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January 2004
JANUARY MEETING January
12, 2004 Lycastes David Morris of Clackamas Orchid will talk about the Maxillarieae tribe with an emphasis on Lycastes. Beginner's program (starts at 6:30 p.m.): Bring your plants and your questions. 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. COMING UP February: Justin Schroeder will discuss the orchid program at the Woodland Park Zoo March: Open April: Bill Bergstrom of Bergstrom Orchids May: Harry
from Andy’s Orchids will talk on mounting and growing mounted orchids. Got a suggestion for a speaker or program? Contact Jerry Hoffmeister at at jerry@hoffmeisters.com or 206-932-9912. FROM THE PRESIDENT Happy New Year to all! The first business I have in order is to thank everyone who came and worked at our fall orchid show and helped to make it a success. Special thanks goes out to Robin Kemph, our show chairperson, Kathy Murray, advertising chairperson, Pat Gossler, head cashier, and Louise Peterson for the end of the show bookkeeping. I also want to thank everyone who helped make our display so wonderful: George Grantham, Mike Boyd, Livia Jackson and all those who contributed plants. While I’m at it, I would also like to thank Brian Anderson for doing such a good job as our current newsletter editor,Micheal Corn for his fine job at the plant table walk, Caroline Mann for continuing to be our librian and Mary Nichol for supplying us with coffee at our meetings. And how could we function with out Pat Gossler’s devotion as cashier? I thank you all. Now on to the next business at hand—electing new board members. Yes, we will be looking for new blood to fill several positions on the board of trustees. The President, 1st Vice President, Treasurer, Secertary, and four trustee positions will be in need of being filled. Now is your chance to make a difference in YOUR society. YOU could be the one running the meetings or deciding who the next speaker will be. Do you have latent bookkeeping skills? Come on down! You’re just the person we need to become our next treasurer. How are your minute taking skills? We need a new secertary or do you have ideas to help make the society a better, more fun place? Become a trustee. All these positions require an commitment of just six nights out of the entire year for meetings and your devotion to making your society the best society. I am having a excellent winter blooming season and I hope all of my fellow orchidists are experiencing the same. See you at the next meeting. Jamie
Notman GROWING WITHOUT MEDIUM HEditor’s note: Several years ago, Venger’s Orchids in Colorado started an experiment of growing Phrag seedlings in a glass of water. No medium, just water. The experiment has been a success and here Rod Venger explains how it works. The experiment is still going strong and has in fact expanded well past just a few Phrags. The current genera we’re growing in water are Phrag, Paph, Phal, Oncidium, Dendrobium, Vanda, Zygopetalum, Catasetum, Angrae-cum…and probably a few others I can’t remember at the moment. Only one death since November 1995, when the experiment started. That was a Phal that was root rotted before it was placed in the water and had little chance to begin with. We had one Phrag Carol Kanzer in bud over the winter. The bud was knocked off before it could open. This plant had been in its container for about six months at the time. All the plants show root growth far beyond what you’d expect in a pot with normal media. They also have incredible amounts of algae growing on the roots. We make no attempt to clean them up, figuring it probably helps with gas exchange. The roots do not rot, as I demonstrated to a visitor from New Jersey this past week. I also compared two Angraecum sesquipedilae: one which had been in the experiment for about a year, the other a normally cultured seedling. The plants were originally more or less the same size and were from the same compot. The experimental plant was easily 40%-50% larger than its potted cousin. Culture is very easy but it requires your attention. Failure to keep a close eye on things will probably result in the death of the plant. I’d suggest you start small—a duplicate seedling is a good way of building confidence in the process. Sterilize a small glass jar of an appropriate size. The rim of the jar is going to support the plant, so that should be your main consideration. The length of the roots needs to determine the depth of the jar. The base of the plant must be below the rim. Plop the plant in, with its tag, and fill the jar with tepid (not hot, not cold) water and fertilizer. The fertilizer strength should be the same as you normally use. The level of the water needs to be the same as if you were potting the plant in a bark mix. Just above the top of the roots. Place the jar in the same place you would grow the plant if it were potted. Same light, same temperatures, etc. Basically, that’s it. Every few days, check the water level and add a bit of water if needed. Bear in mind that if it dries, it dies. Once per week, dump the old water and refill. Don’t clean the jar or algae…we don’t. After a month when you’re scratching your head wondering why the plant hasn’t died yet, then you are ready to try a few more. “Repotting” is needed only when the roots have completely jammed the current container. For more information on Venger’s Orchids or if you have questions about their experiment, you can visit their web site at www.vengers.com. 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, and as noted above, 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. Cymbidium We are well into the flowering season now. Outdoor growers should be cautious of freezing temperatures. Damage starts to occur below 30 F. Be diligent about tying the inflorescences for best arrangement of the flowers. Also watch closely for slugs and snails. If weather is quite wet, protect the plants from the rain and this will help to reduce the risk of botrytis spotting. Lycaste The most glorious of all orchids, 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 plant’s 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 The standard Paphiopedilum insigne -derived hybrids, which are called “bull dogs” and “toads,” are at their peak. 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. Staking and plant preparation is a must for those all-important spring shows. 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. Now you’ll be seeing lots of phalaenopsis at orchid shows and sales. Zygopetalum For the most part, the flowering season will have ended for this group, providing the grower a chance to do some repotting. The plants will then have a chance to become well established before the hotter months of summer arrive. Most growers use bark mixes, but some exceptional results have been seen lately using rock-wool blends. You may want to try this mix, but do not change your whole collection over to this new media until you are sure it is right for you. First, experiment with a few plants to see how they respond. — Ned
Nash and James Rose, AOS NATURAL SPOT REMOVER There are plenty of commcerial products available for cleaning the leaves of indoor houseplants, but they can be not only expensive but clog the pores of leaf surfaces, inhibiting their ability to absorb moisture from the air. Here are a few items found in almost everyone’s kitchen that can be used to clean orchid leaves safely and cheaply:
HOMEMADE INSECTICIDES The following are two homemade insecticides that can be made from readily available ingredients. Be sure to test a small area of the orchid before using it on the whole plant. Both recipes are from the Orchid Lady and she doesn’t specifically state which insects they are effective on. I have used the first one on mealies and it got rid of them quite well. As with a lot of other insecticides, these are not systemic and must come into contact with the critters to be effective. In a
gallon bottle mix: In a
pint spray bottle: BOOK ORDER OPPORTUNITY At the December meeting, Timber Press catalogs were available. If we have sufficient interest, the society will place an order from Timber Press books (probably at the February meeting). We will have to have at least 25 books ordered to enable a discount for our members. You can also check out Timber Press online at www.timberpress.com. IMPORTANT DATES JANUARY
17-18, 2004 FEBRUARY
4-8, 2004 FEBRUARY
19-22, 2004 |