Chad's Musings

Third snowiest winter in Chicago

We are getting near the 80+ inches from the 1977-78 and 1978-79 winters. With last night’s snow, we are at 79.1″ of snow. Last night’s snow was evil as it’s heavy wet snow. So diabolical that it sticks to the shovel. We lost one big branch on our smokebush and the evergreen in the front of the house is bent in half.

Here’s a graph of annual snowfall in Chicago.

http://goo.gl/BsoxYH

Orchid growing tips

I mentioned on some of my posts with orchid photos, that I would share some orchid growing tips from my wife. I also mentioned that most of the orchids are on a rack with a tray underneath. I think the photo below is much easier to understand. The orchids are never sitting in water or over watered. However, the evaporating “run-off” helps the roots pick up more moisture. We prefer bark over moss, in terms of potting material. The south wall is essentially all glass and there is a huge skylight. However, your orchids can still do well without remodeling your house ;-). Sorry that the label on the fertilizer is in bad shape but you can order it here: http://goo.gl/bWaeSU

We get most if not all of our supplies at Orchids by Hausermann in Villa Park, IL

https://www.orchidsbyhausermann.com/care.htm

Good luck.