Brandal-Fetters Farm & Flora

Sorry for the last few days. I have been completing a lot of yard work, finishing projets around the house, and putting up an above ground pool. Hopefully, that will make the hot, humid Ohio summers much more bearable. I have been doing a lot of youtube watching, and I stumbled upon the catasetum orchids. They are unique because they have a platform for the pollinator to land on them, they trigger some hairs on the orchid, and boom, it shoots out a sticky pollen wad to the back of the pollinator. Pretty cool if you ask me. I'm more intrigues by the smell. I love fragrant orchids. I'm only not too keen on the bulbophyllum orchids because some of them are known to smell like fish and rutting entrails, so that is a turn-off for me. I ordered three more orchids. I know, I have too many as it is, but at least plants is a better hobby than doing drugs. am I right? I placed an order for Monnierara Millenium Witchcraft Magic, Taiwan Magic Gold, and Cycnodes Wine Delight. I am very e...

People always love seeing their branches filled with fruit, but we have to thin our fruit. There are many reasons to thing but the 2 most important are tree health and fruit size/quality. Plums are a good example of over-producing trees.Our burbank plum had hundreds of clusters with 8-12 fruits. When we look at the overall health of the tree, I notice twig blight, leaf curl, and an overall pale color to the tree.  FRUIT TREES WILL PRODUCE THEMSELVES TO DEATH...... Yes, the overproduction of little fruits robs the trees of nutrition. Now, prunus fruits will have a "June Drop" where they drop the overproduction but by now, the tree has wasted its resources. Heres what we started with .... and ideally this is closer to what we want Even then, I could thin these a little more aggressively. This allows the fruit to get large and to develop nice flavor.

Let's start our post with my latest bloom....RLC Summers Creation Not all fertilizers are created......Since Ive been keeping orchids, I have began to fine tune my watering procedures. Ive started to check the ph of my water to keep it around 5.8/6. Ive been switching around fertilizers and have found that certain fertilizers will adjust the ph of your water to 6 for you. How cool!! There is no such thing as a good or bad fertilizer. You just have to know how to use it. Quick facts, PH will effect micronutrient absorption. MiracleGro Orchid Fertilizer Now, this is not a bad product and it gets a pretty bad rap. I ha e noticed that when I add it to adjust water, it raises ph, so I have had to use more ph down with this. Better Grow Orchid Food I love this product! It pre adjusts my water to 6.0 for me at the recommended 1 teaspoon dosage. For my cattleyas and phrags, I do have to add some ph down, but not much. This has magnesium in it and does a ...

Planting bulbs, rhizomes, and tubers in the fall results in earlier blossoms. Remember, don't plant peony and iris tuber/rhizomes too deep or they will rot or not flower. 

Ohhhh Vandas....... I love the different colors, I love how they look, I love their foliage, but I do not love taking care of them. These orchids are the ones you usually see hanging up with their roots hanging out. These unique and alien like flowers are stunning, but their care is a little particular. They enjoy lots of air. These are epiphytes, so they are commonly up in trees or hanging off rocks in the wild. The fragrance these orchids can have is captivating. These orchids love high light, high humidity, and lots of fresh air. They can grow to be very large. I have seen 6 feet vandas with lots of keikis. These orchids love to have offshoots, called keikis. These will grow and bush out to become a very large and flower filled plant. The most common practice with these orchids is to have them basketed with their roots hanging out, but I have had to pot them in Ohio. The dry air and the 2 times a day of water is a bit much. I have always wanted to have Vanda orchids. Ever since I h...

You go shopping at our favorite grocery store, and we see the floral section filled with such beautiful orchids, but they all look the same. They are the common phalaenopsis or "moth orchid." These are such beautiful orchids, but there are over 1200 different types of orchids. Orchids happen to be one of the largest genera of plants in the world. We have so many different shapes and even fragrances. When it comes to orchid fragrance we have a range from rotten fish guts to Chanel No. 5. So, let me tell you some of my personal favorites. Phalaenopsis Photo.... Cymbidiums...... These orchids are and have always been my number one favorite orchid. They are large, very large, plants that have beautiful waxy flowers and occasionally come with a citrus/floral scent. These orchids can be grown from back bulbs, and often, they need dividing as they continue to grow very large. Oncidiums/hybrids.... I love these orchids for their showy and often, colorful displays. The mos...