"Shirley Lindsay... and her husband, Tony, moved... in 2001, leaving St. Louis so that Tony could take a job in Winston-Salem...
She had the movers carefully crate up and truck her potted citrus trees, but the orchids were not getting out of her sight. As a result, Tony made the trip straddling one plant with his feet and holding another in his lap. The move would prove to be a good one for both plants and gardener, because their new home came to be Lindsay's sunroom. Located on a second floor and jutting out from the rest of the house, the sunroom is flooded with natural southern light, making even this February day bright and inviting. ... Orchids are Lindsay's true love... Lindsay says she has begun to tire of the Phalaenopsis... Lindsay likes to use clay pots for her orchids. She feels she can better monitor them and that the roots can breathe better than in plastic. Most of her collection comes from Seagrove orchids, and Lindsay uses a mix that Seagrove came up with that includes fine bark, large fiber perlite, charcoal and expanded natural slate. She usually repots the Phalenopsis every two years, and others according to when growth indicates the need. She uses filtered water from the grocery store, being concerned about dissolved salts and other impurities found in tap water. After she has soaked the pots thoroughly, she removes them and applies a dilute fertilizer solution until it washes through. The plants are misted once a day to increase humidity and an overhead fan helps with air circulation... An important part of their culture is the annual trip outside to summer in the warm weather. Lindsay keeps her plants outdoors until temperatures get into the 40s" article URL : http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149193252741&path=!living&s=1037645509005 ************ Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
