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I sometimes use a non-ionic wetting agent/detergent with my feed (Growth Tech). I add just enough to give a "short lived" foam to the final mix when I shake it up. I've noticed that with some pots the watering runs through the medium leaving areas unwet even if I flood the top with enough to wet...

Could this have something to do with it ? Are these researchers just discovering what us folk here have known for some time ? https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-personal-renaissance/201710/surprising-way-deal-stress

I've decided to give some details here as one of the most frustrating things has been accessing information. As I've lost functionality of the manual functions on my basic camera the few photos I share are of poor quality ... hopefully I can fix this in updates to this thread. About 7 or 8...

Three weeks ago I plated out some neo seeds and had a spare flask of my homemade germination medium. I also had some seeds from a bullenianum which I didn't think would be viable but I sowed them anyway. I put the bullenianum flask in an opaque black plastic bag in the propagator along side...

Some may find this recent publication interesting There have been queries in the past here on ST about the possible effect of serpentine minerology on endemic paphs and this paper provides some answers. Ecology of Paphiopedilum rothschildianum at the type locality in Kinabalu Park (Sabah...

I'm getting things together for my third attempt at DIY seed sowing after last year's bust. A few days after reading TyroneGenades query on coconut water I noticed that a local shop that sells these. In the meantime I have been reading as much as I can about the different media and making...

I'm setting up to have another go at orchid seed sowing, this time with a Neofinetia cross. I've heard that they can be a bit tricky. I've ordered a medium recommended for Vandas and related genera called SBL-A, but I thought I'd experiment with a few home made recipes just for a bit of fun...

I've got these yet again. My first experience with these was a few years back when I noticed that my some of my neofinetia's had missing root tips and my first thought was mechanical damage (aka me). On closer inspection I discovered that the root tips had been eaten off up to where the vellum...

I've spent many hours going through the fertiliser threads here, and I'd like to thank all the contributors to these discussions as I learned a lot. ST is simply the best ! However, IMO there is one thing (almost) missing from the fert discussions and that is Sulphur. We talk about how much...

I haven't posted for a long time, but have been more or less keeping up with fertilizer discussions in "lurking mode". I have two fertiliser queries which I will post as two separate threads. So this is the first one. Does anyone here know of any preservatives that can be used with liquid...

I was really disappointed when the plant I got as sangii v ayubianum bloomed out as this. I could tell from the bud before it opened that is was not a sangii. If this is really a species the best guess I can make is P. schoseri ? SpUnknown by ferridex, on Flickr SpUnknown2 by ferridex...

Nearly all my neo's that are mature enough to bloom have bloomed this year... the exceptions being Senzai and Ryokuhou. Here are some of my favourites, all of which I've posted here before. Kokakouden A group photo showing a comparison of the larger flowers of Kokkoden (left) and Seikai...

From what I can find out humic (and fulvic) acid preparations sold in the plant food trade are solubilised from leonardite by treatment with potassium hydroxide, i.e. solutions are likely to be potassium humates. Does anyone know more ? Does this mean humic acid preparations should be avoided...

I got this plant some years ago when my interest in vini's was greater than it is now. This poor plant has been neglected but refuses die and flowers every year. The first pic is from two years ago. This year it has flowered smaller, darker and with a relatively smaller synsepal. The label...

Diaphananthe caffra When I look at the tiny flowers of this species I see green flies hiding in snow flakes ! You can also see the nectar in the spurs !

I bought this at the London Orchid Show in March 2010. It was an impulsive buy as I wasn't that convinced I liked this species. However with two flowers on it's first blooming and an apparent willingness to clump up, this little plant has charmed me and I think it would look great if grown...

Last year the local Korean in London put some manjushage plants on sale. They looked like nice plants, expensive yes, but much cheaper than divisions and I suspected they were seedlings or mericlones. At the same time one of this forum's most effective enablers, Lanmark, posted his plant. I...

This one is a bit odd, ... and I nearly threw it out. I was not impressed the first time it flowered in 2007. I found an old pic of it then. This plant has grown on me over the last 4 years and this year it has put itself decidedly on my keepers list. I wanted to show the plant as well...

Here are a few more of my neos. Just a pity I cannot share the fragrance. One of the main culprits in the fragrance stakes is this one. This is the first time it has flowered. It grows like a weed (more so even than my Shutennou), has bigger than average flowers, and bright yellow-green...

When this young plant, bought as "ceramensis" begun opening it's first flower I was astonished by just how red both the pouch and the petals were. By the third day (next pic) the pouch was already greening-up and the petals had lost the initial intensity of red colour. This is reminiscent...