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Hello!
We hope that this finds you in good spirits and thinking of interesting and worthwhile activities for the summer. With gasoline prices the way they are, we have revised our vacation plans. Liese, the boys and I will be hopping in the car and motoring to the end of the driveway to have a picnic on the front lawn. Who needs to go anywhere, anyway? You can enjoy your hobby right at home, and, if you need to augment your collection, we can ship orchids right to your house! This month we are offering nine (9) new Tolumnias and Rodrumnias (aka Equitant Oncidiums), all blooming size and ready to grow. Given good light, these varieties are easy to bloom, usually multiple times per year. Check out details in the "monthly special" section below, or click on the orange flowers below to go right to the website special page!  If you need immediate gratification in the way of blooms, we have a bunch of orchids to offer on the budded/spiked special page. See details below, or click on the lilac flower to see what's there!  This month's growing tip topic is fertilizer. One of the few things they let me do around here is load the proportioner with blue juice. I will share with you what we do to try to optimize the nutrition our plants receive. See my face in the Growing Tip section below. Rhynchocentrum Lilac Blossom Thanks for your support! Best wishes, Greg
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Monthly Special for June
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 Tolumnia/Rodrumnia Special Pricing!
Also known as "Equitant Oncidiums," these varieties continue to be bred for more vibrant colors and vigor! We have nine (9) new varieties to offer you in this category. They are are mounted on cedar shingles (they have fleshy leaves and grow much better on placques as a result). We are  offering special pricing of them for the month of June if you buy three or more. The price per plant decreases with each additional plant ordered, and, if you get all nine, they are only $11.11 each ($100 for the lot!).
Rodrumnia Andrea Dawn
Check out the photos and the details at the link below!
June Tolumnia/Rodrumnia Special
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Orchids Currently in Spike and/or Bud
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Get some color, right now! 
Here at Oak Hill we always have something in spike or bud for your immediate enjoyment. If you want to present a unique gift or need color for a special occasion, see what we can offer you that is "fixin' ta bloom!" Maxillaria tenuifolia "The coconut orchid"  Click on the link below and scroll down to see the photos! Budded and Spiking Plants!Phal (Fortune Buddah x Brother Pumpkin) |
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Growing Tip of the Month - by Greg?
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Fertilizing your orchids 
for optimum growth
I ain't no scientist (can you tell by the grammar?), but I like to think that here at OHG we take a common-sense approach to the feeding of our plants which can be adopted by even the most chemically-challenged of growers. Oak Hill Gardens is not an "orchid range," that is to say we don't grow huge batches of just a few different varieties. We pride ourselves on being able to grow small batches of many different genera, which require differing care and diverse growing conditions. Although this approach presents it's own unique set of challenges, it seems to be how we have carved out a small niche in the orchid world.
Our experience is that most collectors are also adventurous and enjoy experimenting with many different orchid/plant varieties. If you are one of these hobbyists, then you, too, probably experience the same challenges we do in deciding how to fertilize your plants.
It probably goes without saying that in order to grow a diverse collection, one's fertilizing regimen must avoid "extremes." Heavy concentrations of a quality food can be great for some genera, yet lethal to others. Thusly, we mix up our formulas and brands in order to provide our orchids with a more balanced diet.
This time of year (Spring through Summer), we rotate through several different formulas, including Grow More's 30-10-10 or Dyna Grow 9-3-6 (high nitrogen), Peters 15-5-15 Excel (Cal-Mag), MSU's 13-3-15 for RO/Rainwater, and Peters 20-20-20 (balanced formula). We fertilize once a week at 100 ppm, for four weeks running. On the fifth week we skip feeding and water the plants with plain rainwater. This helps to flush out residual salts, which can accumulate in the media and on the plant roots.
In the Spring we lean more heavily on the high nitrogen formulas, and in the Summer (when the days are really hot), we swing back towards a more balanced approach, but we still alternate all of the formulas.
Come late fall, as the days get shorter, the high nitrogen formulas take a back seat and we alternate between the more balanced formulas (Peters 20-20-20 or Dyna Grow 7-9-5) and blossom boosters (Peters 10-30-20 or Dyna Grow 3-12-6). The decrease of nitrogen compensates for shorter daylight hours (there is less "growing" going on this time of year). This, coupled with the increase in Phosphoric Acid (the higher middle number formulas), helps to promote blooming during the primary Winter/Spring orchid flowering season.
We continue this regimen through the Winter (also occasionally mixing in the Cal - Mag formula to provide the plants with trace elements). In the fall we rest every fourth week and go with plain water, and in the winter, we feed even less frequently, skipping every third week or so.
The above regimen provides a general guideline. If you are growing under lights or in a windowsill, your feeding may not need be so heavy or so often. The daylight hours associated with where you live will also affect how you fertilize. The most important tenet to glean from the above fertilizing scheme is this: mix up your fertilizer formulas and fertilizer brands, as they all vary in amounts and types of trace elements and also vary in the "sources" of their primary elements.
A balanced diet is usually the best way to go, regardless of whether you are plant or animal. After all, if you ate macaroni and cheese at every meal, over time you'd be richer, but you might not live long enough to spend all the money you saved!
Enjoy your hobby!
Greg
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We thank you for your feedback and loyalty. Please let us know how we can better service you!
Sincerely,
Greg, Liese and Hermann
Oak Hill Gardens
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