One adaption in orchids can be found among the epidendrums. The species E. falcatum retains all its weight in the thick, heavy leaves. The root system is not numerous, but s-ong enough to hold a heavy plant firmly in its place on a tree. The pseudobulbs are merely short stems which support the long, spears-lriaped leaves which, rough and hard, will withstand a harsh environment. They are the main source of food supply for the plant.

The life span of a root can be one season only in orchids whose pseudobulhs arc of annual duration or the roots may live for several years, their life span related to the state of the pseudobulbs they are supporting. When leaves are eventually shed, that pseudobulb has no further use for roots, and they will die naturally.

Nevertheless their culture remains specialised, and their roots are all important to them. They do not take kindly to pot culture and should be accommodated on hark. Pieces of rough bark are ideal, as their extensive fine root system will take advantage of every crevice, the roots hugging the bark as well as growing freely in the air.

What’s small, has shiny bright red wings, a black head and legs and is capable of destroying a lot of ornamental plants? It’s the red lily beetle and it’s the terror of many gardeners worldwide.

Also known as the lily leaf beetle, this small insect is notorious in areas where lilies are cultivated. First seen in Montreal, the red lily beetle has spread throughout Canada and in some parts of the United States.

“They are often confused with the cardinal beetles since they also have a black underside and wings that are spotless and red in color. However, lily leaf beetles have wings that are shinier with tiny dimples on them. They are more rounded in shape compared to the dull, narrow, flattened and elongated cardinal beetle,” according to the editors of Wikipedia.

“Another difference between the two is their food preference. Lily leaf beetles are herbivores and are usually found on lily plants eating their leaves whereas cardinal beetles are usually found on tree barks and flowers and feed on flying insects. Lastly, the cardinal beetle has comb-like antennae,” they added.

There are various grades of polythene sheeting for fixing to the glazing bars with drawings pins or a stapler. For an aluminium house there are specially-designed clips. A totally sealed greenhouse will give the grower a fresh crop of problems. Condensation will build up on the polythene and reduce the light drastically in the winter when every bit of light is of benefit.

It should be placed near the floor, below the plants, to allow the cool vapour to reach the plants standing above. Within a few weeks of introducing a humidifex into the greenhouse or home you should see a noticeable increase in aerial root activity on your orchids.

This material can be fixed in the same way as polythene, but because it is full of minute holes it is able to breathe which prevents condensation and drip. Neither does it cut too much light from the plants. The netting is easily obtainable from garden centres. It can be taken down in summer and stored for the following winter. As it does not tear easily, it should last for several seasons.

The heater is the most important single piece of equipment in the orchid house. The choice of equipment is wide, from the old- fashioned coal or coke fired boilers with hot water pipes, which can be fired by gas, either bottled or mains, or oil from a reservoir tank to the most modern, clean and efficient electric heaters.

The main benefit of a hot water system is that if anything goes wrong, and the fire goes out, you are left with a large reserve of hot water which will keep hot for many hours giving time to rectify the fault.

Although reliable, this equipment is expensive to install. The most popular form of heating is by electricity, either tubular, fitted along the walls beneath the staging, or the electric fan heater usually placed on the floor. This produces a current of warm air which circulates evenly throughout the greenhouse, thus ensuring that there are no cold spots.

The orchids live behind plate glass in an environment where the humidity, light and temperature are all controlled. A time clock measures the difference between night and day to ensure that the plants receive the right amount of artificial light every twenty-four hours and that the temperature rises and falls in sequence with the lights.

The lycastes are a relatively small, but influential, natural genus of medium-size plants. They have had a great impact on the related anguloas with which they will readily interbreed to produce some of the most showy artificial hybrids.

The majority of the flowers are typically triangular, the shape formed by the widely spread sepals that frame the cupped petals and lip. When crossed with the tulipshaped anguloas, the superb, large, openflowered angulocastes are produced, which have done much to promote this alliance. Although the majority of the species within the lycastes and anguloas are of pale colouring, the rosy-red varieties of Lycaste skinneri have emphasized rich colours in hybrids such as L. Wyld Fire.

The largest flower in the genus is that of M. acrura, which measures 30cm (12in) or more vertically from top to bottom. This impressive length arises because of the long, tapering sepals. These evergreen epiphytic, or occasionally lithophytic, orchids inhabit cool, shady and moist areas of forest woodland high in the Andes of South America.

Wheelie bins have becomeare a necessary, but ugly, part of waste disposal in our homes. They are very useful but dont exactly look appealing, especially the bigger bins. How then, can you camouflage this necessary eyesore in between collection days? Here, we will discuss a number of effective ways to store a wheelie bin.

Number One, the portable screen.

The portable screen is a relatively inexpensive solution to this unsightly problem. They can be bought from garden centres or hardware stores and come in a selection of materials. A popular one is the bamboo screen that can double as a dividing wall in a garden: others are constructed of expanding trellis made from either wood or pvc slats.

Because they are portable, these screens can be moved to different places around the garden and can also be used to disguise other essential items in the garden that you dont want people to see. They are also a great idea for people who are renting: the screen can move with you to your new address.

Next, a permanent screen.

Question: Would you recommend a good mulch for azaleas and camellias one that will hold moisture, aid in aeration, promote growth and keep the soil acid? Texas.

A mixture of sawdust, or better still, shavings from the planing mill and rotted barnyard manure using about equal parts of each makes an ideal mulch for azaleas and camellias. For appearances a coating of peat moss might be put over this mulch to change it from an almost white color to a dark brown.

Question: Our land is heavy clay. What can I do, or what kind of soil could I mix with this clay to get better results from my gardening? Michigan.

Heavy clay soil is excellent soil but the soil particles are so small they tend to run together and make the ground very hard to work. To improve clay for gardening, first spade or till the ground in the late fall or early spring, as deep as possible. Leave it rough for a time so that freezing and thawing can break it down.

Plums need soil with a pH of 6.0 to 8.0. Buy standard trees 3 to 6 feet tall, and dwarf trees 3 to 4 feet tall. Japanese and Japanese-American hybrids begin to bear two to four years after planting; European and damson plums begin to bear three to five years after planting. In Zones 4 and 5, plant plum trees in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked; they should be planted during the fall or winter.

Cattleyas form part of a huge alliance comprising many other related orchids, the best known of the natural genera being Laelia, Brassavola, Sophronitis and Encyclia. These, and others, have been widely interbred for nearly 200 years to produce the colossal range of variously sized flowers that is available. The species in the alliance originate from Central and South America, and in the genus Cattleya there are about 50 species. Most of these are rare in the wild and are found in cultivation in specialist collections, where they have been raised in nurseries from selected clones. Hybrids can be counted in their thousands, and range from miniature plants containing species of the diminutive Sophronitis, mostly with brightly coloured flowers in orange, yellow and red, to the large, frilled excesses of the Brassavola crosses. The most well known of these man-made hybrids are Sophrolaeliocattleya, Brassolaehocattleya and Laeliocattleya.

Easy-to-Grow House Plants

A lot of indoor plants are popular for the beautiful foliage and therefore have great decorative value through the different seasons. The plants discussed here are very easy to grow and will do great in your home, office or shop, all you need to do is provide a bit of love and care.

Ficus,philodendron and ivy of any kind are all very attractive and easy to grow options.

For wall or pillar covering, plants with a climbing nature and those with skinny, long shoots which need support are quite suitable for adorning your home. Some plants are grown for the foliage alone and others for the beauty of the leaves.

The plants listed on the following list have become common and popular because they can withstand dry conditions and can withstand any environment quite well.

Asparagus plumosus

The plant above, has dark green, fern-line foliage on very delicate, wiry stems that vine with support and grows several feet long. It should not be confused with the Asparagus plumosus nanus, which is smaller and more compact and not a climber.

Cissus

The dendrobiums comprise an enormous genus and their growth is extremely varied to suit all environments. A somewhat unusual species is D. cunninghami, which is adapted to the temperate conditions of New Zealand.

Flower spikes are produced at regular intervals from the axils of the young leaves. Aerial roots are also made at intervals from the opposite side to the leaf, lower down on the plant.

No part of the plant is soft, the roots arc thin and wiry, the leaves hard, almost rough to the touch. Thus the plant is able to stand a severe climate, at the same time capable of extracting what little moisture there is available through its foliage.

The thin, diminutive pseudobulbs carry little food reserves and would not sustain the plant through any lengthy period of drought, although in extreme seasons the soft leaves would quickly be shed to help the plant.

The leaves of D. cunninghami are far more important to it than the roots or the pscudobulbs, both of which appear very meagre in their usefulness to the plant. -There are numerous miniature orchids found throughout the world which deserve more attention. They are every bit as beautiful as their Larger counterparts although a magnifying glass is helpful to see this.