Bear one thing in mind when potting orchids: Don’t use glazed or painted earthenware pots! Though decorative, they are damaging to plant growth. They keep the compost overwatered and underaired - both fatal to orchids. Otherwise, potting orchids - except for the trick of packing osmunda - is no different from potting azaleas or begonias.

Select a clean pot several inches wider than the broadest basal width of a terrestrial orchid. Soak it for a few minutes in tepid water, then drain. Place coarse gravel, small rocks, or crocks (bits of broken pots) in the bottom third of the pot.

Add several large handfuls of compost and shape to a cone, the top of which is on a level with the lower rim of the pot. Spread the roots of the terrestrial orchid carefully and evenly around the cone, and fill with additional compost. Firm the compost lightly to settle it - never pack it - and water thoroughly. Later, water sparingly until growth is established.

Some deciduous orchids, as Calanthe vestita, lose their roots. Push their pseudobulbs into the compost just far enough to hold them erect. Other terrestrials, those without pseudobulbs such as Oncidium cavendishianum, may have to be wired or staked to the top of the compost since their leaves would rot if covered.

The first time you attempt to pot a tree orchid in osmunda you will find yourself using the least desirable words in your vocabulary. There is a definite trick in handling osmunda. Old-time growers regarded potting as the most distasteful part of orchid culture.

It was once believed that osmunda had to be packed into pots with great pressure, using special sticks as levers. If, when you lifted an orchid by its foliage, the osmunda came free from the pot your education in orchid culture was considered highly dubious

POTTING EPIPHYTES IN OSMUNDA

It is now believed that such extreme measures are not advisable. As long as osmunda stays securely in place, holding its shape when knocked out of the pot, orchids will do satisfactorily. The trick in potting with osmunda is to handle it while it is slightly damp. It is pliable then and packs more easily. When it dries out it stiffens enough to firm itself in the pot.

Here is how you go about potting epiphytes. Take enough pieces of osmunda, sometimes called “orchid peat,” to fill several pots. Soak the osmunda overnight in a pail of water. The following morning leave the pieces in a cool, dry, shady place. In the evening when you come home they should be just right for potting. They will feel soft, pliable, and somewhat damp - not wet - to your touch.

Take a clean pot at least two inches wider in diameter than the base of the orchid, soak it in tepid water for a few moments, then dry it out a bit. Soaking is not always necessary, but it helps the osmunda slide down the clay sides of the pot. Set the pot on its base and add enough gravel or crocks to fill it one-third.

Take the orchid in your left hand, the base (rhizome) resting on top of your thumb and forefinger. Smooth the roots over the back of your hand. Select a piece of osmunda as nearly conical in shape as possible. Put it beneath the base of the orchid, touching the rhizome.

Spread the roots around it. With other pieces of osmunda - slightly less in length than two-thirds the depth of the pot - cover the roots. Work outward, in a circle, until the osmunda covering the roots is a little larger in diameter than the top of the pot. Squeeze the osmunda with both hands, pressing it into the pot with a sliding motion.

Further packing is accomplished by inserting the fingers of your left hand between the osmunda and the side of the pot. In the gap so formed slip another small piece of osmunda. Turn the pot slightly and repeat the process. Keep turning, squeezing, and adding osmunda until you have to exert some pressure; then stop.

Now you can pot your orchids knowing exactly how you should go about it.



By: Jimmy Cox

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For container gardening ideas, scan the internet, the library or a bookstore. The challenge is to come up with a lovely container garden plan. There are a widespread collection of containers available for your container garden. These range in size from small-scale house-plant pots to sizeable boxes and planters. Equally varied are the materials from which they are made. These include wood, glass, clay, aluminum, bamboo, straw, plastic, fiberglass, terra cotta, tin, cast iron, zinc, copper, and brass, each with select advantages and disadvantages. What you choose will depend on availability, price, background, and attraction not to mention the characteristics of the gardening pots.

Here are some container gardening ideas. In addition to run-of-the-mill circular pots and tubs, there are modern and ultra-modern forms such as square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, and octagonal. Also eligible are old iron kitchen pots, kettles, pails, jugs, casks, vases, crocks, jam tubs, barrels and nail kegs, Japanese fish tubs, aged sinks, bathtubs, bamboo soy tubs. There are novelty containers such as driftwood, wheelbarrows, donkey carts, spinning wheels and boxes attached to a roadside mail container. There are also bird cages, decorative well heads, animal figures, and Strawberry jars. Woven baskets may be used to conceal unattractive containers. Even tar paper pots, handled by garden centers and florists are worthy if painted or veiled to upgrade their exterior. Any of these can be used in your container gardening ideas.

Where to find your container supplies? Begin with what you possess. If you explore cellars or basements, attics, garages, and sheds, you will doubtless encounter objects of interest. Old-fashioned pots and kettles, usually sold in antique shops at rural auctions or observed at old New England inns, have much attraction.

Different container garden ideas to ponder are old cookie and bean jars, pickle and other types of crocks, wash tubs, coal pails, jardinières, and ceramic bowls. For drainage, scatter a thick layer of substantial pebbles or shattered pieces of pots or bricks at the bottom and then moisten plants with care. In substantial containers, drainage material should be many inches thick. Where rainfall is hefty, be certain to keep garden containers without drainage outlets on porches, below awnings or the under sizable eaves of house. With pails and old galvanized wash tubs, holes can be easily punctured at the bottom.

Plants in containers without drainage openings stay wet longer. Some of these—crocks, jardinières and cookie jars—are massive enough to be secure against the elements in exterior container gardening.

What constitutes the perfect container for your container garden ideas? A container needs to be attractive, even if it is not an object of art. It should be sturdy and lasting and able to resist all kinds of weather. This is especially true of the substantial sizes which ofttimes continue outdoors all year around. In the North, alternate icy and thawing is a predicament in winter (and could generate cracking); in blazing climates, intensive heat, humidity, and moisture are to be considered (and could cause fading). And in semiarid areas, there is the impact of searing sun to keep your attention, another source of fading. All these things need be kept in mind when coming up with your container gardening design.

The perfect container must be vast enough to hold a sizeable quantity of soil. It should have super drainage facilities through holes or various openings at the bottom or sides. It must not rust, at least in a single season, and it should have a wide enough base to perch firmly wherever placed. Further, it needs to be heavy enough to withstand average winds. In severe storms, like hurricanes and tornadoes, movable containers can be shifted to interim safety. All of these things should be factored in when you are coming up with your container gardening ideas.

Resistance to rot is another requisite. Wooden containers—except those made of rot-resistant Redwood, Western Cedar, and Southern Red Cypress—will require treatment with a wood preservative. Except for lifelong containers, the capability to move your container garden is another quality, and sometimes a safety precaution, of portable container gardening. Sizable boxes and planters can be equipped with wheels, and garden centers have redwood tubs that perch on platforms with wheels. An opening in the platform corresponds to the hole in the tub. Sizeable containers without wheels can be pushed on iron or wooden rollers by two or more people; however, if you live in an area inclined to severe storms it is best to keep your containers small-scaled.

Smaller containers are ideal for cultivating herb container gardens. If you plan to plant an herb container garden be imaginative. Here are some container garden ideas for herbs that go great together.

* For an Italian selection try Sweet Basil, Italian Parsley, Oregano, Marjoram and Thyme.

* For a pleasing scented container use Lavender, Rose Scented Geranium, Lemon Balm, Lemon Thyme, and Pineapple Sage.

* For utterly extravagant salads try Garlic Chives, Rocket, Salad Burnet, Parsley, Celery.

* And to say “We love French Cooking!” use Tarragon, Chervil, Parsley, Chives and Sage.

Any of these will liven up your meal and please your family.

So these are just a few container gardening ideas. Get out a pad of paper and make up a container garden plot that will add to the view and conceivably even the palate.

Happy Container Gardening!

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.GardeningHerb.com and http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com To read more of her articles go to http://www.ArticleBazaar.net



By: Mary Hanna

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Bear one thing in psyche when potting orchids: Don’t use smooth or painted earthenware pots! Though decorative, they are injurious to stand expansion. They keep the droppings overwatered and underaired - both lethal to orchids. Otherwise, potting orchids - excepting for the prank of packing osmunda - is no different from potting azaleas or begonias.

Select an untainted pot some inches wider than the broadest basal width of a terrestrial orchid. Soak it for a few report in lukewarm water, then drain. Place coarse irritate, small rocks, or crocks (bits of ruined pots) in the source third of the pot.

Add several large handfuls of manure and influence to a funnel, the top of which is on a equal with the lesser rim of the pot. Spread the roots of the terrestrial orchid tenderly and evenly around the conduit, and permeate with additional droppings. Firm the dung lightly to relax it - never gang it - and water thoroughly. Later, water scarcely until swelling is established.

Some deciduous orchids, as Calanthe vestita, squander their roots. Push their pseudobulbs into the droppings just far enough to storage them stiff. Other terrestrials, those without pseudobulbs such as Oncidium cavendishianum, may have to be wired or staked to the top of the compost since their grass would rot if roofed.

The first time you shot to pot a tree orchid in osmunda you will find manually with the slightest popular lexis in your vocabulary. There is an assured deceive in treatment osmunda. Old-time growers regarded potting as the most distasteful part of orchid urbanity.

It was once said that osmunda had to be packed into pots with great load, using exclusive brushwood as levers. If, when you lifted an orchid by its foliage, the osmunda came unbound from the pot your society in orchid culture was considered very ambiguous

It is now alleged that such extremist trial are not advisable. While osmunda stays strongly in place, share its character when knocked out of the pot, orchids will do satisfactorily. The hoax in potting with osmunda is to affect it while it is faintly damp. It is malleable then and packs more clearly. When it dries out it stiffens enough to solidify itself in the pot.

Here is how you go about potting epiphytes. Take enough pieces of osmunda, sometimes called “orchid peat,” to stuff several pots. Soak the osmunda overnight in a pail of water. The next morning ditch the pieces in a cool, dry, fishy place. In the sundown when you come home they should be just right for potting. They will feel sappy, adaptable, and fairly damp - not wet - to your touch.

Take an unsoiled pot at least two inches wider in diameter than the corrupt of the orchid, steep it in moderate water for a few moments, then dry it out a bit. Soaking is not always needed, but it helps the osmunda slide down the dirt sides of the pot. Set the pot on its immoral and add enough grate or crocks to soak it one-third.

Take the orchid in your left hand, the vile (bulb) resting on top of your thumb and forefinger. Smooth the roots over the back of your hand. Select a case of osmunda as near pointed in shape as potential. Put it beneath the base of the orchid, moving the corm.

Spread the roots around it. With other pieces of osmunda - faintly less in chunk than two-thirds the power of the pot - protect the roots. Work apparent, in a sphere, until the osmunda layer the roots is a little better in diameter than the top of the pot. Squeeze the osmunda with both hands, critical it into the pot with a sliding motion.

Farther packing is accomplished by inserting the fingers of your left hand between the osmunda and the section of the pot. In the gap so twisted sneak another small piece of osmunda. Turn the pot vaguely and repeat the means. Keep rotary, squeezing, and adding osmunda until you have to exercise some bully; then break.

Now you can pot your orchids shrewd right how you should go about it.



By: Jules Sims

About the Author:

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For container gardening ideas, search the internet, the library or a bookstore. The challenge is to come up with a pleasing container garden design. There are an unlimited variety of containers available for your container garden. These range in size from small house-plant pots to large boxes and planters. Equally variable are the materials from which they are made. These include wood, glass, clay, aluminum, bamboo, straw, plastic, fiberglass, terra cotta, tin, cast iron, zinc, copper, and brass, each with certain advantages and disadvantages. What you select will depend on availability, cost, background, and appeal not to mention the characteristics of the gardening pots.

Here are some container gardening ideas. In addition to traditional circular pots and tubs, there are modern and ultra-modern forms—square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, and octagonal. Also eligible are old iron kitchen pots, kettles, pails, jugs, casks, vases, crocks, jelly tubs, barrels and nail kegs, Japanese fish tubs, old sinks, bathtubs, bamboo soy tubs. There are novelty containers such as driftwood, wheelbarrows, donkey carts, spinning wheels and boxes attached to roadside mail receptacle. There are also bird cages, decorative well heads, animal figures, and Strawberry jars. Woven baskets may be used to conceal unattractive containers. Even tar paper pots, handled by garden centers and florists, are worthwhile if painted or covered to improve their appearance. Any of these can be used in your container gardening ideas.

Where to find your container supplies? Start with what you have. If you scout cellars or basements, attics, garages, and sheds, you will doubtless encounter something interesting. Old-fashioned pots and kettles, often sold in antique shops at country auctions or seen at old New England inns, have much appeal.

Other container garden ideas are to consider old cookie and bean jars, pickle and other types of crocks, wash tubs, coal pails, jardinières, and ceramic bowls. For drainage, spread a thick layer of large pebbles or broken pieces of pots or bricks at the bottom and then water plants with care. In large containers of this kind, drainage material should be several inches thick. Where rainfall is heavy, be sure to keep garden containers without drainage outlets on porches, under awnings or the broad eaves of houses. With pails and old galvanized wash tubs, holes can be easily punctured at the bottom.

Plants in containers without drainage openings remain moist longer. Some of these—crocks, jardinières and cookie jars—are heavy enough to be secure against wind in outside container gardening.

What constitutes the ideal container for your container garden ideas? A container must be attractive, even if it is not an object of art. It should be strong and durable and able to resist all kinds of weather. This is especially true of the large sizes, which usually remain outdoors all year around. In the North, alternate freezing and thawing is a problem in winter (and could cause cracking); in tropical climates, excessive heat, humidity, and moisture are to be considered (and could cause fading). And in semiarid areas, there is the effect of scorching sun to keep in mind, another cause of fading. All these things must be kept in mind when coming up with your container gardening design.

The ideal container must be large enough to hold a substantial amount of soil. It should have good drainage facilities through holes or other openings at the bottom or sides, though this is not absolutely necessary. It must not rust, at least in a single season, and it should have a wide enough base to rest firmly wherever placed. Besides, it ought to be heavy enough to withstand average winds. In severe storms, like hurricanes and tornadoes, movable containers can be shifted to temporary safety. All of these things should be factored in when you are coming up with your container gardening ideas.

Resistance to rot is another requirement. Wooden containers—except those made of rot-resistant redwood, Western cedar, and Southern red cypress—will need to be treated with a wood preservative. Except for permanent containers, the ability to move your container garden is another feature, and sometimes a safety precaution, of portable container gardening. Large boxes and planters can be fitted with wheels, and garden centers have redwood tubs that rest on platforms with wheels. A hole in the platform corresponds to the hole in the tub. Large containers without wheels can be pushed on iron or wooden rollers by two or more persons; however, if you live in an area prone to disastrous storms it is best to keep your containers small.

Smaller containers are ideal for growing herb container gardens. If you plan to plant an herb container garden be imaginative Here are some container garden ideas for herbs that go well together.

For an Italian selection try Sweet basil, Italian parsley, Oregano, Marjoram and Thyme. For a lovely scented container use Lavender, Rose scented geranium, Lemon balm, Lemon thyme, and Pineapple sage. For really great salads try Garlic chives, Rocket, Salad burnet, Parsley, Celery. And to say “We love French Cooking!” use Tarragon, Chervil, Parsley, Chives and Sage.

Any of these will liven up your cooking and please your family.

So these are just a few container gardening ideas. Get out a pad of paper and make up a container garden design that will please the eye and maybe even the palate

Happy Container Gardening!

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.



By: Mary Hanna

About the Author:

Cure Acne