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Cypripedium montanum Photo by Jamie Notman
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July 2002
JULY MEETING July
8, 2002 What's wrong with my orchid? Is your Phalaenopsis failing? Does your Dendrobium droop? Have your Phrags been feeling frisky? NWOS member experts Rob Lucas, Abigail Chang, Mark Srull and Michael Corn will be on hand to answer your questions about pollination, insect pests, disease, potting or maybe your plant that is growing well but just won't bloom. Bring your tired, your poor, your buggy and we'll try to help out. Please, if you suspect insect pests, bring your plant inside a plastic bag to minimize the chance that you'll infect another member's plant. I'm planning to bring in a large Brassia that refuses to bloom. Each member expert will spend a few minutes describing their areas of expertise. Then we'll split into four groups to get individual attention. We'll reconvene to hear the diagnosis of a sampling of plants from each group. Jerry Hoffmeister Beginner's
program (starts at 6:30 p.m.): No beginner's program this month GRAHAM & JAMIE'S BIG ADVENTURE On Sunday June 16th, Graham and myself were on our way to a spot on the east side of the mountains to pick morels, and spring boletus. We were told to look for the boletus in the road cut, so looking we were. Graham see what looks to be one as he's driving along and backs up to take a better look and low and behold right next to it is a Cyp. montanum! (See photo at top left column.) Not one but 10 bunches of them with one bunch having 13 plants in it--all in bloom! As we looked around they had migrated to the other side of the road were there were scores more scattered down the hillside. The plants were in an area of around 1000 yards along the road and then we didn't see any more till we got up to the morel patch were we found three more plants. The cyps were growing in full sun to dappled light from being under bushes, all in an area that the ground was a moist clay like soil. The ones that were in more shade had the darkest colors. At the last meeting I had mentioned to someone that I had never seen a cyp the wild, that in order to see one you had to hike up into high country in the Cascades and when the next week we find scores of them in a road cut driving along looking for something else. By the way we never found any spring boletus but we did find the morels. Jamie Notman FROM THE PRESIDENT Welcome to all in this the new fiscal year of the NWOS. At our first board meeting we developed a workable budget for next year that allows us to have as much fun as last year and probably more. We discussed the newsletter going online and how it will benefit our society if we can get everyone with e-mail to recieve it online that it will save us a lot of money what with postage going up and all. You know getting it online is a pretty good deal cause there are color pictures (like the one of the cyps Graham and I saw) and more information than the printed version can handle. I encourage everyone who has the ability to take advantage of this not just for the society but for yourself. I'm sure Jerry, our 1st vice president, has some wonderful programs planned for us this year. We are going to do the beginners program differently this year by having it in the meeting room up front near the podium. This should work pretty well as everyone else will be in the back of the room near the plant tables. It will still start at the same time, 6:30PM. Robin, our show chair is planning a real fun time for our fall show and I encourage all of you to buy raffle tickets for the wonderful orchid print that we are going to auction off at the fall show. Every ticket sold helps defer the cost of putting on the show, so get out there and support YOUR society. Speaking of YOUR society the volunteer sheets are going to be at the July meeting so start scheduling time to sign up for the fall show. This year's picnic potluck will be held at the Good Shephard Center on 50th and Meridian in Seattle as it has been for the last couple of years. The society will supply the burgers, you supply the side dishes and dessert. More on that in the next newsletter. A society is only as good as its volunteers, so volunteer. Jamie
Notman REICHENBACHIA PRINT AUCTION This year we have the wonderful opportunity to make a little extra money for our Fall Show. Allen Clark has donated a rare Reichenbachia Maxillaria Sanderiana framed print for raffle. We are selling tickets at $5.00 each to be drawn at a party in the evening of the first day of the Fall Show (September 14). All ticket holders will be invited to attend the drawing. Many thanks to those of you who have agreed to sell a book of tickets for this drawing. There are a lot of books left, and we need your help! Please contact Robin Kemph either by phone or e-mail to obtain your book of tickets. You can purchase a ticket of your own at the next meeting, but it would be so much better if you agree to help sell them! Robin Kemph NWOS SHOW NEWS The Fall Show is underway and our show committee is hard at work getting all the details in place. We will be having more pomp and circumstance this year with AOS judging, ribbon judging, an art show and the big drawing for the Reichenbachia print from Allen Clark. Many things to work on and get ready for. As always we will need help with the various jobs the show will bring. This time we are adding a new volunteer job... food! If you really want to help us out, but are unable to be there, you might want to sign up to help with the catering. Last year we put on a fantastic spread of food for our vendors and volunteers. Our follow-up survey showed great appreciation of that detail, but it was costly to the society. This time we want the guests to have similar hospitality, but we will be asking for volunteer help instead of paying extra. See Kathy Murray at the July meeting for more information on all the ways you can help your society at the Fall Show. The Northwest Flower and Garden Show, happening in February, is already in the planning stages. Although our presence there will be minimal compared to years past, we will still need volunteer help for that week. We are guaranteed to have the Membership booth and the plant hotel at no cost to us. We are still in the negotiation stages for the display. At this date there has been no final decision, but I will be speaking to NWF&GS Show Manager to hammer out those details. A huge thank you goes out to Linda Petchnick and George Grantham for their willingness to be part of the display design, if we indeed need them. As many of you know, the display of the NWF&GS has been a large job for those involved in making it. It takes many hours of planning, collecting, building, and set-up for a display. Our display has been the showpiece of the Orchid Pavilion for many years. Last year was the first time we did not put in a display, and the alternative was not up to our standards for design or quality. Though we were not responsible for the results, it was a disappointment to the public and seemed to be a focus of complaint at the membership booth. Anyone who wishes to comment or offer help should contact me as soon as possible so I can let Ann know at NWF&GS. Robin Kemph WEB SITE OF THE MONTH As new feature for our online readers, each month we will feature a new orchid web site. Some you might already know, some you might not have discovered yet. This month: a great source of information for novices and some lovely orchid photos for more advanced growers can be found at: (Thanks to Darrow Chan for the idea.) OTHER NEWS 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. Need a vacation but can't find the right person--or any person for that matter--to take care of your precious babies for a weekend outing or longer? Look no more, for Jamie Notman is that guy. He has a very open schedule in the summer and his prices are reasonable and negotiable. So if you need a orchid-sitter for your collection give Jamie a call at (206) 545-7343. Donšt forget to renew your NWOS membership. Dues continue to be a very reasonable $20 for an individual membership and $25 for a joint membership (two adults in a household). A membership renewal form was enclosed with the June issue. If you need another copy, you can download it here: Membership Renewal Form (PDF) |
