed so much growth. Then there was a hard freeze.  Not the case. Now as lush as ever. The grape clusters have barely started to form, but there may be over a hundred clusters.  The arbor shades the bedroom so well I think the temperature is 10 degrees cooler. I did not measure that effect however. One issue is that the branches grew so fast, some broke off at their origin. I've been pruning a few back. The chickens love eating grape leaves, denuding branches within minutes on throwing them into the chicken yard.

Some vines have grown more than 6 feet already, and they are not done yet.

Some more roses

"Fair Bianca" is a David Austin rose. Pure, pure white. So white it's difficult to photograph. The fragrance reminds me of Mme. Hardy. Spicy. This rose has been off to a slow start, partly due to raspberries that over run it. I need to be more diligent. It's a beautiful and beautifully-scented rose.

Tranquility, not an Austin but 'almost'. Also really beautiful, the palest pink possible without being white. Wide open, many petaled rose, spicy fragrance. In my garden it tends to grow tall, about 6 feet.

Sceptered Isle, an Austin rose. It gets up to 10 feet or more. Nice rose, pretty, can't go wrong but I think I need to find a more roomy place for it.

Evelyn, another David Austin rose. Not too prolific here, but tolerates the dry summer and the flowers are large, unique and fragrant.

Happy Child, also a David Austin rose. Nice color. To me it's a tea-rose fragrance, unlike a lot of Austins that have a spicy fragrance.  I moved it last winter, wondered if it would survive. It did.

Roses in bloom

A random rose in the garden. This started out as a little grocery store potted rose. No name. It just quietly does its thing, not demanding much attention.

I think this is old garden rose, Damask-type, "Ville de Bruxelles". I've moved it a couple of times. Now it's about to be overtaken by a rhubarb plant, but I think the rhubarb will be the plant to move this time. I gave it a lot of fish emulsion this spring - probably why it's so lush now. Blooming like crazy.

Peach Progress

Peaches are swelling quickly. I feel more optimistic now. This tree is recovering from its peach leaf curl infestation nicely. The thinned peaches will be enough for a pie and some fresh peaches. Maybe.

"First Fruits" strawberries, cherries, and raspberries.

The cherries are ripening. I always wonder if we will get any. They are the first tree fruit of the year.

This is the multigraft cherry tree. Even though multigraft trees are often scorned, this tree always bears well.

Fallgold Raspberry. I usually don't get many to bring into the house. The reason is I stand at the canes eating them immediately on picking, they are so good. The one downside is the canes are invasive. However, it's easy pulling up spreading canes.

Strawberries, my favorite! This is the first bowl full. There are many, many berries on the plants.  These are june-bearing.  The ever-bearing are close behind, even though I pulled off the first flowers.  I think this will be a good strawberry year.

Roses are in full bloom

The David Austin roses are amazing now. These are Tamara (aprocot colored), Tranquility (not an Austin, this is from Heritage roses, white/pink), Sceptere'd Isle (peach) and Fair Bianca (white). All of the roses responded well to the severe pruning that I gave them earlier this year. That means the pruning was OK.

Repotting a Miltoniopsis hybrid

I bought this Miltoniopsis hybrid a couple of months ago, intending to throw it away when it finished blooming. I sat it on the deck when it was done. It sat there dry and exposed for more than a month.  Yesterday I noted that my only other Miltoniopsis is producing what looks like a flower shoot. That development inspired me to try to rescue this one.

It's not in too bad shape considering what I did to it.

I soaked the roots in rain water for 20 minutes.

The pot is too deep. The manufacture of shards to fill space in the bottom is a precision method. It takes years of experience, a graduate degree, and a hammer.

All done. Planted in orchid bark-based potting mix. It's a little close to the top, but might settle. Then again I might take it back out and remove some medium before it gets too settled.  I watered it in nicely, and now it's in a East facing window.

I'm an odd person.  I like leaving on the old stems.  If the dead flowers stay on, I like that too.  It gives the orchid a "natural" or "botanical" look, like it would be on the tree branch if no humans were around.  Plus, it reminds me that this plant once bloomed, so might again.  I do remove dead leaves.  They can be a source of infection, and generally fall off anyway.

Progress Report: Figs.

There remain a few breba on Vancouver (Probably Magnolia / Dalmation / Brunswick). Most of the fig branch tips are already cut back at 3 or 4 nodes. Today I trimmed back most of the rest. I did not do that treatment for King, which is a Breba-only variety, so I don't see benefit for stimulating new fig embryos. Still not sure about that. Chicago and Petite Negri have many new fig embryos for the fall crop. We'll see if the pinch at 3 leaves results in earlier figs than the pinch at 5 or 5 leaves. Pinching just involves bending the branch tip. They snap off. I also did that with the mulberry today, which is a fig cousin.

The King fig cuttings are growing at the tips. I don't know about roots yet. Last week I pulled one out and there were no signs of root growth yet. No problem, they are no effort and take no room, in the tomato and pepper half-barrels. If they grow, cool.

Petite Negri. Many brebas fell off, not unusual. A significant number remain. All of the new shoots have been snipped off at 3 or 4 leaves. Some are starting to grow embryonic figs, for the fall crop.

King (Desert King): I don't think any have fallen off. This is the best crop ever. Fingers are crossed. I have not been pinching branch tips back, but intend to.

Lemon (White Marseilles, Lattarula): I don't think any have fallen from this one either. I have pinched back branch tips. I missed some earlier, so they are up to 6 nodes, but that's OK.

Progress Report: Citrus

Today I repotted the Meyer Lemon. It was fairly neglected through the winter, then developed some sunburn when I sat it out on the deck. Two weeks ago I pruned it for shape and to remove some dead branches, and started feeding it with a rhododendron plant food for the acidity. Now it's growing and has produced several flower buds. I've repotted it in a somewhat larger container. I hope to have lemons this summer.

Generic citrus trees, grown from seed about 13 years ago. I don't remember what it is - lemon, maybe, but could be orange or grapefruit. It has never bloomed. Probably wont. It also suffered from neglect, but got the same treatment as the Meyer lemon, and is sending out new leaves.

Oncidium progress report.

This is an Oncidium "Gower Ramsey" that I started from a backbulb in 2009. Neither it nor its parent has bloomed since then. Bummer. Plus, I gave away one of the other starts, and the 3rd I accidentally left outside and it froze. The parent is in the sun and got some sunburn, but is growing new sections. I repotted this start yesterday into a larger squat clay pot. I have moved it now to a south window. I think I will just give it bloom food now, low nitrogen.

This is an oncidium-type that I bought as a throw-away last year. After it bloomed, I potted it into a small clay pot and took it to work, where it was in a bright window. I gave it house-plant food as a weak solution roughly weekly. Then I brought it home this Spring, and moved it into a south bathroom window. It bloomed. I was surprised. It's cool! Strange, I thought this was a brown flower... Still, it's cool! Now it's starting a new growth, which is a little wrinkled due to missing some watering, but I think it will be OK.

Oncidium "Twinkle". I didn't think I would buy one of these, but I did. It's been blooming for about 4 months. This flower spike started after the earlier one finished. I potted it into what's become my usual small squat clay pot. It's in a south bathroom window. It's growing a number of new growths so I'm giving it growth food.

I tentatively identified this one as "Stefan Isler". It's been blooming for months. The first 2 spikes are gone, and these are starting to drop flowers. This Oncidium hybrid has been amazing. Really a start performer.

Yamamoto Dendrobiums progress report

These are most of the Yamamoto dendrobiums, out for the summer. I've been gradually moving them from the shaded part of the grape arbor to the full sun area. No sun burn to speak of. I've been watering them every couple of days. The weather is mostly overcast and warm but not hot. I've been giving them high nitrogen growth-food in a weak 1/4 strength solution. We still have rain water so I am not worried yet about salts.

This is the one that I identified as "Love Memory Fizz". I was surprised that it provided a few flowers in early summer. As I was taking the photo, I noted the fragrance. I did not recall it being fragrant. It has 3 new canes. They started slightly above the bark level so I added some fresh bark to the top to give the roots a place to grow. With some TLC and sunshine it should make a nice show next winter.

I stuck this cane section from "Yellow Song Canary" in bark medium this winter, just to see if it would grow. At this stage, the answer is "maybe". It will be slow. I like these little experiments.

The other keiki starts, one from "Love Memory Fizz" from July 2010 and the other from "Yellow Song Canary" this spring. Yesterday I potted them up a little into small, squat, clay pots. The heavier pots are less likely to fall over.

Cymbidium progress report.

These are the cymbidiums, out for the summer. I moved them from the shaded grape arbor to the full sun on the front deck. Not much sunburn. They are getting water every couple of days, with weak concentration of orchid growth food. Orchid growth food is high nitrogen, to help with leaf production.

Mulberry

This is the second season for this little "Illinois Everbearing" mulberry tree. I pruned it back this winter to develop low scaffold branches, then one branch developed rust so I removed that one too.

Despite that this is only the 2nd season for this tree, the new little branches have the beginnings of mulberries at each new leaf node. That's very cool. I think it will be easy to maintain this tree at a small "Backyard Orchard Culture" size with judicious pruning. It will be fun to eat some mulberries this year.

This tree has interesting leaves. I like that.

If they are good, mulberries will be a great backyard crop. Mulberries are too tender to transport to grocery stores, so the only way to get them is to grow your own. In that way, they are like figs, which can be transported only if picked so early they taste awful and turn people off from figs, or transported dried or newtonized.

Peaches and peach leaf curl.

Bummer. Leaf curl was a mess this year. As noted earlier, I didn't cover them for the winter. This is the result. Damn. I did try Copper dormant spray. I don't think it did any good at all.


I think the tree will survive. This one set a lot of fruit. Today I pruned to one fruit per little branch. New leaves should start filling in now that weather is warmer. If it kills the tree, I won't mind too much - dig it out and see if there is a more resistant variety.

During the 2 years when I stripped of leaves in November, bunbdled the branches, and covered with plastic bags, leaf curl was minimal, almost none. That is the lesson here.

No photo but the peach-plum hybrid, TriLite was no better. The plum genes did not make it resist leaf curl. It is also a mess.