Friday, June 2, 2023

Orchids


I updated my computer two nights ago and it is now giving me FITS. Every time I close the browser, I get logged out of everything. I don't want to have to log in to Blogger every frickin' time I make a comment or write a post, and I don't want to log in to the New York Times every time I want to read the paper. Why won't it keep me logged in as it did before?

AAAAAAAAAAARGH!

I'm sure it's something in settings. I'll experiment.

Ah, technology.


Here's a look at some of our orchids, which are blooming up a storm now.


Although they're blooming well, a few of them don't seem to be doing all that well long-term. Some of the plants have only one or two leaves, and they've definitely struggled with scale (a common plant pest, which I've been combatting in various ways) and some other problems.



So who knows what the future holds? A few of them are six or seven years old, and some are rescues I pulled from the trash years ago, so maybe they've simply lived their lives. We'll see how they bounce back when the blooms fade and the plants can focus on their own survival rather than on reproduction.


At least we got flowers out of this one (above) which is my favorite and which hasn't bloomed the last couple of years.

30 comments:

River said...

When you log in is there an option to "save" so you don't have to keep doing it? I haven't logged in for years now. Only when I first turn it on each day I have to enter my password, but not for all the blogs etc.

River said...

The orchids are lovely, my mum was a big fan, I carried orchids at my wedding just to please her.

Andrew said...

Second and third are my favourites but the last is nice too.
I was have the same problem but only with The Guardian. I contacted them and it was suggested I bring up a list of cookies and delete all those related to The Guardian. Voila, it worked and I haven't had a problem since. So maybe deleting all cookies might help? Just a thought.

Frances said...

Your orchids are beautiful. I have only got 3 in flower at the moment.

Beth Reed said...

Ohhh your orchids are just beautiful.

When you figure out the settings and are still able to stay logged in, let me know. I have the same problem for a few different sites that I go to.

One of my issues is Blogger. I always have to log in repeatedly and if I visit another blog then I have to locate all the motorcycles or light signals or crosswalks. That becomes so frustrating.
I never had to do that, but I do with all blogs I visit and sometimes I am lazy and just close out of it until I have the time to actually mess with it and with my glaucoma and eye issues, I have trouble making out certain things. The crosswalks are the hardest.

Have a great day!

Michael said...

Hi Steve. I have been absent from the blogosphere for a bit of time as I was preparing for retirement, which is officially a thing now as my last day in the classroom was last Friday. I got an orchid as a gift from one of my students, and I have no idea how to take care of it! They seem to be finicky from what I can gather and I am worried that I am going to kill it. I will do my best however. Your photos of the orchids have inspired me to be a good plant father!

Moving with Mitchell said...

Scale, the bane of my existence in recent years. I hate to do so, but I poison the soil in our desert roses once a week to keep the scale in check. They're in pots, so I don't worry about the poison leeching into the soil all around. But I hate to use it. One thing I've been told is to keep plants with scale far away from others because the scale migrates. Do you know if that's true? Meanwhile, my two orchids are thriving again with leaves and roots -- but not with flowers. Still, they're nice to look at. Yours are amazing.

Technology: I consider myself an expert end user plus a little knowledge on the hardware side. Most days I want to bang my head against the walls.

Peter said...

I had to give up my orchids when I moved and I do miss them. As to having "lived their lives" I had one that was over twenty years old and still bloomed every year. Thanks for the beautiful pictures.
Cheers

Tasker Dunham said...

I have never had orchids, but yours are certainly putting on a good show.

Bob said...

Beautiful orchids.
It's enough to make you forget about computer issues???

Ms. Moon said...

Oh dear. Technology. I am too old for this world, I think. I just updated and so far, so good.
As to orchids- yours are beautiful. You are obviously good at growing and maintaining them. I am not. I currently have some sort of icky pest on mine so I just set them outside and said, "Root hog or die."
They will die.

Ellen D. said...

Amazing how many different orchids you have blooming all at the same time! Well done, Steve! You obviously know what you are doing!

Marcia LaRue said...

My little purple orchid is just now starting to lose its blooms! The blooms have lasted since early February when they were first setting on. It's the longest the blooms have lasted!
I have 3 beautiful artificial orchids that absolutely look real! No watering, no dying!
I love ALL of your orchids, but that last one is really a stunner! Wow!

Kelly said...

The update might have set it to clear your cache every time you shut down. I'd check that first.

Those orchids are stunning!

NewRobin13 said...

I've read all the comments here and now I'm looking forward to reading if you've found a way to stay logged in. I purposefully and regularly clear cookies from my browser, which if I'm not careful could log me out of sites.
I still have my languishing nearly 30 year old orchid. It has the same two leaves it's had forever and has only bloomed once in the past 10 years.

Red said...

You have an impressive orchid collection.

Boud said...

That last orchid is spectacular! About logging issues, I've been very lucky. Up to now..

Debby said...

Those are so gorgeous.

Argh to technology.

jenny_o said...

That is quite a variety of gorgeous orchids. I didn't know there were so many available to the home gardener. In my childhood, there was a young couple who moved to our village from the US (it was at the time of the Vietnam War, so you can guess why). They were both teachers but they also grew orchids in a greenhouse. I wish I had taken more interest at the time, but I was only a young teen!

Margaret said...

Getting "updated" (screwed over more like) or having to buy a new computer is a lesson in frustration and nothing working right--or the way it did before. Hope you can figure it out. I can't decide if I like the last one best or the second or third ones. For sure, I prefer multi-colored orchids with designs on the petals. I couldn't grow one to save my life so I'll enjoy yours from afar!

Allison said...

Fabulous orchids! You are truly the plant whisperer to have them rebloom. For me, they're annuals.

Sharon said...

These are simply spectacular. I can't tell you how impressed I am that you get such gorgeous blooms from these very finicky plants. At least they seem finicky to me.
I'm reminded of an episode of Midsomer Murders about a woman who traded in very rare and illegally acquired orchids. Several murders were involved, of course.

Ed said...

You are giving my MIL a run for her money. She has "rescued" probably a dozen or more orchids that would have been thrown out by the church and brought them home and revived them. Like yours, they are blooming up a storm right now. I've never been able to keep one alive so she evidently knows something I don't.

Catalyst said...

Your orchids are beautiful.

As for the computer snags, I'm sure you'll have it figured out quickly.

John Going Gently said...

You have a fine and healthy collection
The sign of green fingers someone who can get orchids to flourish

ellen abbott said...

you certainly have the touch it seems to me get them to bloom so beautifully.

Steve Reed said...

River: I tried the "save" option. It didn't work until I cleared the cookies. THEN it worked.

Andrew: Yes! Thanks so much for the suggestion. I did this and it worked.

Frances: They don't all bloom every year. For some reason we've got a busy year this time around!

Beth: Ugh! I hate those crosswalks and mountains and motorcycles! So frustrating, even for those of us with not-too-terrible vision.

Michael: I've never found them finicky, to be honest. A lot of times orchids from chain stores are not really grown to survive past the first flowering, so some of your experience may not really be YOU but the quality of your plants. Having said that, I'd put it in bright, indirect light (or part sun, preferably morning) and water it once a week. Let all the water run out and NEVER let it stand in water. That's my advice!

Mitchell: Mine too! I have several indoor plants with a terrible scale problem. What do you use to treat the soil?

Peter: Wow! Was it a moth orchid (like these)? I've heard they can live 10-12 years but I didn't know they'd go all the way to 20!

Tasker: They seem very happy this year for some reason?

Bob: Well, almost! :)

Ms Moon: Well, in Florida, they might be fine outside! But obviously you'd have to bring them in in the winter. I bet your pest is scale. It's a common orchid problem.

Ellen D: I think the secret is to not give them too much care. People tend to smother them with attention and they like to be left alone. Having said that, a few of mine are struggling and I feel like I may lose a few soon.

Marcia: I can definitely see the appeal of the artificial ones! LOL

Kelly: I deleted the cookies for the affected sites and that seemed to work. Maybe the update couldn't read the old cookies and their presence prevented the downloading of new ones? No idea.

Robin: Yeah, that's the downside of clearing cookies. It will log you out. So make sure you have all your passwords saved somewhere!

Red: They're having a good year!

Boud: Luck can change, alas. :/

Debby: Thanks! And yes.

Jenny-O: Years ago fewer people grew orchids and they were harder to get. Nowadays we can buy them in any old Lowe's or supermarket! But as I told Michael above, some of those plants aren't really bred to last.

Margaret: Don't be so sure! For years I believed I couldn't grow them either!

Allison: Many people treat them that way and, to be honest, florists often grow them with that in mind. They aren't always made to live long-term.

Sharon: Did you ever read the book "The Orchid Thief"? It's fantastic and shows the degree of obsession some people have over rare orchids.

Ed: The secret is not to over-care for them. Just water them once a week, keep them in bright indirect light or part sun, away from drafts, and don't ever let them sit in water. That's my technique anyway!

Catalyst: Yes, I worked it out, thanks to Andrew and others here!

John: It's funny that they have a reputation for being so fussy. Moth orchids (like these) really aren't hard to care for. I think other varieties of orchid, like Cattleyas, are, though.

Ellen: I just wish some of them had more leaves. I think I watered them too much over winter. I may need to cut back on wintertime watering.

Moving with Mitchell said...

Steve, for us, getting rid of the scale seems impossible. We use cotton swabs to clean the bugs off the stems and leaves when we see them. And every week when I water them I add to the water what translates to insecticide-miticide concentrate. That has been what's made the difference in my success with the desert roses. I've read you can unpot them, throw away all the soil, wash the roots and base of the plant, and repot. But there's no guarantee and that sounds like a huge mess and a risk (in my hands) to the plant. We had an 8-foot-tall cactus with scale. We cleaned it regularly. The idea of trying to unpot it and do all that was too much to take on and we finally had to say good-bye.

Jeanie said...

They're gorgeous and you certainly do better at them than I would!

The Padre said...

Like WoW