Postal Address

PO Box 411 WOODRIDGE 4114

Queensland Australia

Patrons: Logan City Mayor Pam Parker

and Graham Oldham

President Ken Martin Ph 3341 5474

Vice President Beverley Schaffer Ph 3423 7634

Secretary Jan McKenzie Ph 3208 8721

Treasurer Doug Mogg Ph 3806 5316

N’letter Editor Reg Illingworth Ph 3800 3213

lados.editor@bigpond.com

Committee Members

Adrian Bergstrum Ph 3805 8224

Trevor Cook Ph 3345 4049

Myrella Coppus Ph 3341 5691

Maree Illingworth Ph 3800 3213

Phillip McCallum Ph 3427 7774

Pam Price Ph 3345 6143

Kurt Raup Ph 3388 8771

April

2014

Foundation Date January 1976.

Next Monthly Meeting:

Tuesday 15th April 2014

Commencing at 7.30pm

Logan Central Community Centre

Cnr Jacaranda Ave & Wembley Road

Logan Central.

Next Committee Meeting:

Tuesday 6th May 2014

Commencing at 7.30pm

Logan Central Community Centre

Cnr Jacaranda Ave & Wembley Road

Logan Central.

Work Roster for April 2014

Hall Set-up at 6.30pm

Those that can come early.

Supper: .Kathy Walker

Thelymitra ixioides

Spotted Sun Orchid

Plant Name: Pholidota imbricata

Exhibitor: George Tsambourakas

Owners Comments:

Pholidota is a well-known Genus of about 30 Species of

medium sized orchids, native to numerous countries from India

to North Australia.

It is closely related to Coelogyne, Dendrochilum, etc. The

pseudo bulbs carry up to two leaves; the inflorescences arise

from the apex and carry numerous small flowers.

All species grow best in pots with a well-drained mixture.

Theoretically, should be treated the same way as Coelogyne.

Cultural Notes: I find them less demanding and although I

protect the plant from direct sunlight, I pay no special attention

all year around. It loves living a neglected life and it rewards me

with flowers every year for ignoring it. It is one of the easiest

orchids to grow. Furthermore, I never noticed any pests

attacking it I guess it is too ugly, even for pests.

2

SHOWS TO COME Eastern District O. S. 5/6 April, 420 Wondall Road

Queensland O. S. 11/13 April Mt Coot-tha Botanic

Gardens

Brisbane O. S. 12/13 April, Mt Gravatt State

School,1263 Logan Rd

Ipswich O. S. 26/27 April, Silkstone State Primary

School

Editorial

This months Newsletter has most of the usual information. Page2 has the shows to come, the English Plural, potting supplies and the advice of the guest speaker for April,. Page 3 has the minutes from the March meeting, Page 4 has the Judges Choice for March with Page 5 having the photos of the winning plants, Page 6 is Barry’s Column while Page 7 has an article by Peter E. Albery, Technical Advisor to GGS on “Air Space in Media” this is a part of Miriam Ann Orchids Newsletter April 2014, Page 8 an item about the floral art workshop and a nice photo of the group, Committee notes and Potting Supplies, Page 9 , from the ORCHID SPECIES BULLETIN. VOL. 42 No 3 March 2014 an article about Cattleya bicolor and the Saturday Cultural Information Meeting.

Reg

GUEST SPEAKER FOR THE APRIL MEETING

The Guest Speaker for the April meeting will be Nick Woolley.

He'll speak on light, fertilizer etc.

The English Plural according to....George Carlin 1937-2008

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes. One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,

Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,

Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men,

Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen? If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,

And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet? If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,

Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth? Then one may be that, and three would be those,

Yet hat in the plural would never be hose, And the plural of cat is cats, not cose

We speak of a brother and also of brethren, But though we say mother, we never say methren. Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,

But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

3

MINUTES GENERAL MEETING LOGAN & DISTRICT ORCHID SOCIETY INC. 18th MARCH 2014

OPENING President Ken Martin. opened the meeting at 7.30pm..

WELCOME to all members and visitors. Welcome to our judges.

Stewards for the evening are:-

APOLOGIES as per register

MINUTES The minutes of the February meeting, published in the Newsletter, were passed on a motion of Elizabeth King

and seconded by Alfred Filia.

That the correspondence inwards and outwards be accepted .. Moved by Jan McKenzie Seconded by George Tsambourakis.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT Treasurer Doug Mogg moved and Reg Illingworth seconded that a statement showing

balances of:-General Account :- $13313.36 Investment Acc. $5859.19. be accepted and that the following accounts be

accepted for payment. R. Illingworth $37 Postage, Easy Orchids $36 prize, Fame Orchids $352.80, Hall Hire $1280, K&H

Smart $10.80 prize voucher. Full statement on file

NEW MEMBERS David Poulgrain was welcomed to the club and Lynn and Brian Manning’s papers were mailed.

GENERAL BUSINESS Orchid Shows - information is available in the newsletter.

Brisbane Orchid Society Show—12th and 13th April held at Mt Gravatt State School Hall.

We are doing a display at Brisbane Orchid Soc show. We need a variety of good flowering plants.

Set up is 4pm on Friday 11th April.

Centro Display - Set-up on Wednesday 7th May 4pm, display and sales Thursday 8th, Friday 9th and Saturday 10th May.

Members were asked to get sales tickets and have them filled in prior to bringing plants for sale. Ensure plants look good, are

healthy and presentable. We need plants for the display as well. Ken Martin circulated a roster for working on the stall next

meeting as well.

TRADE TABLE REPORT Adrian Bergstrum asked if members were interested in supplies of charcoal that have become

available. Good response.

Graham Maggs explained that he and Glynis Cox attended the last Committee meeting and spent the time clearing out the

older books from the library cupboard. The fate of these older books will be decided at the next committee meeting.

CULTURAL OFFICER’S REPORT Reg Illingworth. Next meeting Orchid Diseases.

GUEST SPEAKER for this evening was Bill Brown speaking on Cycnoches ( sick no keys ) and associated genera.

Thank-you for an informative presentation.

KITCHEN DUTIES FOR THE APRIL MEETING Kathy Walker.

JUDGES’ CHOICE AWARDS

John Roberts assisted by Phil McCallum announced the placings of benched plants and gave an interesting commentary.

Thank-you John.

CULTURAL AWARD None Given

SPECIAL INTEREST AWARD George Tsambourakis

EXHIBITOR’S AWARD Graham Maggs

POPULAR VOTE Open John Roberts Ang. longicalcar

Intermediate/Novice Alfred Filia Bc. Binosa ‘Kirk’

RAFFLE was drawn

CLOSURE Meeting closed at 9.25 pm

Secretary Jan McKenzie

6

Some Plants tabled at the March Meeting.

Cattleya 60-100mm featured a plant labelled Slc.

Jumbalaya, the nearest name to it I could locate was

Rth. Jungle Jumbalaya. It presented one bloom, (and I

could only locate one other flowered bulb), on a plant

with about twenty pseudobulbs; as the earliest surviving

bulbs, which were also still holding their leaves, were

quite small compared to that flowering, it would be

fairly safe to suggest it was a seedling in it’s first

flowering season. The bloom was predominantly

yellow, the lip’s red mid-lobe colour extended as a

stripe to the rear thereof. There was also quite a

number of small spots to the face of the tepals, on the

sepal more to their tip regions while those on the petals

were more plentiful around the edges.

Two plants of Rlc. Mount Isa ‘Jean’ were tabled in

Cattleys over 100mm, one with a single bloom the other

with two. This clone has been around for quite some

time, the grex being registered in 1982 with a number of

other good varieties being named.

The blooms were predominantly yellow with white to

basal region of the petals, the lips had red-purple tips

their goffered perimeters edged a pale tone of this

colour with a band of yellow between there and the

striping, from the mid-lobe which went back into the

throat. The single bloom had slightly better form than

those of the plant with two to support; this latter plant’s

flowers were also somewhat darker.

The blooms’ base colour of Rlc. Glenn Maidment

‘Southern Cross’ was pale pink with lavender veining

over the petals with some vertical lines of this to petal

tips and ventral sepals, the rosy mauve-purple to tip of

lip also occurred in lines to the throat creating yellow

eyes to interior of side lobes.

Dendrobium (Dal’s Pixie x Dal’s Pride ‘Algester’) x

Den. (Dal’s Dazzler ‘Bette’ x Burana Stripe) carried

four spikes with from eight to ten blooms, plus buds to

each; flowers were of superb full shape with inner petal

edges meeting in centre of blooms and added to this,

broad well shaped lips. Overall colour was purple with

darker veining to all segments; flowers were generally

well presented on slightly arched spikes.

The flowers of an un-named Phalaenopsis in Novice

Any Other Genus were of a pale base tone veined and

brushed mauve-lavender, its blooms were interesting in

that the flattened, broadened lip shapes suggested

pelorism, all lobe tips were edged white and well

displayed on an upright spike.

Tabled in Species Monopodial was an Angraecum

longicalcar whose long straight spike protruded at an

angle from the main stem and presented clear of the

long furrowed leaves that formed a large fan-like shaped

plant; said spike had one bud above six open flowers,

their pale green tepals backed broad white squarish lips

that were tipped with narrow triangular slightly furled

extensions with the long spurs (nectaries) typical of this

species, and indeed its genus.

We were informed during the plant commentary that

this exhibit was a first flowering seedling; and along

with very clean foliage and evidence of overall good

culture was an example of how orchids, not only

Angracums, should be grown.

Dwarfed by the previous plant but non-the-less most

worthy of comment was a plant of Rhyncostyles

coelestis ‘Blue’, this well flowered entry carried two

upright spikes each with upward of forty blooms, the

bluish lips were backed by predominantly white petals

that had a touch of the lip colour to their outer edges.

To best appreciate a plant such as this is to observe it at

eye level.

Species Sympodial presented a Paph. superbiens which

carried a single bloom on a tall stem above yellowish

green foliage that was tessellated a darker green, the

pouch was a dark, somewhat brownish red and the

dorsal sepal’s pale base tone carried vertical reddish

stripes from the base almost to it’s tip while some of the

upper stripes were greenish with some yellow colouring

between. The reverse of both dorsal and ventral (or

synsepel) was coloured as for the front. The base of the

dorsal was slightly reflexed at both lower corners. The

petals were acutely pendant, their tips curling

symmetrically inwards towards the bottom of the pouch,

were whitish, and flushed and lined green with

numerous, almost black spots, with short black hairs to

their edges.

The current issue of the Orchid Society of Great Britian

Journal carries a book review on a recent publication,

The Genus Calanthe, and as some calanthe plants as

well as intergeneric hybrids with them appear from time

to time at our meetings perhaps this information could

be of use to the growers concerned.

The authors are Dudley Clayton who wrote The Genus

Coelogyne: A Synopsis and Dr. Phillip Cribb who has

written and co-authored an extremely large number of

publications that cover a most diverse botanical subject

matter.

The O.S.G.B. reviewer, Dr. Henry Oakeley remarks that

this is the first monograph in England on Calanthe. I

found the book store, Florilegium in Sydney has it

stocked at $90 and offer the advise that its the first book

on the subject since Lindley’s in 1883. Whatever the

case an up-to-date account has been long overdue.

The O.S.G.R. also sent with the journal a flyer advising

of a forthcoming book on Aerangis, Isobyl la Croix

being its author. This book is being published to co-

incide with the W.O.C. in September 2014. Anyone

interested in more information can visit

www.aerangisbook.com where one can also register

interest now to be eligible to purchase same at a special

pre-publication price.

SAID PRICE YET TO BE ADVISED!

7

Autumn is now in the air here in Sydney. Dew is on the

ground, with nice sunny days. At the February orchid get

together we had Peter Albery here talking about growing

media and water holding capacity etc. He gave us a few

notes over to put in our newsletter on the above subject.

So below, is his notes on “Air Space in Media” A simple

test to determine ‘air fill porosity’ in growing media.

“Air Space in Media”

1. Select a very clean 130 or 125 mm diameter standard

pot, that means a standard pot, not a squat pot

2. Using industrial standard duct take, from your local

hardware store, tape over the drainage holes, externally.

Not inside the pot. This needs to be done carefully and

thoroughly, to prevent leakage. Best to get the tape to

adhere down the pot, starting at the bottom ⅓ and

stretched, free of creases if possible and tucked under the

base to the centre of the base. Simply sticking the tape

around the base only is not good enough to prevent rapid

water leakage. Use several layers of tape if needed, but

bear in mind that the tape has to be removed to complete

the test. Therefore, it is easier to remove by pulling the

tape downwards, instead of around the pot. Alternatively, a

tight fitting fridge polythene bag is acceptable, but several

rubber bands are needed to hold the bag very tightly to the

pot base over the drainage holes.

3. Obtain a calibrated jug, ½ to 1L volume. Then fill the

jug or beaker to the 1L mark, (or ½ L mark if it is a 500ml

beaker). Pour the water into the pot to the normal volume

you would have your potting media, or simply fill it almost

to the brim. Measure the volume of water held by this pot,

record the volume and tip the water out of the pot.

4. Now fill the pre taped pot with the growing media you

wish to test, not too wet, not too dry, but just moist is ok.

Just fill the pot and tap the pot down, but gently as you

would if potting up a plant.

5. Fill the jug or beaker again to the 1L mark. Ensure that

this is done very accurately. Now slowly add the water to

the media in the pot prepared with the taped up drainage

holes. Be gentle and pour the water slowly. Add enough

water to fill all the air holes in the media to absolutely full.

This is when a film of water is just appearing on the media

surface but most importantly, not above the media surface.

If the pot is leaking badly, then start again with another

very dry pot and take much more care in the taping

procedure. Even at best it could leak a little. However,

only just a very little is allowable. Now record how much

water was needed to fill all the pore spaces in the media.

We now have recorded (1) the total pot volume and now

the maximum air space volume of the media. In my

example, the original pot volume was 860 ml and the

amount of water taken to fill the pore spaces was 500 ml.

keep this recorded.

6. Carefully remove the duct tape whilst holding the pot

over an empty, clean bucket or similar container, then

stand this pot into another, clean, upturned pot, so the pot

containing the media can drain freely into the bucket.

7. Do not tilt this pot at all, but just let it drain for a few

minutes. 10 minutes is ample, as the natural dripping from

the pot should have ceased.

8. Gently remove this pot from the bucket without tilting

it, as it will again dribble quite a bit if it is tilted. Avoid

this as much as possible. Ensure all the water in the

measuring container prior to this is poured out. Remove

the upturned pot carefully, and pour the drained water into

your measuring jug or beaker. The measuring needs to be

as accurate as possible.

9. Record how much water drained. In this experiment the

amount of drained water was 180 ml.

10. We now have 3 figures to do our equasion.

The original pot volume was 860 ml.

The total air space was 500 ml.

The drained volume was 180 ml.

This can be expressed as a percentage

Total air space of the media divided by the pot volume

500 / 860 x 100 = 58%

Drained water volume divided by the pot volume

180 / 860 x 100 = 21.18% (rounded to 2

decimal places)

The conclusion is an air filled porosity after drainage is

21.18%.

A good average is 15 to 25% air filled porosity after

drainage for most plants. It provides enough spaces for

roots to grow with enough oxygen for root health and

nutrient and water absorption.

If we subtract the % water drained from the total pore

space, we get 58 – 21.18 = 36.82 water holding

percentage. A media should be above 30% water holding

or for bedding plants in cells etc about 40% provides better

keeping for better shop shelf life etc.

What we know now is that this media in this pot needs

36.82, say 36 to 40 ml of water when we need to irrigate it.

This knowledge aids in saving water and nutrient wastage

if liquid fertilizers are being used.

The knowledge of water holding capacity, air spaces,

coupled with behaviour of plants and correct mineral or

element balance and interaction behaviour is what is

needed to design a modern functional potting media.

Those interested in propagation from cuttings should make

a media of 30% or more air filled porosity with reasonable

water holding capacity etc. (low nutrient salt and low

unwanted salts). All this and water quality knowledge is

what modern, dependable growing is all about.

The rest! The knowledge of the particular plants to be

grown; light; temperature; humidity; day length response;

disease susceptibility are all the ART of growing and yes,

we all make mistakes, but let the mistakes strengthen your

growing ability, not dishearten you. With all the latest and

best technical know-how, the ART of growing is

observation, care and passion for what you are growing.

Peter E. Albery

Technical Advisor to GGS

(based on 57 years growing)

MIRIAM ANN ORCHIDS NEWSLETTER

ALAN’S COLUMN -APRIL 2014

8

COMMITTEE NOTES APRIL 1st, 2014

The committee discussed arrangements for the upcoming table-top display at the Brisbane Orchid Society Show at Mt

Gravatt State School on 12th and 13th April. Set-up is at 4pm on Friday 11th April. Please contribute flowering plants for

the display. Pick-up again on Sunday afternoon.

Floral Art Workshops were very successful. The Committee has agreed that those members who would like to display

arrangements and /or corsages at meeting nights could use the table near the Australian natives. This is non-competitive.

Members should feel free to take home and fill in a nomination form for benching plants at the monthly meetings. Some

members’ writing is hard to read.

POTTING SUPPLIES ORCHIATA Bark is available FROM Ken Martin, Phone 3341 5474. 9 Dianna Street UNDERWOOD.

It is available in 4 sizes, Small 6-9mm, Medium 9-12mm, Large 12-18mm and Extra Large 18-25mm.

The price to LADOS members is $25.00 per 40L bag,.

Coconut Chips are available in 2 sizes, small and large from Ken @ $11.00 per block.

Ken has also taken delivery of Perlite which is now available from him.

Adrian has sourced Charcoal in 10L bags @ $10 a bag and is available from Ken.

Students and Instructors at the Floral Art course held at Jan McKenzie’s residence. Left to right Margaret Tierney, Glenys Cox, Helen Murray, Chris Cox, Sue Mackley, Jan McKenzie, Heather Forman, Kerry

On Saturday, 22nd March, the second floral art workshop was held. The first workshop earlier in March had

been on the subject of Floral Arrangements and this last one was on Corsages. Helen Murray taught the

sessions and she was ably assisted by Margaret Tierney.

The society supported the idea of floral art workshops to encourage greater member participation in the Floral

Art Section of the August show. When so many members expressed interest in learning, the plan was put into

operation.

Each of the members who attended made an arrangement and a corsage. This might indicate that there will be

greater numbers of entries in this section of the show.

Special thanks must go to Margaret Tierney for her personal help to many of us (my arrangement and corsage

would not have been as successful without her.) Secondly, I would like to thank Barry Scriven for delivering

orchids to us on the mornings of the workshops.

Going on the photo, everyone looked to be having a good time. It was really enjoyable.

Jan McKenzie.

As a follow up to the course it was decided by the committee to make room on the monthly display tables for a

section of Non-Competitive Floral Art, this will allow the ladies to get experience at the making and presenting

their handy work.

9

Cattleya bicolor Lindl

ORCHID SPECIES BULLETIN. VOL. 42 No 3 March 2014

Cattleya bicolor Lindl. is a distinctive member of the genus on account of its

labellum which lacks side-lobes.

John Lindley described this species in the Botanical Register in 1836, based

upon a painting by M.E. Descourtilz. The specific epithet comes from the

Latin bi (two) and color (colour) for the two-toned blooms. Plants were not

seen in European cultivation until Messrs Loddiges of Hackney imported

plants to England in 1838 (or 1837 according to Jack Fowlie).

C. bicolor is a large sympodial epiphytic plant that has clustered terete, long and

slender pseudobulbs which are variable in height depending upon cultivation

and also subspecies. The 25-80 cm tall pseu-dobulbs consist of 5-8 internodes and are longitudinally grooved. At the apex

of each pseudobulb are two or sometimes three narrowly lanceolate or broadly ellip­tic leathery leaves which are 12-20 cm

long and 2.5-5 cm broad. An inflorescence that is 10-25 cm long carries 2-10 (or more) showy flowers from a green and

purple-mottled sheath at the pseudobulb apex.

Slightly fragrant, the flowers are 7.5-10 cm across and have coppery-brown, tawny -yellow to olive or green-brown sepals

and petals. Sometimes the sepals and petals may be finely spotted with maroon or pur­ple-brown. The lip is white and is

flushed with lavender purple to pale rose, which is usually more intense centrally. It has a crimson mid-lobe that is edged

pink, sometimes with a white margin. Its col­umn is white, suffused with lavender-pink. The rare albino form C. bicolor

fma. alba Fowlie has apple-green sepals and petals and a white column and lip.

Endemic to Brazil, C. bicolor grows as three races that have been recognised by Jack Fowlie (1977) as three subspecies. C.

bicolor subsp. bicolor is a coastal population that is distributed in eastern São Paulo, central Rio de Janeiro and south-

western Espírito Santo. Subsp. bicolor has spathulate petals and a lip mid-lobe that is barely dilated and hardly notched at

the tip. It is found between 700-1,000 m (to as high as 1,800 m) alti­tude.

The other two races are tetraploid plants and are found in the Brazilian interior in Minas Gerais and Brasilia. C. bicolor

subsp. minasgeraisensis Fowlie is found in Minas Gerais at around 1,000-1,200 m elevation. This subspe­cies is larger in

all dimensions than subsp. bicolor. It is distinguished by the broader, more expanded kidney-shaped mid-lobe that is

usually margined with white.

C. bicolor subsp. brasiliensis Fowlie comes from Brasilia and has club-shaped petals with undulate margins and a

broadly dilated kidney-shaped mid-lobe that has a notched apex. The flowers of subsp. brasiliensis are dark brown

with a crimson-purple lip that virtually lacks any white.

C. bicolor requires bright light such as 50-70% shade and a well-drained potting medium. It can be grown in a pot or

basket and also mounted. If potted, the roots should be allowed to dry between waterings as they do not tolerate con­

tinually wet conditions. Good air circulation is important at all times as well as high humidity during the warmer months.

In winter the plants need a drier rest with reduced watering. Occasional waterings or misting of the roots in the mornings

will ensure that the pseudobulbs do not shrivel excessively. I recommend a winter minimum of 12ºC.

Gary Yong Gee

The Logan and District Orchid Society Inc.

Saturday Cultural Information Meeting Invitation to all Logan & District Orchid Society Inc. members to attend the meeting of the The Logan and District Orchid

Society Saturday Cultural Information Meeting, at 51 Lionheart Street Forestdale 4118

The meeting will be at 9.30 am on Saturday the 3rd of May 2014 The topic for the May meeting is Nomemclature.

Please bring along any problem plants or a plant in need of a repot and if time permits we can discuss these

problems and repotting methods.

As with previous meetings it would be appreciated if you would contribute $1.00 towards the cost of photocopying.

Our phone number is: 3800 3213

Our address is: 51 Lionheart Street

Forestdale 4118

Maree and Reg are looking forward to seeing you on the day.