Wow, You Should Measure That Thing In Feet Not Inches!

It's Thursday so it's amaryllis update day!

I measured this beast just before it started to open. It stands at 25.5"! I'm pretty sure this is going to be the one with blooms that are a combination of red and white. The other two are up and about eight inches each. Just right!

Tony mentioned that his orchids have spiked. You can see mine under the glass (literally, it is a huge wine glass turned upside-down) just to the right of the amaryllis but I checked and it hasn't spiked. It is really healthy so I may need to start fertilizing it. They say to fertilize and water orchids weakly weekly.

I've never been able to get my orchids to spike a second time. That, I'm sure, has been due to a lack of constant humidity. I've tried all sorts of tricks, but placing it under glass has solved that problem. (Beware that some orchids also need a breeze that simulates being high in the trees of a rainforest.) The bulb portions of the growth are plump and robust...you can tell an orchid isn't getting enough humidity because they shrivel up.

I wish I had all my orchids with me but I left them with the ex when I moved. I had collected so many unusual species but ya just can't take them on a plane with you — although you can one at a time. When I was commuting to San Jose for a consulting gig, I'd fly up for the day and stop at our favorite orchid shop after my meetings and bring one home for the ex. Everyone in the airport and on the plane would be so envious that I was going to all that trouble and how lucky he was to have someone that thought of him. Then I'd get home and his level of appreciation was, how shall I say, one millimeter above a yawn.
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