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February 2005
FEBRUARY MEETING February 14, 2005 Lycastes An Orchid Digest slide presentation on Lycastes and their allies will be presented. Beginner’s program: (starts at 6:30 p.m.) Plant Table: Sales Table: Raffle: PAID AD
COMING UP The 2005 speaker schedule is in the works. Got a suggestion for a speaker or program? Contact Jay Perez at at jay98116@comcast.net or 206-818-4363.
JEWEL ORCHIDS: FORGOTTEN TREASURES Editor’s note: Two members pleasantly surprised the group last month by bringing in “jewel orchids” for the display table. Primarily grown for their beautiful leaves, these genera are too often ignored. I’m reprinting this article from Rick’s Tropica for those interested in trying something different. When you say the words “Jewel Orchid,” most people conjure the image of the most common of all jewel orchids, Ludisia discolor var. dawsoniana. This is such a narrow vision considering the wide variety available today and the distinct beauty and form that other species offer. The apparent reason for this seems to be brought on by two notions: 1) Ludisia discolor is by all standards a tropical weed, although a beautiful one, and grows with great ease and very little care. Even beginner gardeners can master this plant quickly, with its forgiving nature. 2) There is very little information available about the other species and what information is available appears to be very intimidating even for experienced gardeners and growers. This is a shame considering most of them, if not all, can be easily cared for by just about anyone who is intrigued by their beautiful, refined nature. The requirements sound at times overwhelming, but in fact are very straightforward and easy to accommodate. The first and easiest requirement to meet would be lighting. All jewel orchids like shady, low-light conditions. Basically the same conditions as most indoor or woodland ferns would like. Although you can grow them in light levels as high as Cattleya species can handle, the leaves will retain lighter colors and a somewhat washed-out appearance. If you have a greenhouse or shade house, keep them in the lowest lighted area you have. For those who do not have a greenhouse, you can accommodate them in your home with no problem. Keep them close to a window without exposing them to direct sunlight or use grow lights. The second requirement is warmth. Those that have cool/cold greenhouses in the north will probably want to stick with species from the genus Goodyera as they tend to be more cold hardy and usually are from temperate regions. For those that keep them indoors or in heated situations, will be alright keeping the tropical species over the winter. As a rule of thumb keep them above 55 degrees, however, I generally keep mine a little warmer. The third consideration is humidity. These plants originate from very humid areas of the world such as temperate woodlands and tropical rainforest. They are generally found close to water such as streams and waterfalls. They need the humidity to look good and survive. Plants grown in low humidity tend to exhibit leaf curling along the edges. This sounds especially overwhelming for the indoor gardener, because as we all know, houses are not humid places. But there are two very easy, common sense solutions; 1) You can keep it in the bathroom. Why not, it’s a very humid place. 2) You can construct a terrarium or growing case easily, or purchase a manufactured one, if you would rather display them in a more conspicuous place. If you want to make your own purchase a 10-gallon fish tank or critter cage (A critter cage is basically a fish tank of cheaper construction, that is not intended to hold water and are usually half the price).Fill the tank with an inch or more of an inert media such as playground sand or vermiculite from the local hardware store and moisten the media (this helps with the humidity). You may also top this with a small florescent light, to help accent the display and a small fan to help circulate the air. Keep the media moist to keep the humidity up. The fourth concern would be watering and feeding. This is probably the only truly challenging part of jewel orchid care, but is still not hard or time-consuming. All jewel orchids except Ludisia, require even moisture all the time. They do not like to be wet and will rot if kept too wet for too long. If kept too dry, they will shrivel up. If you use plastic pots I suggest that you put styrofoam peanuts or clay pot shards at the bottom to help keep rot away. Most suggest that you use crocked pots, I prefer to use uncrocked clay pots. Although you may have to water more often, the clay allows the roots to breath more naturally. The clay pots will also wick water up from the wet sand in growing cases, which will help keep the medium evenly moist. The medium that I use is straight, sterilized sphagnum moss, but there are many suggestions out there that will work just as well. Many use fine- to medium-grade bark or premade orchid mixes, mixtures of Isolite and shredded sphagnum and even combinations of the above, in layers. I do strongly suggest that you sterilize any medium you use. I water about 2-3 times weekly or as needed. Testing the medium with your finger is essential, this will be the best way to tell if you need to water. You want to keep it moist but not wet. It is a good idea to do this daily until you get the hang of it. When watering, avoid wetting the leaves or getting water in the crown of the plant. Water will cause stains on the leaves, which dulls the colors and designs, also if water sets in the crown it can cause rot. As far as fertilizing goes, I fertilize every other week to every month with a weak fertilizer solution. Half strength if using normal fertilizer and as directed if using an orchid fertilizer. I hope that this article will help to dispel some of the mystery and fear surrounding these beautiful gems, as I feel they are very rewarding and much easier than most of the literature makes them out to be. Rick Reese NORTHWEST FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW The annual Northwest Flower & Garden Show will take place in the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in downtown Seattle February 9-13, 2005. NWOS will have a small presence at the show, primarily running the orchid hotel and recruiting new members. There will be at least ten orchid vendors at the show, including S&W Orchids, Kawamoto Orchids, Out On A Limb Orchids, Orchid Way, Orchidaceae, Sorella Orchids, Ecuagenera, Oriental Orchids, Menifee Orchids and Hawaiian Island Orchids. Orchids Anonymous and Chanthorn Orchids were possible vendors but not confirmed at press time. NWOS SPRING SHOW & SALE Can you believe that it is time once again for the spring show and sale at Sky Nursery? It will be on the weekend of the 19th and 20th of March. We will have sign-up sheets at the next two meetings as the show is only seven weeks away (less by the time you read this). We will need two people at the cashier’s stations, a membership greeter person, a show patrol person and a floater for each shift. The shifts will be four hours each so we only need to fill two shifts a day. One of the areas we will be looking for volunteers is the repotting service. This is where we will be offering to repot customers’ plants at the low price of a dollar an inch if you bring your own pot and two dollars and inch if we provide the pot. If you like to repot plants and talk orchids maybe this is a position for you. We also would like to have an Orchid Doctor available at all times, to diagnosis problems and supply remedies, always a lot of fun. Another area we need some experts for are the orchid clinics, two a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. If you would like to impart some of your expert advice to mere novices in a short presentation, let me know. We will be putting on a display and have a sales area for our members. As in the past, if you wish to sell plants you need to bring as many blooming plants as you can to put in our display and work a shift at the sale. The hours of the show are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. The nursery closes at 5 p.m. sharp on Sunday so we have to break down quickly. You can bring your plants down on Friday afternoon from noon until 5 p.m. and someone will be there to accept them. When you bring plants to sell they must have two tags in the pot one with the name of the plant and one with your name and the price of the plant on it or you won’t get paid. A good way to mark your plants for the display as one of yours is to put an address label on the backside of the pot, away from the flowers. Now let’s all have a good time and put on a great spring show! Jamie Notman MERRILL HALL REOPENS AT UW Merrill Hall at the Center for Urban Horticulture has been slowly rebuilt after the original building was destroyed by arson four years ago. The new building, features a “Greenhouse Commons” entrance and a much larger home for the Elizabeth Miller Horticulture Library. It is the first sustainable building constructed under new “green” building guidelines on the UW campus. Members are encouraged to stop by and visit. You can learn more online at depts.washington.edu/urbhort/. NOTES FROM THE SECRETARY We know everyone can’t make it to every meeting, so in an effort to keep members better informed about what is happening in the Society, the secretary will provide a synopsis of the last general meeting and board meeting. JANUARY GENERAL MEETING JANUARY BOARD MEETING Brian Anderson WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Kathy Burns-Rickard Dan & Adam Coe DISPLAY TABLE THANKS The NWOS would like to thank the following members for bringing in plants for the January display table: Shannon Boling NEWSLETTER EDITOR NEEDED The Northwest Orchid Society is seeking a member with an interest in writing and laying out the monthly newsletter. No real experience is necessary. Volunteers will need to have access to a computer and e-mail. The editor is also responsible for printing and distributing the newsletter. If you are interested or have questions, please contact Brian Anderson at nwos_news@nwos.org or (206) 818-4364. IMPORTANT DATES FEBRUARY 9 - 13, 2005 FEBRUARY 26-27, 2005 MARCH 5 - 6, 2005 MARCH 19 & 20, 2005
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