Cable maintenance and trellis work

I always feel happy to be back in the greenhouse. Today I was offered a wide range of duties, and said "yes" to all of them. But, there was no way there would be enough time to get them all done in my 3+ hour volunteer shift.

We decided what the priorities were, and I started the list from the top:

- repositioned an electric fan cord so that it dangled more securely against a metal I-beam

- repositioned several cables which support climbing vines. Some plants had none, some had too many

- I used bricks to stabilize the base of a wood trellis, and moved a new vine plant onto it

- I used bamboo stakes to form a teepee trellis for a small vine attempting to block an aisle

While I worked on the tasks at hand, I stopped to admire an orchid hybrid called "x-wilsonara". I also noted a lovely gloxinia plant (Sinningia helleri) sporting a hugely fat stem with crinkled crusty bark flowing out of its tiny orange pot. The stem stores carbohydrate for this epiphytic plant from Brazil...I suspect.

Orchid species: xWilsonara, which is a hybrid of three different orchid genera: Cochlioda, Odontoglossum, and Oncidium

Sinningia helleri (gloxinia), with its thick tuberous stem draping outside of the pot

Electric cord, newly positioned into the I-beam space

Using bricks to support a floppy wood trellis

Bamboo teepee trellis for a Phanera scandens plant ("snake climber")

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