Hi Brian, nice looking lemons . Yummy! My lemons are still green. Trace, your key lime looks good. I had key limes a few months ago. They are so delicious. Nice in a drink.
Brian, I can understand your being tired. I am the same. It is the time of year. We are all so busy. I still have to entertain and visit friends this week - end then gave to prepare for our trip to Toronto on the 24 th. I have been watching the forecast and there is a great potential for a major storm in the 24 th. If it looks like it will happen we have an alternative plan to drive to Toronto( 3 1/2 -4 hr drive ) on the 23 rd.
Mike I know you are very busy and I am sure you can hardly wait for your vacation. I just sat down for the first time today so many things to do.
I still have to go out in the morning to do send last minute shopping.
Cory, how are you doing.? There is so much to do to get ready for the holidays . We are looking forward to being with my son in Toronto. There will be 15 people for Christmas dinner. ,so should be fun.
Steve, Are you all ready for the holiday's ? Do you celebrate with family?
Well I must go so have a nice evening all.Maggy

Hi Maggy . It sure is beginning to look like that storm is going to happen on Christmas eve . It looks like heavy rain or freezing rain , maybe a green Christmas that hasn't happened for a while . Glad to hear you rested today your going to need it for all that fun . Looking forward to try a few of those lemons in my beer this weekend and what goes nice with beer ? Wing's lol . Have a nice night my friend . Hi Cory i go through this every year with a few scale and sooty mold at least the fruit taste great . It does not harm my trees at all so i dont worry to much about it . I will clean them in the spring . Have a great night my friend . Hi Mike , Cory and Steve . Flowers look great Trace !!!.

Brian

Brian, I cannot figure out whether we are getting that storm or not. Some say yes, other weather reports say no. We have alternative plans i case.
Wings and beer sound good for the week- end.
Have a good night. Maggy.

Hello all,

Just harvested some more of my Meyer lemons. Brian, yours look great. Trace, it's nice to see the blossoms on your Key Lime tree. I hope mine is right behind yours in blooming. All my different navel oranges, lemons, and my cocktail grapefruit have flowers and it smells wonderful when I open the door. Brian and Maggy, I hope the weather doesn't put a crimp in your holiday plans. Maggy, it is good to have a backup plan. No disappointments that way. Mike, I have a banana tree but it never seems to do that well, especially in the winter. Do your leaves always turn brown rather quickly? Do you know of anything I could do about that? I hope you do not get affected by the big storm that Brian says is coming and we may get a lot of snow. Are you planning to go anywhere on your holiday vacation or are you afraid to leave your plants? Maybe you will meet someone from one of the new clubs that lives nearby that you can help each other out with watering. I don't have anyone to help me either. I think all plant people have this problem. I hope you are getting some rest before your vacation so you don't get sick when you finally get time to relax from all your work. Steve, I still don't understand how you get into your greenhouse. Does the end open like a door or is it from the front? I think you said part of it is made from sliding doors. Do the panels slide so you can get in that way? Have a nice evening everyone.

Cory

Hi Maggy and Cory I think the big storm on Christmas eve is going to effect people who live around the Great Lakes more . Here we will be on the east side so rain Maggy you will be on the west side so you might get a major snowstorm Cory and Mikey rain and wind . I think Steve might get snow from this thing . I guess the 7 inches of snow we have on the ground is going to melt pretty quickly . Who knows the storm is still 6 day's away maybe fingers crossed the storm won't happen. Cory your Meyers look delicious it's so nice to see all our hard work pay off . It's funny most of my citrus seem to ripen around this time of year , how about yours ? How do you use your Meyers ? Cory I think about the watering problem it's not that we can find anyone to water our plants when we are away I think it's more we don't trust anyone to water properly they always seem to miss some.

Everybody have a great night .

Brian

Hi everyone

It is good to see everyone is back. Brian and Cory your Meyer lemons look great. It is always nice to get fresh produce from anything we grow. Trace; Glad to hear from you and to see that your key lime is flowering. Is this one of your seed grow plants. Hope the flowers set fruit. Maggy I am ready for the holidays. We are staying in town to see my parents 2 or 3 time. They have no memory so they will feel very special each time. How about all of you, are you ready. Mike it is good to see you are in such good spirits as everyone tells you that lights must be used on your citrus trees.

As for me this is the window from my house I have to snake through to get in and out.

Steve

This is the ladder I have to clime 7 feet down below the window opening

Steve

This post was edited by poncirusguy on Thu, Dec 18, 14 at 22:12

Steve, that is a steep climb to your greenhouse Be careful. It is nice that you will get to see you parents . It is always difficult when memory issues are present. My mother in law had cognitive decline in her last years. All the best to you Steve. Maggy

No not seed the seed grown are growing but no flowers. On seed grown. I have one seed grown Clementine that might bloom this spring. Thanks for well wishes and becareful with greenhouse Steve.
Trace

The Christmas tree.
Trace

Brian, all my fruit seem to be ripening at the same time too. I don't have that many Meyer lemons. So far I have been making lemonade with them. What do you do with yours? You are so right...we really don't trust any one with our plants.

Steve, I thought maybe you were using the window to get in. You must be in really good shape to be climbing the ladders let alone dragging those huge containers up and down them and climbing through small window openings to get to a ladder to get in. Somehow I just stopped being able to do those things a couple of years ago. I try, but the old body is just not willing these days.

Trace, I love your beautiful Christmas tree. What is the "tree"? My Key Lime is seed grown. It is a little over 3 years old. It got one flower this summer but it didn't fruit.

Where are you Mike?

Cory

Hi gang double alleluia TGIF sorry Steve . Very cold but sunny today I will take that any day over mild and cloudy . They are still for casting a huge rain storm here with lots of high wind Christmas eve into Christmas day Yuk , what about you guys ? Steve that is a pretty steep drop on the ladder but if Santa can do it I am sure you can also do it . Maggy are you ready for your big weekend of entertainment with your friends , what's you got cooking up for that ? I am sure something very yummy . Have fun my friend . Cory I have never tried lemonade from Meyers I am going to have to give that a whirl . I basically use mine for garnish's in my drinks love them in cola . Few days left to Christmas are you ready ? Mikey how is it going buddy good news Sunday we start gaining day light again ya hoo !!! I used to feel the same way about winter as you do now it doesn't bother me any longer I think it's an age thing . I find all the seasons go so fast now . 8 weeks from now the citrus are going to be in bloom and the sun will be setting alot later. I hope you enjoy your weekend my friend . Trace what a beautiful Christmas tree looks professionally decorated . We are putting ours up tonight . Hugs to everyone have a great Friday night .

Brian

Hi Brian, I will never like winter that lasts for more than a month..lol It has been cloudy 18 out of the 19 days here..It's sickening..I actually put in very bright lights in my kitchen to lift my sprits up. I am about to buy one of those sunbooth solar thingies that make you tan..lol\
How are ya buddy>>?? So good to see you and here about what's going on with you and there)
It's suppose to be in the 50's possibly 60's and pour here by Wednesday of next week and no cold in sight..But I think the polar express will be on the move once this huge storm plows into the jet stream in Canada..It will buckle and bring us the frigid temps you dream of...

Maggy, hello)). It was a very busy couple of days..I worked all day in the greenhouse and I am now beginning to see how difficult it is to even own one..I am not ready for one now..That poor guy has to deal with scale, mites, virus, and disease on a daily basis..He has to use an arsenal of natural and chemical sprays to even control it all..Then there is the dead leaves, constant repots, constant disinfecting tools and constant sweeping..I don't know if it is worth all teh work to have such a huge amount of plants..He doesn't even notice what's in flower unless he climbs his ladder and looks down, or moves a pot, or takes the time to look inch to inch in there..I point flowers out to him all the time he completely missed..Rotted pots, dead plants, some neglected and yada yada..Not for me..I like my small amount of plants and space..It's over whelming and without me, I can't see him having healthy thriving plants for long.
I repotted over 60 Phals in the past 3 weeks and everyone one of them had rotting roots in mixes more than 2 years old...Get it? I would never allow a passion to get so out of control...It is certainly teaching me the reality of having such a huge greenhouse...
Get this...You know what Neo Facata is right? I think that's how you say it..Well they can be worth over 40 dollars a pop! I had to throw away over 20 rotted ones and all the other 60 or so he has need to be repotted..
I saved three today and kept one that I know is worth 60 bucks...So many wasted beautiful plants dying because of the inability to keep up...Sad..
But then yet beautiful, for all the healthy pant I see..
On the surface, the plants are so pretty and massive, but upon a closer look, so many suffering...Goodness, it's so sad...I am also afraid to bring any home unless I disinfect myself and any plant I can take(
I hope you have a wonderful time with your family my friend...

By the way, The plastic separating would not work because I have too many orchids to give a tree a piece of real estate for itself..Great idea though if I had a much bigger greenhouse...Thanks you.

Cory, my friend Cory, here I am...Thanks for being you and so kind..Thanks for asking about me too. My mom says to give you all hugs..
I have managed to mass together more orchids for myself..lol. I have to stop, or I'll end up like my friend Bob and loosing half my collection form not keeping upi with them..I am so grateful mines is small now after being around thousands of them with so many problems and potential issues...He uses no lights by the way and all his plants still grow like crazy, although I saw a few that could use more light and less water..
You have yourself some fine looking fruit there. Nice..I just pulled off 6 lemons on mine and they were so good...There is something about Meyer Lemons squeezed onto fish))
How are your plants doing? Is the bug control working?
Bob uses 3 types of pesticides for his greenhouse..If you ever want to know, just ask). Seems to keep everything under control, but as he and many other greenhouse owners will say, they will never ever go completely away..It's the nature of the beast...
So good to see you here))

Mom is still having recurring pain in her stomach and feeling sick..I am worried..I told her to make an appoitnment...It's crazy..
She is making you guys something soon)

Steve..Wow, that is what I have to say...You actually crawl out of that? Wow...I give you credit my friend..

Tracy, nice, very nice...Colorful)

Talk to you all soon everyone..Much love

MIke

Hi Brian, We have been watching the weather and have decided to leave for Toronto on Tue. It looks like we could get quite a storm
Mike, you have been so busy . It is very sad about the greenhouse but I agree. It is not fun when you have so many plants you can't take care of them.
I am very tired tonight. Went shopping,wrapped presents, cooked for tomorrow and made dinner. I read everything you guys write and will write you tomorrow after some sleep. Hi Cory,Steve,Trace. Have a good night.
Maggy

Hi Mike, yes it can be discouraging when other things happen in your life and you don't have as much time to spend on your plants as you would like to. Even with a small collection things can get ahead of you and plants deteriorate very rapidly. I think I have the scale/mealybug under control for now but I know I have to keep a careful watch out for them. We have had a few members in our society with very large greenhouses like your friend Bob. He may even have known them as they were very active in all the local and regional societies and events. But when their or their spouses health started to fail them they could not keep up with all the work and even hire anyone to help them. Their huge collections of rare plants finally had to be dispersed or sold off before huge losses from bug and plant diseases occurred. Although their plants were very valuable, no conservatories wanted them, even as donations, as they were afraid of introducing pests and diseases into their own collections or didn't have the financial means to take care of a large collection. Maybe they would take them on with a large donation to take care of the plants for years. Often people that got them didn't take care of them, and their families couldn't hardly give the plants away let alone get a price anywhere near their supposed value. Our society rescued a few collections but usually after many of the plants were very deteriorated. It took a lot of work to bring them back to good health again and find new homes for them. It is very sad. I often get tempted to build a cool house, but I know it would be too hard to take care of any more than I have. It was pretty hard climbing the ladder to put up the bubblewrap this fall and I already have so much yard work besides to take care of by myself. So it is good you are learning from direct experience before taking on more responsibility of a larger greenhouse. It is nice to have most of your plants in one space though and not dealing with all the falling leaves and tipped over plants in your living room or bedrooms. You just have to remember your physical capability limitations and time constraints. My aunt used to warn me not to let my possessions take control of my life. She greatly downsized her possessions and lifestyle as she got older to provide more freedom in her life...not worrying that she couldn't travel because no one could take care of her plants, etc. When I built my greenhouse I didn't make it so permanent that it would cost a fortune to disassemble it if I decided to sell my house and none of the prospective buyer wanted a greenhouse. It is hard for a gardener to believe someone would not want a greenhouse, but I have seen many torn down and replaced with a pool, or patio, or house extension.
I hope this big storm that is approaching holds off so that all the people visiting their families and friends get to where they need to before the storm. Everyone looks forward to the holidays. The time is so short it is shame if people are stranded in airports, train and bus terminals and on highways. I'm glad I don't have go anywhere and that my cousin's with small children came to visit earlier before the stormy weather. We will miss them at the family party, but we will not be worrying about them travelling through a storm. Brian and Maggy, be safe. Maggy, good idea to set out earlier. If you are snowed in, you will have a nice view from your hotel room and there should be plenty of food and warmth at the hotel. Mike, are you planning to travel? Sorry to hear your mother still is not feeling well. This is not a good time to be sick and need to see a doctor. Enjoy the weekend everyone. Hope most of your shopping and wrapping is done.

Cory

Thanks all the. Christmas tree is blue spruce Cory the seed grown tree that might bloom is some kind of Clementine.
Trace

This post was edited by Tcamp30144 on Fri, Dec 19, 14 at 23:46

Good morning. It is surprising what a good sleep can do. This is such a busy time of year.
Trace ,your tree is gorgeous. So pretty. I love it.
Mike, I know how much you dislike winter. Hang in there ,after Dec. 21 we will be in the upside and moving toward spring.
I am sorry to hear your Mom is giving problem's again. It must be frustrating for her. I do hope she feels better and send my warmest wishes to her.
It is funny how Bob's greenhouse looked so good on the surface but how you discovered that things are not so healthy. It is such a shame. I hate to see any plant die from neglect. Poor man ,he must have just become overwhelmed . Those are pretty expensive plants to have to throw out. Good for you Mike for cleaning up some of the greenhouse . I read what Cory had written about the subject ,so sad. I am in agreement with keeping our collections manageable.
Cory, hope you are well. I sent you an email a few days ago and know how busy you are. After all that cooking and baking I discussed a mixer with my husband. Yesterday he ordered the Kitchenaid 600 series for me. How cool is that. I can make 14 dozen cookies at once. Wow! Thank you for suggesting it . Are you all ready for Christmas. ? There is so much to do .
You are right that sometimes unexpected things in life can put us off track.
Brian, how is your weather. It is very cold and cloudy here. I bet you are out shopping the last week- end before Christmas. Lol! Are you still buying gifts for your self. ? Hope so.
Steve,enjoy your time with your family.
Take care all. Maggy

Hi Trace and everyone. The blue spruce makes a very pretty tree. Adds color even with all the beautiful and colorful ornaments. So pretty.

Maggy, I saw your email and will respond. I am pretty busy, up and down the stairs all day and night. So glad to receive your email though. How nice to get the KA mixer. You will be very pleased with it. Do you know the color yet? You will have so much fun with it. There will be no stopping you baking and cooking now. I did without for years and am so pleased I finally bought one. I have trouble writing in that small box. My keyboard seems to lock up when I write in there. I used to blame it on my old phone but it happens with the new one too. If I go to preview it unlocks it but then I don't have the other posts to refer to so I will have to send this and go back to re-read because I forget what I wanted to say by the time I get it working again. I will be back.

Cory

Making my

Difficult Climb

Down into

Citrus fig greenhouse

Maggy, I thought I replied to your email. I will have to check to see if it may have gone into my draft box. I get a lot of interruptions so I forget things I was doing. Mike was reminding me too. I got all the adults their presents on line but now I am in big trouble if I don't get out because I didn't get any presents for the children yet and I know they are each anticipating a big bagful of stuff from me. I've still got a few day's left. I had lots of things but gave them out at Thanksgiving. It is cold and dark here again. I'm glad I have the lights in the greenhouse this year as I can go in at night if I get a chance and keep up with the maintenance then if I can't during the day. I do think it is helping my plants too. It is like evening all day long this year for weeks now. Trace, how great is that that your seed grown clementine is going to bloom. I hope you will get at least one fruit to set. I was dissapointed when my seed grown keylime did not set a fruit. Maybe this year. Mike, you still will be learning a lot in Bob's greenhouse, maybe even more than if it was perfect. Brian, it looks like rain for Christmas here, but it still is a little far off to tell. Wishing everyone well.

Cory

Steve, lolololol....
Too funny. That will surely keep you in good shape. Made my day laughing. You look like my family trying to get into our beach house after the steps were washed away. We had to tie the doors shut as there was nothing left to hold it closed. Fortunately my brother in law did the acrobatics for me and climbed in through a little window to get in to open the door from the inside and then I could just go up the ladder and in through the door. That was hard enough hoisting myself up a 30 ft ladder these days for me. Also reminds me of when I went to yoga classes too. Don't get stuck! And do be careful.

Cory :>)

Hi Cory, no worries .I understand how busy you are. I too still have troubles at times posting on the gardenweb at times. oh my goodness! I don't envy you shopping this week end for the children. I went out yesterday but only one store. The mall is crazy. We have a store called " kissed by an Olive" I love it as they sell imported olive oils and vinegars from all over the world .( you can do tasting) they also sell spices, salts organic foods etc. I bought a lot of stuff as a hostess gift for my daughter in law.
Today we had Rick's son,his wife and two kids age 3 and 18 months. They love the dogs . Now the poor dogs are exhausted and sound asleep. I made a apricot glazed ham, cheesy potato's ,vegs and homemade apple pie. It was fun to see the kids open their presents. They get so excited.
I am very happy that I am getting a large kitchen aid mixer. It will certainly make it easier next year to make cookies.bread etc. I have always done everything by hand.
Mike, how are you doing? It will soon be time to relax and take care Of yourself. Cory had a good point. Even though everything is not perfect in the greenhouse where you go you will learn so much. You know I worry about my citrus trees and orchids while we are way. I just hope we don't have a power failure. That would be the end of the trees.
Yesterday my husband was in the country seeing a client and he stopped at the greenhouse where I got my orange,lemon and lime trees. They had fresh lemons that they grew so he brought me a bag. So yummy.! Mine are still green.
Brian, are you all ready for Christmas now my friend. I am having a glass of wine, listening to Christmas music and relaxing after our dinner.
Have to start planning for our trip to Toronto. Have you heard any more about the weather forcast? I must have a look .we are actually looking forward to going early. We will have have swim in the hotel pool, take some appetizers and champagne and make a little special evening.
Steve! OMG!you have made me laugh as well. That is quite an entrance into the greenhouse. I would kills myself doing that. The pictures are priceless. Good for you . I could never get my body to do that LOL! You are amazing.
Have a great night all. Thinking of you Maggy

Steve, my goodness, way too funny!! lol..I did noticed you were in perfect shape, probably from all those push you do along the way to the greenhouse..ha
I can't imagine Brian doing that manuever after having sloppy Joes''lololol
That is quite a feet you do there, and all for the sake of your plants...I have to tell you that I have just aout given up..If it does not make it in the condition s I have time or can afford to do, so be it, let it die..
That is exactly what is happening to my Ornage Tree..It's dying back because it's way to big to support itslef on the 29 days of darkness and one stinking day of sun...
It's too big to carry into work and I just don't feel like it anymore(

Maggy and Cory..So true..I am much younger than Bob and I could never keep up with a house that big...It would kiill me and send me into the poor house...To think he spends over 5000 dolars in three months to keep it warm!
Then all that time..It's not a one or two man show for sure...
I think if he hired a group of poeple to help, it would still not be enough...
I can tell you that he truly appreciates my company and that of my dad;'s for sure..
He has thousands of labels that must be cleaned and de stickered, and my Mom does those for him..She is so sweet to want to help from afar..

Brian, what's up buddy? I know you have been busy, missing you. Did you ever get anymore snow these days?
Here it's a whopping 33 and just plain ole dark and cloudy like it's been for weeks..I know I am lacking vitiman D for sure. Time to invest in some of that..This is as bad as living in a dark cave around here..It stinks..Like I told Steve, I no longer desire to invest in lights and not do I want to take ujp prime space for a tree or two..If it does not thrive on my dark cold porch, then so be it...I'm done trying to grow anything in an area that NEEDS more sunny days than 3 a month.
It seems that my smaller trees do great in this, but my larger trees want to drop a few branches and leaves to hang on until spring..

Maggy, I hope you have a blast when you go. I think I might book a Hotel room locally with a pool and do a one night thing for me...I can't wait until Tuesday...Then I will have 13 days off...But I can't afford to let someone clean for me on the mornings, so not completely off. Off from my Full Time job, yes)
So good to see you have a good time)).They must of loved your cooking..Yum.I can attest to that!!! Thank you.
I'm glad your dogs got a good workout, it's just what the Doctor ordered..lol
Maybe you should have them do what Steve does, it might be good exercise for them too.lol
Yes, starting today, the days will start getting longer..Thank God..Then once June 21st comes ,we can kiss the long days goodbye again as fast as we can blink an eye..Seems like forever for the days to get longer, but quick for them to shorten.

Cory, exactly!! I am so afraid to bring home anything from his greenhouse, even a good mix for fear mites have gotten into there..I even wash myself off when I get home, change my clthes and shower even before I look at my plants...Now If I bring anuything home from him, I will either decontaminate it, isolate it, or wash it.
I feel bad it had to get that bad..He does not mind though..He tells me he just replaces what he looses..Shees, I would be anal and just plani ole frustrated to even loose one plant.Not for me..
I am even afraid to bid at auction now for fear some members are trying to make money on what otherwise would of been discarded plants...(
We split up one of his before the auction that made another 5 plants and he got 25 bucks a pop!!
That plant did not have bugs, but who knows at this point, at least not from what I could see. I even washed them thoroughly on my own because I wanted no one to get bugs..
If your greenhouse is even 1/2 that size, my hats off to you)
Mine is a lot of work, let along one several times bigger than that.
I did come to the conclusion that if I could afford caretakers, then I would consider a huge one.
That is why local nuseries do so well...They hire lot's of workers..If they didn't, their greenhouses would look like crap.
I hear ya about the limitations too..I have not been able to get to get on an extended vacation for years now that my collection has grown to much for anyone else to take care of.
Poor Steve, can you imagine someone like his wife or anyone else doing that manuever to take care of his plants? Sheesh.
No traveling here, although next week would of been a perfect week for an exscape to anywhere warm...
How about you? Who cares for your plants while you are away?
Thank you for the kinds words about my Mom..
You know we are going to be on the very warm side of that huge storm heading for Maggy and Brian, right?
They are talking of 60 here Christmas eve and 50 Christmas day! Winds will be howling and maybe thunder..Oh, I would much rather get that than snow. I might even take my plants out of the greenhouse that day and do a cleaning! I will be home all that day..
I will open the windows that day to the house and let the stagnant air out..
How are your orchids doing>>>??? Do you like fragrant Phals? I have a few now and I am in love with them))
I love what you had to say about not letting poissesions take over your life in which many do...Nice point..
You knwo when that has happened when you are willing to stand in line for hours waiting for a sale on a T.V at Walmart and then stampeded yourself through the door to get it! Many do..I don't get it..lol
They are willing to give up Thanksgiving dinner with family to get a deal..lol
Hey, thanks for being such a wonderful person, you are a blessing here)

Tracy...Hoping all is well with you and your plants..

Hugs to all....

MIke

Mike, That is a long post. I woke up this morning with such a sore throat .my husband had it last week. I can't believe it. Otherwise I feel o.k. But cancelled our dinner tonight with friends as I am afraid of giving it to them.
This morning I watered,fed and inspected all my trees,and orchids. Well the greenhouse looks good. No signs of bugs. My washington orange,tango,satsuma,lime and Myers are blooming. That is pretty exciting.
The orchids are a different story however. The new ones are doing o.k. And are in the greenhouse But I discovered mealy bug on two of my phalanesposis. I treated them. Then I discovered the had root rot as well. They were in moss so I took them out,soaked then in physan cut the dead roots and repotted them in a good bark mix. I really don't like moss at all. It stays so wet. They did have a couple of green roots so should do better in the bark. Once the others in moss are done blooming I will put in bark mixture as well. So hopefully they will be o.k. I think the mealy bugs were just starting.
Mike, I think a night at a hotel by yourself would be a great idea for you to relax. You have to take care of yourself . I learned a long time ago that you can't take care of snyone else if you don't take care of yourself.
Mike, I think having all those plants and replacing them when they die would cost a fortune. I could not imagine paying that much for heat either. It would be a burden rather than a joy.
Speaking of heat our hydro bill is less than it was last year for Nov. So I guess the greenhouse heater is not costing a lot. We have gas heat in the house and our stove is gas as well as hot water and the fireplace.
Mike, how is your Mom doing? It is nice that she is able to help ( from home) with the greenhouse chores. It must make her feel good.
I don't have anyone to take care of my plants when we are away. I just hope we didn't have a power failure.
We still do not know if we are getting a storm or not. At least if we do we will already be in Toronto.
Brian, are you shopping today. Hope you are not fighting the crowds .
Are you cooking Christmas dinner.? I am helping my son make a 15 lb Turkey and we are bringing a ham . Lots of food .
Cory, I hope you get a chance to finish your shopping.
Steve, don't let your wife go into the greenhouse. I could not imagine going through that window.
Have a nice day all. Maggy

This fellow from the Czech Republic posts an update of his citrus greenhouse garden every year. They are just beautiful. Copy the links to his you tube videos below. The first two are this year's video. Where it says All, these are all the holiday videos he has posted for the past several years. The last links you to still pictures of the trees and Manger scenes.

Sorry I didn't link directly, but I don't know how to do it.

I found this on the Citrus Growers Site. You may have seen it there already, but I didn't want yo to miss it if you haven't seen it.

Cory

Happy Winter Solstice!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 12:02 pm Post subject: Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Petr CZ

My new video December 2014:

http://youtu.be/hEjFWAP_81s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEjFWAP_81s&feature=youtu.be

All:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PetrBroza/videos

My new Christmas-pictures (23) from my greenhouse:
https://plus.google.com/photos/114626943566058616645/albums/6095281073739970433

Petr

Mike, I will be back to comment on your post.

Cory

I Czech-ed out the video. Very impressive setup. Much more than I could handle and well worth looking at.

Steve

Hi gang wow what a busy weekend between helping someone move into their new home and in laws from Montreal staying with us Saturday night putting up the Christmas tree and Christmas lights in the backyard I am totally exhausted . Green Christmas this year our 7 inches of snow is going to go bye bye with mid 50 temperatures and rain Christmas eve what's up with that ? Maggy how is your cold I heard you have a sore throat not fun . I have been sneezing like crazy today and have a headache . Glad to hear your trees are doing very well your going to really enjoy the blossoms . Mikey buddy what's up ? Sorry to hear your mom is not feeling well I hope she is feeling fine for Christmas . Mikey the tan bed sounds so good , we used to go tanning alot many years ago very addictive because it is sooo relaxing and you also end up with nice color . 13 days off sounds so good , I wish . It would be a good time to sneak down to Florida for a week and catch some rays . Steve great pictures lol , we love you here . Steve you make it look so easy .Cory hope you finished your shopping I know you still had lots , I still have not started I guess everyone is getting chocolates and alcohol anyways what else do you get people with already everything ? If it is going to be in the mid 50's here I can't imagine how warm it's going to be where up are . Everybody have a great night hugs hugs .

Brian

Cory, the video was awesome. I just sat down for the first time today I went to get my hair done this morning, attended to the plants in the greenhouse sprayed my orchids for mealbugs ,then I made almond bark and peppermint bark ( requested by the grandkids) then made stuffing for a 15 lb Turkey plus extra as my three grand children and my daughter in law are vegetarian. Next I have to bathe the dogs ,do a laundry and pack. Good thing we have a van as it will be full.
I hope you are getting everything done. Wish I had my new kitchen aid mixer. It will be here Dec. 30 th. My husband picked the colour. It is called licorice( black) . I would have preferred a bright colour but since he ordered it ,it is only fair that he get to have a say. I cannot complain. Imagine the cookies I can make next year.
Brian, my friend . You sound busier than I am. It seems you had a lot going on this past week - end. We had Rick's son and family Sat. But cancelled our visit with friends on Sunday. Fortunately the sore throat is gone. I really babied myself yesterday. Took tylenol, lots of fluids abc lots of rest. I was in bed by 9pm and that seemed to have helped.
It would be nice if you could go to Florida. There are always last minute deals.
Mike, hope you are not getting too tired. I know you have been busy as well. But you too will have time off and I hope you use some of it to take care of yourself. I spent some time in the greenhouse this afternoon. The orchids seem happy in there . It is very humid and I sprayed the plants today. Lots of blossoms .some pretty big lemons in there but not ripe yet. I can't wait until spring so I can look for new trees. It smells heavenly in there and I could have spent hours just enjoying it but unfortunately too much to do. We will be leaving for Toronto in the morning.
Steve, you do have a sense of humour that we appreciate. Hope your Christmas goes well.
Trace I think I told you how lovely your tree looks.
Have a great evening all. Maggy

Thankyou Cory I took the advice you gave me a couple of months ago and moved my orchid in front of the patio door and voilà flowers ya Hooo just in time for Christmas . Maggy so glad your feeling better . Have you pulled out your umbrella ? Glad you have been taking it easy . Have a great night my friends .

Brian

Hey Maggy..Have a blast for me and for you! I have always wanted to visit parts of Canada, in the summer of course))))
Mom is doing better today..She is seeing a specialist and I hope they take the steps needed to find out what it going on..
Maggy and Cory, she wants to know your favorite colors? I have no clue, but she does)

I have yet to look at the video Cory..I will when I am finally out of my work for a few days..I have so many things planned to have fun with including a hotel stay with a heated pool...Although my Work Out Club has that and a Jaccuzzi, steam room and suana..Maybe I should just plan a whole day to stay there....

Maggy, between me, Cory, you and Brian, I think we are tie for busy and always doing something..I have a feeling we all have OCD or Compulsive Behavior..lol

Steve, never saw my comments so I will pass on that..lol

Brian. what the heck? How do you do it? Put up lights? I tripped over myself yesterday trying to put up some on just one bush! Then I put the plug in end at the top instead of the bottom like an idiot..Unwrapping them to do it right I tripped and forgot the stinking extension cord...I hated it.lol
From the looks of it here, the sun will not even exist until Christmas Day! I am so tired of darkness, I feel like I live in a cave and I have no desire to do anything until I feel the sun again..I fight whether to go to the gym in weather like this all day, and then go home to sit and sleep. Oh well, days are getting longer again by 2 minutes a day..whoohoo..

It sounds like we all do just about the same things..I can tell you that we all watch for bugs and kill them as soon as we see them.lol

Brian, I know tanning is not good for us, but boy, you are not kidding when you say it's relaxing..I wonder if they giev any Vitiman D while in use? If so, I might hit one up soon..lol Maybe I will invite one of my trees to go with me for support..

Maggy, get a hold of yourself, I mean those darn mealy bugs!! They can hide in any place you would not even think..Keep it up..Once you see even one, you have to treat all the surrounding area every 4 days three times...It stinks! I can't wait to stick my trees outside and I just might when it hits 60 for 3 days!

It's raining here right now and it feels like 8 already hours ago..I just want to go home.arg

Brian, wait come back....lol

How in the world did you get a Kiki on your plant!!!????

Have you had that plant inside your home or greenhouse..I thought it impossible under dry conditions to get that to happen, let alone the roots look healthy..

How are you watering that Phal and what the heck??

MIke

Hi Mikey your so funny bring your trees in the tanning bed with you lol. Mikey about 10 years ago we almost bought a tanning bed was so close but then we became worried about finding someone to service the bed and at what cost . It's so nice to hop in a tanning bed when it's minus 20 outside nothing like it . Does your gym have tanning beds ? Mikey it's snowing here now big flakes it is so pretty just came in from taking Sugar for his walk it's so beautiful outside . Just like you they are calling for thunderstorms Christmas eve I have never seen that what gives? I would rather have a snowstorm!!!!! . Mike I had the orchid in the bathroom for 2 yrs and it never did a thing ( must have been the sloppy joe's ) Cory mentioned to me it needed a contrast in night time daytime temps so I moved it beside the patio door and wow flower's . I hope you're nice big orange tree has settled down . That's to bad you can't make a separation in your GH I am sure that would have really helped with your problem . Here is a pic of some of the lights I put up in the backyard , one tree has 600 lights . You sound good Mikey your almost on holidays good for you enjoy every minute buddy have a great night . Hugs for mom please .

Brian

Mike I had to look back at your entries and I should tell you that I don't eat sloppy joes with in 24 hours of climbing into the greenhouse.

Brian beautiful flower just in time for Christmas and new years.

Marry Christmas to everyone.

Steve

I wrote a long post and it disappeared . Now forgot what I wrote ..Brian your orchid is beautiful. wow! And your backyard lights are awesome. We haven't decorated this year as we are going away. My husband is like Mike, he gets tangled in the lights . Sounds like you had a very busy week end. With all that time off you should take a last minute vacation. Speaking of vacation, Mike I am glad to hear you are going to take some time to yourself for some relaxation. Way to go! I am glad to hear your Mom is feeling better. Seeing a specialist may help figure out what is wrong. Hugs from me . Tell her my favourite colour is red or purple.
Those mealy bugs just appeared out of no where. I only saw a few but enough to start treating. Unfortunately I will be gone for a week so hope they didn't take over when I am gone.I will spray again before leaving tomorrow.
The blossoms in the greenhouse smell so good. It is very humid in there and I put the newly potted orchids in there and they seem happy. Getting lots of experience with rotten roots ,bugs,repotting etc. Might as well jump in with both feet.
Mike I didn't know about the OCD . I like to think it doesn't apply to me. But ask my husband and he will tell you I obsess. We all certainly seem to be driven and do things with great determination. I think we have a lot of similarities for sure . I am so glad we have become friends and have so much to share.
Cory, hope you are done your shopping. Can you believd that Wed. Is Christmas Eve. I just bathed my dogs and they are here sleeping beside me. They are all tired out from running around after their bath. I was going to bed but I accidently put my clean clothes in the washer instead of the dirty ones. Now have to wait for them to wash and dry so I can pack.
My husband has a crisis at work so has to go in for awhile tomorrow. It will give me some extra time but he will want to leave as soon as he gets home.
Tomorrow night we can relax at the hotel. Have some appetizers and some champagne to take with us.
I think we need a tractor trailer to take all our stuff to Toronto.
Well must get busy again . Have a great night all. Maggy

Sorry, I will be back to write more, but my favorite colors are yellow, turquoise, peach, and light purple I think. I like all colors. Mike, you should wear yellow as it lifts your spirits and makes you feel happy. Nice light show Brian. Glad the phal bloomed and you still have some healthy babies there to pot up in spring...or leave on. I will be back to respond about previous posts later. My brain can't handle more right now. I haven't forgotten, just really busy. Mike, glad your mom is feeling a little better and hope the specialist can fix her up to feel good again. Have a good trip Maggy. I got the shopping done and now have loads to wrap plus all my brothers gifts. We will need a tractor trailer to get it all to the party too.

See you all a little later if you are still up.

Cory

Hi gang I might not get another chance to wish everyone a Happy holiday and a Merry Christmas so to everyone here on this post like Maggy , Mikey , Mom ,Cory , Steve , Tracy and people that I don't get a chance to talk too but never forget like Patty , John , Josh , Serge , Barb , Laura ,RyanLo ,Evan , please forgive me if I left your name out I am going by memory and thats well minimal these days , everyone be safe and have a funtastic Christmas holiday .

Brian

Merry Christmas to all.
Trace

Merry Christmas. Mike, Mom, Cory. Brian, Steve, Trace ,veggie girl and everyone . Hope you have a great holiday with your loved ones.
Warmest wishes Maggy

Same to to all!!! I just got in and I am afraid I will not see any of you before I get back..So much love and stay safe..

Hugs to you all)))

MIke

Mary Christmas to all.

Mike, Mom, Cory. Brian, Maggy, Trace ,veggie girl, Susan.Hope all your trips go well. I am staying home for Christmas to visit my parents. I have noticed that my in ground tangerine trees have put on about 5 feet of added up twig grow since late September. They are doing well. The potted trees have done very little.

I'll guard and keep this thread safe while you all are gone.

Steve

Hello gang!!

I absolutely know that I posted a post that took me a 1/2 to write last night, it said posted, and then I come back to see what others have said, and it is not even here!! This stinks..

I hope everyone is fine...It's been warm here and now I have to see what everyone wrote again to say anything...Sorry..

I do remember saying that your lights are beautiful Brian and thatMaggy, I hope you had a wonderful time))
Cory, I hope everything is ok with you and I hope to see you all back soon.
I have been lucky with temps in the 50's for the past few days and 80's by day without a space heater on which I found very strange....Crazy weather..

Steve, hello buddy..I wish I could see your greenhouse up close and personal...I would climb to get into it.lol

Miss you all

Mike

Merry Christmas Mike! I know how you feel about losing your post. I lost my post too. It is hard to start over. I hope you had a nice Christmas. I am catching up watering my plants after the Christmas preparation rush. This weather is great. Enjoy it while it lasts. My citrus trees are all sending out new growth and new flowers. It smells wonderful when I go out to check that the heat is working and everything is ok at night before I go to sleep. Are you getting to relax on your week off?

Cory

Good morning friends. So nice to see you all here again. Mike you must be loving this warm weather but it is about end soon I am afraid . I hope you have been able to spoil yourself.
Cory I see you are getting lots of growth in the greenhouse. Same here .
Brian I wonder if you decided to take a last minute vacation.
I hope you all had a nice Christmas with your loved ones.
We had a beautiful Christmas at my son's .the best every .unfortunately the beautiful hotel on the lake piped deteoritizer through the ventilation system and set off my asthma so we left a day early and went to Rick's daughter. They are doing major construction on their farm house and the paint,drywall.glue grout etc made me even worse and we had to cut our trip short and came home yesterday. It was unfortunate but we still feel very blessed by the love from both our families.
Steve ,you have been holding down the fort. I hope you Christmas was good .i have been thinking of you all. Even my husband has been asking "have you heard from your friends on the citrus forum,I wonder how they are? "
Warmest thoughts and wishes to you all. I will be writing you a bit later.Maggy

Cory, same to you))..

I know, I hate that..I actually wrote a huge post because I had so much to say and then previewed in and then it said posted.....I left it alone and came back the next day to see what anyone had to say and it was GONE....The thread never moved to the top telling me my post never took(

Is your weather like mine today? It's pretty warm and heavy showers, the prelude to much colder weather for the next few days..I wish it would stay above normal for weeks for a change..We are getting November weather this month.. NO freezes the last few nights either..I actually put my suffering orange tree outside for a few days and it likes it..I am tired to pushing my plants to their limits or outside their boxes at times..I wish I could just stick them outside all year and call it a day. I was not meant to live in the North, for sure.

I wonder how Maggy and Brian are doing? They have not been around for quite some time..That is a concern? Is Canada still on the maps?

It's good to see that your trees are sending new shoots without bugs...I hear what you mean when you go into the greenhouse and how good it smells..I especially love the earthy smell after I water in their, that humid smell..It reminds me of getting off the plane in the Caribbean...I wish.

I have been relaxing although they called me to work just one day today 4 hours because they could not find anyone. I will be leaving soon, starting at noon and then out by 4...I will stop at Wholefoods and the Nursery while I am out there.

I still have to clean in the early a.m. but I did get 4 days off from that..Do you think I could of slept in? No. My body wants to be up early anyways...

The figs and all the Dormant trees in the spare room are still doing good. I am happy about that. I stuck one of my Fragrant Olive trees in there and I hope it does good..I am curious...I does not like my room temps warm, that I can tell you..All the leaves on that are dropping too..Frustrating.

How are you? Are you getting rest? What's going on lately?
How's your familiy?

Many hugs and hello to Brian, Maggy, Steve, and Tracy and anyone else I might of missed)

Mike

Hi gang . It sure is nice seeing everyone back . I hope everyone had a great Christmas , it's so hard to believe it's over . Mikey how is it going buddy ? Pretty frustrating loosing your long post . I have never had that happen when I used my phone . Glad to hear you got lots of rest . I'm like you I am so used to getting up early 4.45 am for work that I am lucky if I can sleep in to 8.00 am . I just came in from watering in the GH and the sliding door came off the track , I got it back on and I used lots of tape to make sure it doesn't fall off . It's funny that after you water it smells like the Caribbean after I water it smells like one big Swamp lol . Maggy so glad you had s great time with the family . That's to bad about your asthma though . Everything went smooth here on Christmas eve and Christmas day for a change lol . Looking forward to the next 4 day weekend New Year's we have guests coming in from Montreal should be fun . It's a beautiful sunny day here but the temperature is falling like a rock . It is supposed to be sunny here all week ya hoo . Cory I hope you had a great holiday . It seems that everyone's citrus trees seem to be in bloom or growing good for you guys . Mine look very green but no new growth . The only thing going on in the GH is my kishu going into bloom . It was a very mild week here to the snow is all gone just snow bank's left . We had a white Christmas boxing day most of the snow melted . Steve I hope your Christmas went well with your parents . Glad to hear your mandarin is doing so well . Everybody's tree's are growing but mine lol . Trace hope you also had a great Christmas . Are you're citrus trees growing too ?

Brian

Yes, it's good to have most everyone back. I'm sorry you had asthma problems at the hotel Maggy. I always had trouble when I traveled for work all the time at the hotel's setting off my asthma too. I found out after a long time that many hotels have a machine they can run while you are out for a while which will take away the odors, but that won't help if they are sending a fragrance through the ventilation system. In all the ladies rooms in the department stores they now have those automatic deodorizer machines that periodically dispense a deodorant that gets my asthma going. I hate that. I can't go near the cosmetic counters either. Did you leave a complaint at the hotel? They should realize that the deodorant/air freshener will bother a lot of people. Mike, sorry your vacation got interrupted. You need the time off to relax. We had warm weather but my greenhouse never got into the 80s like yours. The sun is just too low. It was nice to have a day of sunshine though. Despite the darkness my trees are sprouting a lot of new leaves. Good thing as some were looking almost dead with no leaves since they got fried last fall. I think the night lights are helping to revive them. I thought all the mealy/scale was gone but my nephew found a few more outbreaks the other day when I was giving him a tour so I will hit everything again with the imidicloprid, much as I hate to use chemicals on my plants. Those pests just will not die. They are even resistant to the big guns it seems. I don't know where I picked these up after being pest free for a year. From the yard I guess. They can wipe out my cattleya seedlings before I know what hit them. Brian, good thing you were able to get the greenhouse door back on its track and it wasn't too cold of a day. I stopped by the local nursery today and since they plan to close the greenhouse for the rest of the winter all plants were half price. Of course I had to get a few and now have to find a place for them. I really miss it when the greenhouses close for the winter. I can't think of the names right now. One has a big fat trunk with round shiny dark green leaves.... something or other Island I think it is called, another is some kind of red colored pitcher plant, another is a topiary puppy with ivy growing around him. I think I should try to find a tiny creepy, crawly plant the will fill in his shape...the ivy is too big...any suggestions? I can't think what the 4th one is. I hope altzheimers is not setting in...I just bought it a couple of hours ago. Lol!!!! I can always count on a trip to have a look around in a greenhouse during the middle of the winter to raise my spirits. Most of the nurseries around me have been closing them during the winter though to save heating costs. Now I have to travel pretty far to get my plant fix during the dreary days. Good thing I have my own but it is always nice to see something new. Going out to check on mine for the evening now. It smells real good in there now with all the trees blooming. Good night all!

Cory