This may be a little late, but the first two months of the year were too eventful to pass over. January was taken up with preparation for our 22nd annual Open House. The Open House was, as always a lot of fun and even with some bad weather and a tough economy, things turned out very nicely. James Rose of Cal-Orchid was our guest for the event. This was James 17th year with us, and he always provides great plants, as well as great theater! We had some fun and we got to see many friends, old and new. Saturday evening featured snow, the first of many to come. Next up was at the Deep Cut Orchid Society Show. Again snow! Saturday was a Blizzard-Out! The show was quite nice even though Saturday was impossible with about 8”-10” of snow. Sunday a nice crowd came out. The exhibits were nicely done. For us personally, the show was tough as we divided many of our specimen plants and others were blooming out of sync for the show. It’s harder then you think to do an exhibit without a few large showpieces to display! But it is necessary to divide those big monsters every 3 years or so to keep the mix fresh. Which leads me to my next point; even though February is usually bitterly cold and dreary, it is also the beginning of the growing season. Very deceptively the sun has already gotten much stronger and your plants will respond if kept warmer (minimum 62º) and allowed to receive the extra light. Under these conditions, you can start to give your plants a weak dilution (1/4 strength) of a balanced fertilizer every other week. Remember, feeding a plant can only help it grow. So your plants should be in a healthy condition before starting your feeding program. It is the very start of the growing season, (February 15th – October 31st) so use the full season, not just a part of it by starting late!

March News

WOW! We’ve made it through, I think! We have had some interesting weather here in the northeast! Since I have written last, we’ve had 2 more major snowstorms. The snow we experienced toward the third week of February was particularly bad and dangerous. The first 8”-10” to fall was sleet and therefore extra heavy. On top of that, there was an additional 12” of snow. We were out in the storm removing the snow from chimney support wires and from electric wires. The power was out for about two hours, and we had to run our generator for that time. I must have checked ten times to make sure I had enough gasoline on hand to make it through the night in case we had to run full out for the duration or even after that. When the power came back on, we couldn’t really relax, because the winds were howling at 40 mph. and could knock out the power at any time. It’s a great feeling when you see that sunrise! Then came two days of snow removal. Life on a farm is great until you have to plow yourself out! After that, and during we continued our intense potting schedule. As I said in my last letter, it is the beginning of the growing season and we always want to take full advantage of it. We are also getting ready for the Philadelphia Flower Show. This is the oldest flower show in the U.S., and is the 2nd largest in the world. The show dates were February 28th through March 7th. Of course, we had snow! The Thursday before the show opened, provided another 8” of the stuff! Luckily, by the time the show opened for preview day on Saturday, February 27th most of the snow was out of the way, and there was no affect. As for the show itself, the displays were fantastic! Waldor Orchids had another great display, and everyone came to see the orchid garden they erected. The non-orchid displays were also out of this world. These were some of the best displays we had seen in some years, and the show received rave reviews. Even the New York Times gave a favorable review, and everyone knows how New York looks at “Philly” as a poor stepchild! Sales were good and steady, but the economy was a factor, as customers tried to restrain themselves. (not always successfully!) We came way happy, and relieved that by show’s end the weather was an almost spring like 50º!!! Next up for us is the SEPOS show at Longwood Gardens. The dates are March 26th through March 28th. We hope to see you all there! Remember, keep potting and feeding to take advantage of the full growing season. Also remember to look for those annoying pests; aphids, mealy bug scale and thrips, especially if you want to display in the shows. See you next month.