Explore Florida Native Orchids Growing in the South Florida Swamps

[@patriciawang9607]

Wow! Thank you for sharing.

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Our pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@dianepowell5804]

Amazing!My grandmother took me for walks in the woods and showed me lady slippers and jack in the pulpits.I lost a collection of orchids because of scale😩Hope the girls are feeling better!

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

What wonderful memories you must have with your grandmother. My Grams was such a role model to me growing up and she seriously fueled the passion I have with these plants. I miss her everyday. I'm sorry about your orchid collection--Scale is truly evil. The girls are thankfully on the mend! Thank you so much for watching!

[@emmanuelV37]

Such an awesome video!! I loves seeing all those Florida native orchids in their natural habitat!! Amazing!! It's horrible about that scale though! Also, hope Katherine and kiddos get better soon!!

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thanks, Emmanuel! So happy to hear you enjoyed this video. You definitely need to hike and see the native orchids! It’s magical 🤩

[@newmanmansell760]

Thanks for taking notes on the orchid population🙏😌Hopefully the cyrtopodiumcyrtopodiums that are left can manage and set seeds, and a natural predator of the scale insects will evolve🙏

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Always a pleasure and happy to hike through the swamps anytime! Love your positivity and speaking in faith. Hopefully a new population will establish soon. Thank you so much for watching!

[@stpetebackyardorchids]

I wonder if the wet winter made them vulnerable to the scale? So sad to see this, but it’s good for more of us to see it! Bravo!

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

That was my theory also! Glad to hear a second opinion and I'm happy to hear you enjoyed this video. Thank you so much for watching!

[@hannahespy6234]

So sad! But thank you for this video.

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

It really is sad! 😢 Thank you for watching!

[@trishbronk]

Thank you so much for sharing this video! Do you think I would be able to observe the Cyrtopodium at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park?

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thank YOU for watching, Trish! 💚 It’s possible that you could find some there, but they’re way off the beaten path and deep into the swamp. Lots of bushwhacking and swamp walking.

[@lethargicken7451]

What potting mix do you use with your punctatum? Small bark?

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

We use a mixture of peat moss, tree fern, cocoa husk, bark, charcoal, and lava rock.

[@jomo9454]

This is killing one of my cattleyas and killed an oncidium. They seem to spread very slowly but what's really insidious about them is that they can slide under the onion skin part of the sheaths and they go into those little nooks and crannies, less on the leaf surfaces. This is the first year I've seen that and it may be that the unusually wet and not unusually cold but cold for unusually long duration (even now but I know I'll wish it back in a couple weeks) has weakened the plants so they have no defenses. They're interesting to see, it looks like a scale but with dozens of woolly aphids surrounding them. The scale is the female, and the males look like woolly aphids, and they're surrounding the female to help give her more babies 😞

[@jomo9454]

AOS has a short video about the boisduval scale - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mp7LqZ9rpJiNbbM - they seem pretty nasty. I hope I can get rid of them easily!

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thanks for the comment. Boisduval scale is about the only scale we run into at home in our collection. Basting the majority off with the hose and then regular applications of Orthene mixed with Bifenthrin really works well to eliminate them. If the orthene becomes less effective over time, rotating it with something like Sarafi (dinotefuran) or Imidicloprid will make short work of them.

[@PC-zg3eo]

That’s so sad! Boisduval scale is so evil. I hope Katherine and the children are doing better.

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

It really is! Very disheartening. Thank you for your kind words! The girls are definitely on the mend. 🙌🏼

[@bibicheknauf4163]

Obviously you are not afraid of the alligators 😱

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

Thankfully the wild ones keep their distance!

[@bibicheknauf4163]

@@IngramOrchidsandMore 🤞🏻

[@yolantalachance2779]

😞😞

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

I know! So sad 😭

[@tomfurmby88]

real shame mate. I was wondering if it was a native problem but you answered that later on saying no it's imported by people. So then you have to ask where did it come from. I'm probably a bit over the top with my approach but I use 70% alcohol to disinfect my hands between touching different plants. Just like during covid we were encouraged to disinfect our hands after touching a door handle or shaking hands. I know I am a minority but when a plant has pests I believe there are far more microscopic babies crawling all over we can't see and then we touch it and possibly pick one up on our hands. It's probably not that common but Nelson gave me that tip actually. He carries a hand sanitizing bottle around with him and does the same after touching other people's plants. It's become a habit for me now.

[@IngramOrchidsandMore]

We don’t think you’re over the top at all with this approach. In fact, it’s safe plant handling etiquette. Sometimes, we all need to go back to the basics and wash our hands well too. Kathryn and I sanitize our hands often when moving from one plant to the next-especially if we’re working with the plant in depth. Keep up the great work, Tom!