Question
I have two questions:

1- I went to Hawaii in March 2003 and bought this  tiny orchid plant (unfortunately, I forgot the name of the orchid) to Southeast Michigan. It had only two tiny leaves. I planted it in a bigger pot (a 4 inch diameter and 7 inches tall) that I filled with bark for orchids (based on what the guy in one of the nursery's here told me). It has been more than 1 year, and 1 leaf died and two others came, and so now there are 3 leaves.The largest leaf is around 3 inches long. A month ago, I added some potting soil to the bark mix and some peet moss. The pot is in my kitchen, by the window, facing North. It has lots of light, but no direct sun. My question: how long does it take for the flowers to come? Is it always this slow? What type of fertilizer should I put?  Should I change the soil?  Thanks!

2- We bought our house 2 years ago. The prevoius owners had already done a good job with the landscaping. There various evergreen bushes, one flowering bush, one japanese maple tree, etc.. They all look healthy and stuff.. My question is whether we should be "pruning", or cutting the edges of these bushes? I noticed that, with the flowering bush (I don't knwo its name, but it has tiny pink flowers all around.. they come at this time and they dry and don't look too good), if I cut the outer branches, there are only dried branches inside.. it looks dead inside.. Is that normal? Should I still trim them? There are 3 azaleas as well.. Should I trim those as well? I really don't want to mess up with the landscaping.. Thanks!


Answer
Habdu,

It sounds like it is probably a dendrobium orchid. You probably should have left it in then bark alone. You did not mention fertilizer. All orchids need a lot of fertilizer. You can use Miracle grow. I do not grow orchids myself because I prefer other plants. They can be difficult to get to bloom.  I reccommend that you get a good book on orchids and check out some websites. Here is one:
http://www.alohaorchid.com/DendrobiumIntermediate.aspx

As for the landscaping question. I have no idea what the  floweering bush is and cannot give you much advice on pruning because I live on 2 1/2 acres and prefer not to prune my shrubs. I love them to be large and flowing, very natural. So my advice would be not to prune anything. I can advise that you call three landscapers and ask them to come out and give you an estimate on maintaining your landscaping. Ask lots of questions so that if you decide you would rather do it yourself you will know exactly what to do. And be sure to get the name of the pink flowering shrub.  Good luck with the orchid and the landscaping.

                                      Darlene

Good