Balance in the Universe

[kmarch]

Well it was bound to all balance out in the end. I'd been luck enough to have some of my orchids blooming like mad this spring so it should stand to reason that others would sit back and take it easy this year. Last year my Masd. Red Star x Kara's Delight had 7 flowers. This year it's playing it cool and has only one flower. To be fair though it's a good flower. Here it is:

[Anton]

Can you feel my jealousy ?

[kmarch]

no i can't feel anything right now because one of our stupid cats just bit the inflorescence off my Gongora truncata i had only waited a year for the plant to bloom and it was only about a week from blooming i'm so furious i can hardly speak

[cupcake]

What a beautiful colour, one of my faves! The shape is just SO cool!

[Anton]

No one ever listens to me..............

Cats and orchids don't mix..............

Cats love orchids, why I don't know, but they seem drwan to them, probably due to jealousy.

[pikevi]

What a symmetry, kmarch!

I am sorry about the other plant. I hope the damage is not too severe.

[chefatplay]

Oh Kevin, how beautiful and how sad. We wait, and wait, and wait, so patiently tending to our future beauties..... and a c a t ends it for another year Where's the justice

[BillC]

Kevin, I have to agree with Anton. Keep the orchids, present the cat to a good home. This equation equals happiness for the orchid grower, and happiness for the good home. There is always another alternative, make it impossible for the cat to invade the orchid space.

Bill

[adespo]

That bloom is unbelivable. WOW! I am still new and most of my orchids are babys so its nice to see something like that and hopefully have blooms as beautiful as that to look forward to! So sorry about your other flower.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Before we moved to coyote ridden Arizona, our cats would spend a half hour in the back yard munching on the most luscious of weed grasses, then several hours lounging on greenhouse benches. They became such grass gourmets that they never once disturb my orchids, of hundreds available there. Here in AZ, they have some pretty lean pickings when out for an hour or so during the middle of the day. When I have set a few orchids within reach, they have sniffed them, but a stern word seemed to be all that was needed to prevent them from a first taste. No doubt the smell wasn't all that great anyway compared to what they like. My current GH is so small, so crowded, and so noisy (fogger) that they won't go in when offered.

[slippery_biscuit]

My cat likes to sneak into the greenhouse, more so in the winter. So far all he does is hop up onto the bench and curl up for naps. Then he likes to walk around. That's the biggest problem with him. If he doesnt have a path, he'll try to make one, knocking small pots over or off the bench. Once I saw him batting a leaf, playing. Tossed him since he wasn't sleeping. I suppose I'll see what happens this winter. The first time he chomps on a bud (or anything) he loses his pass.

Bummer about the Gongora. I would like to get one of those for my collection.

[mayres]

I would concur that my cats would much rather eat a nice tasty spider plant or some wheat grass than an orchid. Give them some healthy salad mixin's and they will hopefully leave your orchids alone.

[orchid_girl]

My cat as I said before loves my pore darcenas. So far she hasn't touched my orchids but considering they are on my dining room table she won't touch them.

[orchid_girl]

By the way those flowers are gorgeous!!! I love the orange color

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

One of the reasons the cats like the greenhouse is because it is humid. On dry days when static gets to be a real problem for them, the humidity kills the static. I am planning on an evaporative cooler for our home because it will be very soothing for our cats and for the house plants.