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Epidendrum schumannianum Photo by Greg Allikas/AOS |
January 2003
JANUARY MEETING January
13, 2003 Orchid Grooming Did you ever wish you could enter an orchid in an orchid show? Maybe that plant you've been nurturing for the last four years that's finally about to burst into bloom? Do you have your sights set on the Olympia and Tacoma Orchid Societies Show this month? Our own Abigail Chang will speak to us about how to groom our orchids to present the best chance at a ribbon or maybe even an AOS award. She'll also show some before-and-after pictures as well as some images from past shows. Beginner's program (starts at 6:30 p.m.): Two topics: (1) What would you like to hear discussed at future beginner's programs and (2) I'll do my best to answer any questions you might have on growing orchids. Held in the front of the same room as our main meeting. Plant Table: Bring your blooming orchids to show! Sales Table: Members may bring up to 10 plants to sell. Raffle: Win a new orchid for your collection and support NWOS. FROM THE PRESIDENT So here it is the 20th of December and once again the newsletter article deadline and I am just now writing my monthly article. I hope all of you faired well through the holidays and your orchids are all blooming well. I for one am having a splendid time with all the plants I have in various states of blooming. This has been one of my best years ever and with any luck I will have something in bloom for the NWFGS. Speaking of which, I am sure there are still many slots that need to be filled on the sign-up sheet for the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. Help us all out by signing up for a three-hour slot on one of the days. Though our involvement is a lot less than in the past we still have a presence there. This will be the first year that I know of that the meeting is before the show which will give you two meetings in which to sign up for a spot. During this last summer I have been pondering over the idea of some kind of caretakers program in the event when a member is no longer able to take care of their collection.Well, the AOS has also been working on just such a program. They have decided that they will act as an information source rather than an administrator of such a program. The AOS will begin preparation of an information product with guidelines and sample documents to aid growers in providing for the rarities in their collections. As of now there is an Emergency Contact Information Card which can be downloaded from OrchidWeb. I feel there is a great need for such a service in our society as many of us are getting along in our years and I don't know about you but I want my orchids to not die with me and if I have anything worth passing on to someone's collection—say a rare species plant—I want that to happen. When the AOS comes out with the information package I will be sure to print it in our newsletter. Okay, I don't think its too early to start talking about the Spring Sale at Sky Nursery. I have just recently talked to them and they are putting together a newsletter that will tell all their customers about our sale there on March 15-16th. They are kind enough to let us use one of their greenhouse for free. The sale will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and end that evening at 5 p.m. On Sunday we will open at 10 a.m. and close at 4 p.m. During the day on Sunday we will have a "Plant Doctor" to help people with their sick plants (which will be one of the slots we will need filled on our volunteer sheet) and at 2 p.m. we will have a potting clinic (which will also need volunteers). As I see it, we have two great opportunities to sell plants not only as individuals but as a club which should ultimately bring our coffers up so that we can afford to have better speakers. I have been getting some complaints about the quality of our speakers so let me do some explaining. First with our old cash cow gone we have had to find new ways to fill that ticket. This is being done. The other part to this is that we haven't had a source for speakers.This month the AOS came out with their revised speakers list, but there hasn't been one for the last two years. Now with these elements in play our meeting quality should improve. I have another idea rolling around in my head that I would like to implement into our club. This would be a club project. I would like to see us grow our own raffle plants. We would obtain compots and then divide the plants out and individual members would take home a number of plants and grow them for three years or until the plants could be planted into 2-3 inch pots. You as a grower would get to keep one plant and have the experience of growing small plants into sellable-size plants. Every year we would compile a report on how the plants are doing. For newbies and anyone who hasn't ever attempted to grow a compot it is a challenge worth meeting. It will give you a new appreciation for juvenile plants that you see on plant tables at shows and the grower wants $10-$15 for it. We will all be able to share in something we produced for ourselves. If anyone is interested in developing such a program give me some feedback. Jamie
Notman WEB SITE OF THE MONTH American Orchid Society This month I'm going to point your browsers toward the American Orchid Society's Website which they call the "Orchid Web." You will find several interesting areas to browse including: conservation and research, society information, and general orchid growing tips. One of the most useful areas is the Books and Publications section where you can order books, videos, and gift items online. While browsing through the vast array of book titles, write some down that you believe we should add to our library and bring your list to the librarian. The AOS offers numerous orchid related items perfect for holiday gifting! There is also a question and answer forum section where you can post your questions or even dare to answer someone else's query. Finally, don't forget to join the AOS. Your support keeps our national organization running and, in return, you'll receive the terrific monthly journal aptly titled, Orchids. — Darrow Chan November
2002 Web Site of the Month: Andy's
Orchids 2003 NORTHWEST FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW The Northwest Flower & Garden Show is rapidly approaching and we are in the process of asking for volunteers. At the December meeting there were sign-up sheets available for all of you who want to go and help out. Many of the slots were filled in by the end of the evening, but there are still some openings. The list will be at the January meeting. If you are interested in volunteering at this show, please sign up. This year we will have a little larger presence than we did last time. We are going to have our own display, which will be the focal point of the entrance to the Orchid area on the sixth floor. In exchange for the display (which was missed by the public last year because ours are always AWESOME) we will have plenty of room to sell our memberıs plants. This means we will need cashiers to handle the sales. As some of you know from experience at other shows, cashiering is really very easy. There is no "making change" like in the old days. The machines figure all of this out for you. We also have the use of a credit card reading machine. All you do is swipe the card, punch in the last 4 digits from the card and the amount of the sale, then wait for the tape to print up for the person to sign. Very simple. Anyone wishing to have a practice run on this position can contact me and I will give you a quick training. Other jobs we will need include the membership table (which will be in the same space as the sales, so no one will be solo on this), orchid hotel (you may call yourself a concierge), floater (which we referred to as ³security² in the past), and set-up/tear-down help. You will get into the show free on the day you volunteer, so plan on spending some extra time to look around. This is a very elegant and professional show that an estimated 20,000 people attend. Parking seems to be the biggest deterrent for signing up to help. Please remember that the Northgate Park and Ride has a shuttle bus that takes you directly to the convention center for free (with your pass), and a very nominal fee if you do not have your badge. We will make every effort to get the passes to you in a timely manner. (Those details have not been smoothed out yet, but they are in the works at the time of this printing.) Parking at the convention center can get pricey, but it is very convenient. As usual, we do want the people who plan to sell plants to also add a plant to the display. We understand that volunteering to help will be hard on some of you, but we do want some contribution in exchange for selling. Your society is going to be there for you, so it is fair to ask you to reciprocate. I had a few creative suggestions for the exchange of help for selling at the last meeting. This is an opportunity for the society to bring in a little more money than we did last year, as well as the recognition for a wonderful display. Your efforts to make this possible is greatly appreciated. If you do want to sell, and you cannot be there physically, we will try to work out a deal for you. But the going rule is that you must volunteer and add to the display. There are many ways to accomplish this, just ask one of the Show Committee staff. See you there! — Robin Kemph, Show Committee Chair JANUARY/FEBRUARY ORCHID CHECKLIST Cattleya Watering and fertilizing will be at a minimum, as will potting. Be on the lookout for senescing sheaths on your winter-into-spring bloomers. Careful removal of the dying sheaths will still allow buds to develop without the danger of condensation-induced rot. Low light will lead to weak spikes, so staking is critical. If you have a chance to get out to nurseries, there may still be a chance to acquire good plants in sheath for spring bloom. Getting them now not only ensures that you'll have them, but allows them to acclimate to your conditions and bloom at their best. Lycaste Lycaste will be moving toward their flowering season. Make sure the palm-like leaves do not interfere with the emerging inflorescences. Tying them loosely together often is helpful. Some growers cut the leaves off at the pseudobulb, but this removes part of the attractiveness of this elegant orchid. Resist picking up the plant to inspect those beautiful buds and then setting it down in all different directions as the flower buds will be forced to re-orient themselves to the light source each time and will not open as nicely as they should. Keep plants a little drier during the shorter days. Odontoglossums Odontoglossums and their intergeneric hybrids offer a great splash of color now. Though once thought of as being difficult to grow and requiring cool temperatures due to the emphasis on odontoglossum breeding, the new intergeneric hybrids made using Oncidium and Brassia, for example, are just the opposite. These plants are quite content in more intermediate conditions. New growths generally emerge in the spring, later forming beautiful plump pseudobulbs. Look for the flower spikes to emerge from the inner sheath of the pseudobulb. If your plantıs pseudobulbs are shriveled, then the plants have been kept too dry or too wet. Inspect the roots to determine which condition prevailed. If the lead pseudobulb is large, plump and green (and back bulbs are shriveled) but no flower spike is evident, the plants may have been kept too dry. Paphiopedilum Many Paphs are at their peak right now. Unlike most other orchids, they can even be potted while in bud. There really is no wrong time to pot a paphiopedilum, and no other orchid responds so favorably to fresh mix and a cleanup. Keep an eye on watering until roots begin to grow. Phalaenopsis Now is the peak of spike development, with the first plants in full flower. Correct staking now will give a better display and also make it much easier to transport to your society meetings and shows. Care with watering is vital to avoid mechanical damage to the flowers, as well as rot-related problems. Keep spent blooms cleaned up to avoid botrytis inoculation. Do not repot this month. Ned Nash and James Rose, AOS NEW ONLINE DISCUSSION BOARD AVAILABLE The Northwest Orchid Society web site now lets member share information and ask questions through an online forum. Webmaster Mike Pearson has installed new software to create the "Orchid Forum Message Board" that allows members to post messages with tips, questions, advice, or orchid-related news. Members will need to register online and create a username and password to post messages, but anyone can read messages without registering. Registration requires only disclosing your name and e-mail address and you can choose not to publicly display your e-mail address in messages you post. The NWOS newsletter is also available through the NWOS web site now and PDF software is not required to read it. Stop by online and check out all the new features at the NWOS web site at: 2003 SPEAKERS SCHEDULE January - Abigail Chang will speak about orchid grooming for shows. February - Bert Logsdon of Logsdon's Orchids, who is also an AOS judge, will talk to us about orchid culture with an emphasis on Paphs and Phrags. March - Bob Morley of Mostly Orchids discusses home orchid growing. April - Bill Zimmerman, an AOS judge, plans to talk to us about mini-Cats. May - Sam Tsui of Orchid Inn will give a presentation on Paph breeding and culture. June - Barb Inman of Valley Orchid Supply will prep us on orchid culture, growing orchids and potting materials. July - Mark Bamber of Out on a Limb Orchids intends to speak about Miltonias. August - Picnic (no speaker) September - Open October - Open November - Harry or Andy from Andy's Orchids will speak (program to be determined). December - Holiday Potluck (no speaker) Got a suggestion for a speaker or program? The fall schedule is currently open and first vice president Jerry Hoffmeister is interested in knowing what you would like to hear about at upcoming meetings. E-mail at jerry@hoffmeisters.com or call him (206-932-9912) with your suggestions. OTHER NEWS 2003 AOS Calendar Discover the "Wow!" factor in the world of orchids with this glorious calendar that makes a great gift for friends and for yourself. The calendar takes a look at 12 orchids whose special qualities seduce their admirers. Cultural hints for growing each plant picutured are provided. 12 color photographs. 11x22 when open. Price: $10 for NWOS members who purchase at the monthly meeting. Ridesharing Some of our members in the suburbs are unable to attend meetings because they don't drive. Taking the bus, especially in the evenings, can make for a very long trip; taxis are too expensive. If you live on the Eastside or in the North or South End and either would like a ride to meetings or would be willing to offer a ride to meetings, e-mail nwosnews@attbi.com or call and leave a message on the NWOS line at (206) 781-5805. We will try and match up drivers and passengers wherever possible. Orchid Pests and Diseases - 2002 Revised Edition. This update of the 1995 edition of this popular book, published by the American Orchid Society, is packed with practical advice on insect and noninsect pests, bacterial and fungal diseases, orchid viruses, and physiological disorders along with suggested cures and treatments. New features include a chapter on the natural control of insects and mites, a glossary of more than 95 terms and a list of centers that identify orchid ailments. 77 color and 25 black-and-white photographs. Softcover. 118 pages. Price: $10 for NWOS members who purchase at the monthly meeting. UPCOMING EVENTS JANUARY
18-19, 2003 FEBRUARY
19-23, 2003 FEBRUARY
20-23, 2003 MARCH
15-16, 2003 MARCH
20-23, 2003 |
