My Favorite Weeds

[katrina]

I tried Explorer too but I'm getting a message that the DNS server isn't responding. ?? Tried it on my tablet too and getting the same message. Strange.

[voyager]

The only other possibility I can think of is:
Do you have an anti-malware like Malwarebytes?

I do use a free web host. Sometimes someone will setup a "Bad" site on one of these free hosts. Sometimes the host can get blocked for a while until everything gets straightened out. Although, I do not think that is the problem here. If that was the source of the problem you would be notified by the anti-malware program that it was blocking it. I'm at a loss other than I suspect some obscure security setting in Windows or the browser is blocking access to it. But, that's just a wild guess.
Another thought occurs to me.
My ISP will sometimes temporarily block access to some sites while only giving some obscure reason for doing so.
The nature of the notification leads me to think the problem is somewhere on your end of the connection. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[epiphyte78]

It's awesome that you have a Vanda as a weed! Are you going to try sowing any seeds on your trees?

[voyager]

Originally Posted by epiphyte78

It's awesome that you have a Vanda as a weed! Are you going to try sowing any seeds on your trees?

Nope.
I don't need to.
They're seeding themselves.
All those seedlings are being seeded from an existing Vanda.
There are dozens scattered throughout the trees on my lot and the neighbors on both sides of me.
I'm not sure how it is happening, if they have a pollinator or are self fertile.
But, it is happening!

I was speaking with one of my orchid pushers.
He was telling me that many of the hybrid Vandas in their greenhouse develop seed pods.
It is not unusual for them to do so.
The Den. antennatum hybrid I recently acquired also has a seed pod on it [it has split and is presently spreading its seeds].
Many of the others in the greenhouse where I got it had seed pods too.
I expect it to become a "weed" also.
Weeds like these I can handle, especially the epiphytes.
I don't have to worry about running them over with the lawnmower.

[epiphyte78]

Oops, I meant...are you going to sow the seeds of other orchids on your trees? That's what I would do. I've done it here in SoCal. Here's the largest seedling growing on my tree. Unfortunately, none of the seeds of my orchids would ever germinate on my neighbors' trees. I'm the only one with a drip system up a tree!

I'm trying to imagine a situation where one neighbor accuses another of "infesting" his tree with orchids.

Bob: Look at my tree!
Sally: What's wrong with it?
Bob: It's full of orchids!
Sally: So?
Bob: So??? I don't want them there!
Sally: What does this have to do with me?
Bob: The seeds came from your orchids!!
Sally: Well...I'm not the only one in the neighborhood who grows orchids.
Bob: But you're the only one who grows Grammatophyllum speciosum!
Sally: That's true...

It's not the easiest thing to think of a very realistic situation.

How about if one neighbor only grows orchids and his next door neighbor only grows Platyceriums. Then the orchid neighbor would complain when a Platycerium superbum volunteer ate a dozen of his Dendrobium cuthbertsoniis.

It seems likely that in the "near" future there's going to be quite a bit of competition for arboreal real estate in Hawaii. Are many native epiphytes going to be priced out of the market? I think that the vast majority of Hawaii's native epiphytes are ferns. So the biggest threat would come from foreign epiphytic ferns and other foreign epiphytes that share the same microhabitats. Very generally speaking... the drier/sunnier the microhabitat of a foreign epiphyte...the more likely it is that its introduction will result in a biodiversity net gain. Is that true?

[voyager]

I am not planning on trying to seed anything around here.
The "weeds" are doing enough on their own.
In fact, I'm beginning to worry that they'll begin to compete with my additions.
I am buying cheap $5 and $10 orchids [Den.s, Epi.s., Catt.s, Oncid.s, Odonto.s, Vandas, and so on] that catch my eye at the farmer's markets on the weekends, then mounting them on the trees around my place. I've got a LOT of them so far.
And, I'm still picking more up.
But, I am getting more discerning.
It really has to catch my eye now.

Now, I'm engaged with rebuilding my Dendrobium species collection, plus trying a few other species I've never had the nerve to try before in Alaska.
Vandas were one I would not try there.
They needed too much light for a 4-1/2 hour winter day.

Your post triggered a question in my mind about native Hawai'i orchids.
There are 3, all terrestrials.
One of which is a Platanthera species. There are several Platanthera species native to Alaska, one of which is Platanthera dilatata, my all time favorite Alaska native orchid.
A very nicely fragrant white bog candle.

But, back to your question - invasive epiphytes should not be harmful to native orchids.
But, I don't know about the invasive terrestrials. That is another question altogether.

I live in an area that gets about 160"/year of precipitation at about 750' to 800' of elevation, not hot, not cool, very suitable for many orchids.
Invasives tend to push the native plants out. There are many, many invasives in Hawaii.
From feral cultivars to trees that are doing harm simply because they crowd the native plants out.
I have been removing the invasive trees from my property.
And, I wage a loosing war on the other invasive non orchid weeds.
I cannot bring myself to try to eradicate my "weed" orchids, yet.
Bio diversity is not necessarily a good thing.
Unless, it fits in with what is already there.
Not many introduced things do.

Anyway, I need to stop now.
If I don't, this post could end up being several yards long.

[voyager]

I just found a new weed orchid on my property.
A Phaius tankervilleae, actually 2 of them.
One has a spike that has buds developing.
The second has no sign of a spike yet.

I'm calling them weeds because they can be seen scattered around growing along the roadways.

I'm kinda happy about this one.
I grew one in my living room for a while back in Alaska.
Pics when the blossom opens.

[epiphyte78]

I have a couple begonia "weeds" in my backyard. One is kinda nice with reddish stems and leaves while the other is boring...plain green leaves and small white flowers. Eventually I'd like to try and create a better weed. Basically I'd cross the weedy begonias with more showy begonias. Ideally the result would be showy and weedy.

I'd do the same thing if I had any orchid weeds.

A good measure of effectiveness would be how eager my plant friends would be to help me pull weeds.

[voyager]

I also have some of those little white flowered begonias running loose around here. They're pretty well behaved and are in only a few areas. I just run the lawn mower over them.

Got pics of the Phaius':





More after opening.

[euplusia]

Link worked for me. Spathoglottis might be self-pollinating.