Northwest Orchid Society Newsletter

March 13, 2006
7:00 p.m.
University of Washington
Center for Urban Horticulture
3501 NE 41st Street
Seattle, WA 98105

Dr. Arditti earned his Ph.D. at USC, and has spent his entire career at the University of California, Irvine doing research on orchids. His sabbatical leaves and summers have been spent at the National University of Singapore, Bogor Botanical Gardens in Indonesia or in Malaysia. He will discuss the various adaptiations orchids have made which allow them to survive in nature.

Beginner’s program: (starts at 6:30 p.m.)
No scheduled program. Jamie Notman will answer your orchid questions.

Display Table:
Bring your whatever you have in bloom so everyone can enjoy them!

Sales Table:
Members may bring up to 10 plants to sell. Include a tag with your name and the price in the plant.

COMING UP:

April 10, 2006
"Dendrobium cruentum and other Section Formosae Dendrobiums" Michael Corn

Speakers and topics are subject to change. Got a suggestion? E-mail Jamie Notman, VP for Programming

FEBRUARY GENERAL MEETING
(Held February 13, 2006) Arlen Hill of Keeping It Green Nursery showed us a wide variety of native orchids and orchids that can be kept in the garden.

MARCH BOARD MEETING
(To be held March 7, 2006) The March board meeting will be covered in the April newsletter.

NWOS TIMBER PRESS SALE — MEMBERS SAVE 40%

Please complete this form. If you don’t have a catalog handy, you can look for books on the Timber Press web site at www.timberpress.com. Orders must be placed through the society to receive the discount. You must be a current NWOS member to receive the discount.

Payment is due when the order is placed. Order forms and payment can be brought to the March meeting or mailed to Chris Peterson to arrive no later than March 15, 2006. Payment must be by check (payable to “NWOS”) or cash. Books must be picked up at the meeting on April 10th. If you have questions, please contact Chris Peterson at (206) 525-2217.

Don't miss the NWOS Spring Sale on March 18-19 at Sky Nursery (18528 Aurora Ave. N, Shoreline). The sale will feature Mark Bamber, Sorella Orchids, Arlen Hill, Baby Dragon Orchids and at least one other vendor. There will be a repotting service, plant doctor and basic culture talks. A small display will also be put together.

Olympia Orchid Society Show:
The Olympia show was held at the Bark and Garden Center on Feb. 4-5. We took a moderate-sized display of about 35 plants. Our display was right in front of the entrance to the show and the nursery graciously allowed us to use a small fountain and other props in our display (see photo below). Since this was a small show there was less competition for ribbons than usual but nonetheless we did well with about 80% of our plants receiving ribbons. The show was not AOS judged.

Nice framed pictures of the winning plants were given to recipients of special awards. Daniel Kerr’s Paph (Royal Flush X Hellas ‘ Westonbirt’) received “Best Paph in Show” and Harry Mar’s Dendrochilum fragrans won “Best Plant in Show” (photo below). Cylvia and I received “Best Oncidium Alliance” for Odcdm. Golden Trident ‘Golden Gate’ and also “Best Vanda Alliance” for Rhincostylis gigantea. Others who generously loaned plants included George Krasle, Mike Pearson and Abby Chang, Mike Foster and Donna Pierce, Craig Williams, Joff Morgan, and Kathy Murray. It was especially generous of everyone to allow us to keep their plants for the display in the Seattle Flower and Garden Show. Also many thanks to Craig Williams who helped with the teardown on Sunday.

Seattle Flower and Garden Show:
Our society was responsible for a display at the Flower and Garden show for both member plants (photo below) and also vendors’ plants. The display filled four large tables and was divided in the middle to separate the vendor display from the Society display (see photo). The Society display included nearly all the plants from the Olympia show and a number of additional plants. Besides the individuals mentioned above for the Olympia show, Caroline Mann and Au Minh loaned plants. We received a great deal of very welcome assistance with the set up and teardown from a number of members, especially Joff Morgan and Craig Williams. Although the public still asks about the orchid shows of days gone by, the display attracted a good deal of attention and positive comments.

Mount Baker Orchid Society Show:
This show was held Feb. 25-26. Craig Williams set up the display with the help of Kathy Murray. More on this in a later newletter.

NWOS Spring Sale:
There will be one large, informal display. Please bring blooming plants to Sky Nursery on Saturday morning for the display and pick up your plants on Sunday afternoon. If you are unable to pick up your plants on Sunday let me know and I can hold them for pickup.

Spokane Orchid Society Show:
This show will be held April 1-2 at the Southside Senior Center in Spokane. It will be an AOS-judged show. I will be collecting plants for the show on Thurday, March 30.

Cattleya
Although March is, in many parts of the country, still a cold and blustery month, the lengthening days and warmer temperatures allowed by increased light are long-awaited harbingers of the coming change of season. Some of the best standard cattleyas of the year will be in bloom, or will be blooming soon. The last of the winter-flowering hybrids will join the earliest of the spring hybrids in a wonderful display. Be on the alert for senescing sheaths that need removal. If these yellowing sheaths are not removed, the moisture they trap can lead to bud rot. Careful removal of the sheath will allow the buds to develop, although they will need additional support. Changing light conditions can also be a problem in March and April. An exceptionally bright day, especially immediately following a rain, can lead to sunburn of the foliage if shading is not attended to properly. There can still be periods of dull days where spikes can weakened owing to the lower light. Lengthening days will mean increased metabolic rates necessitating increased water and fertilizer.

With the passing of the season for winter bloomers, and the beginning of the season for spring bloom, it is also the time to be on the lookout for plants that will need potting after they bloom. Immediately after blooming has proven to be the best time to repot winter- and spring-flowering cattleyas. In most cases, they will be ready to grow roots, so if potted at this time, they will root right into fresh mix with little or no setback.

Paphiopedilum
March is the beginning of the season of heaviest potting for lady’s-slipper orchids. However, it is a month where the volume of plants needing attention is still small. It is an excellent month to take the time to work with your paphiopedilums before the pressure of other potting prevents your doing the thorough job you should. Look at each plant: Is it clean of dead and dying foliage? Is it weed free? Does it need potting? Is it in spike? Does it have an insect problem? Cleaning and restaging your paphs is one of the most satisfying tasks of the orchid year. Cleaned and potted paphiopedilums look happy.

A group of native orchid devotees will meet June 8-12 in Ashland, Oregon. Some people go to Ashland to see theater (recommended). But Ashland, which lies at the convergence of three mountain ranges, has a diverse flora that includes 25 native orchid species—14 of which typically bloom in June.

The conference will have two days of field trips (Friday and Monday) with lectures at Southern Oregon University on Saturday and Sunday. The field trips will be led by area botanists and members of the local native plant society. Trips are planned to Crater Lake, the Illinois Valley, and the Russian River.

Among the species that are expected to be in bloom are Cypripedium californicum, Cypripedium fasciculatum, Cypripedium montanum, Calypso bulbosa, Cephalanthera austiniae (Phantom Orchid), and Epipactis gigantea.

Among the featured speakers will be Tom Mirenda, curator of the orchid collection, Smithsonian Institute; Dr. Charles Sheviak, senior scientist and curator of botany, New York State Museum; Dr. Bill Mathis, author of The Gardener’s Guide to Growing Hardy Perennial Orchids; and Dr. Andy Huber, Eastern Oregon University, founder of GROWISER (Grande Ronde Overlook Wildflower Institute Serving Ecological Restoration).

The conference fee is $100 per person or $175 per couple. Some lodging will be available at Southern Oregon University. Registration is limited to 100 people.

In 1731, an English botanist received a dried herbarium species from New Providence in the Bahamas. “The tuber appearing to have life in it,” he potted and carefully nurtured the plant. It revived, and the next year brought forth handsome pink- and rose-colored flowers. This was Bletia purpurea.

The name and date are worth noting, for this was the first tropical orchid to flower in England, foreshadowing a mania for orchids that nearly rivaled the tulip madness that swept the Netherlands during the 17th century.

A hybrid seedling is an orchid plant that has been produced by seed through the hybridization process. Two parent plants were used to produce the seed and the individual seedlings all have their own unique characteristics, like brothers and sisters in a family. A meristem seedling is a seedling that has been produced using the cloning process. Each “mericlone” plant has an identical genetic make-up and each meristem or mericlone plant will look exactly the same, like identical twins.

The NWOS would like to thank the following members for bringing in plants for the display table last month:

Darrow Chan
Michael Corn & Cathy Tuttle
Mike Foster & Donna Pierce
George Grantham
George Krasle
Harry Mar
Kathy Murray
Jamie Notman

Brad Colman, Issaquah
Della & Mike Jones, Seattle
DeAnne & Clint Meadway, Monroe

The NWOS desperately needs a new newsletter editor—the old one is all worn out!

No real experience is necessary. Basic writing/editing skills, desktop publishing or web experience will be helpful but are not required. This position requires a commitment of 8-10 hours per month.

Volunteers will need to have their own computer and an e-mail account that they check regularly. 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.

For additional volunteer opportunities, click "Volunteer Opportunities" in the side menu on this page.