February 2008 - Volume 5 - Number 2 Published by the South Florida Orchid Society

President’s Message Congratulations to Bob Fuchs, the World Or-chid Conference Committee members and all of thevolunteer members of SFOS and Ft. LauderdaleOrchid Society for a fabulous Conference and Show.It was a truly amazing event with breathtakingdisplays. We are especially proud of those SFOSmembers who received WOC trophies and medals! It was gratifying to receive so much positivefeedback; the Get Growing talks were very popu-lar and well–attended. Christa Collins did a superb job coordinatingthe volunteers who staffed our SFOS booth. Wewere delighted with the success of the televisionraffle and the Orchid Wiz sales and also signed upsome new members. Alex Maximiano was thereevery day to demonstrate his Orchid Wiz, andMarlene Clark chose the beautiful TV for the raffle.Eduardo Marcellini hooked the TV up to his DVDplayer so we could show the great picture quality.Thanks to the following members who helped inour booth during the show: Marlene and CharlieClark, Ann Thayer, Nell and Brian Hammer, LeighElliott, Dorothy Isemonger, Jeanette Pearl, SherrilMarks, Jan and Allen Mink, Belen Conesa, RenateVon Komepena, Bill Harward, Jeanie DeBogory,Erna Maxwell, Ann Koch, Debbie Karge, VirginiaSerrano, Daisy Suero, and our wonderful secretary,Ellen Hansen. Dr. Paul Wetter is our show chairperson for nextyear’s 63rd Miami International Orchid Show, Feb27, 28, and March 1, 2009. The show theme is “Se-cret Orchid Gardens” and the beautiful poster wasdesigned by Fred Caravallo. Alex Maximiano willassist Paul and I am confident that next year’sshow, which will be held again at the Sheraton,will be a huge success. We certainly started off 2008 with a bang andare looking forward to seeing many of you at theupcoming meetings.

Sandy

FEBRUARY PROGRAMThe 25 Best Orchids I have Seen in the Past Three Years

Greg Allikas has been a commercial photog-rapher in the Palm Beaches and an orchidgrower since 1970. He is awards photographerfor the AOS West Palm Beach Judging Center,Florida-Caribbean Judging Center in Miami,and many annual south Florida orchid showsincluding Miami International, Ft. Lauderdale,Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton andNaples. His photos are regularly seen in numer-ous AOS publications including the annual cal-endar and the AQ and Orchids magazine. Hehas written articles for both Orchids magazineand Orchid Digest and has been published inthe Russian magazine, World of Orchids. Gregalso has many photos in the latest editions ofthe Sunset and Ortho books on orchids. In No-vember, 2005, Thunder Bay Press publishedtheir second book by Greg Allikas and Ned Nash.World’s Most Beautiful Orchids features over500 photographs and pages of insightful textabout orchids. Christmas season 2007 will see athird Allikas-Nash collaboration for Creative Ho-meowner titled Four Seasons of Orchids. In early 2005, Greg was honored to consulton, and supply photography for a United Nations

presented by Greg Allikas

Continued on page 2

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postal administration endangered species stamprelease featuring 12 endangered orchid species.Greg is a popular speaker and in demand at or-chid societies across the U.S. Greg especially enjoys field trips to photo-graph orchids in their native habitats. In 2005,he visited Venezuela twice to see Cattleyamossiae and Cattleya violacea blooming in situ,and to north Georgia to photograph Cypripediumacaule. In 2006 Greg visited both Colombia andVenezuela to do award photography at the In-ternational Show in Pereira, Colombia and afield trip to the Venezuelan habitat of Cattleyapercivaliana. Greg is the proprietor of the popular OrchidPhoto Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.orchidworks.com. Greg and Kathy main-tain a mixed collection of about 1,000 orchidscomprised of Cattleyas & Laelias, Vandaceous,Dendrobiums and Oncidium allies as well asmany unusual species orchids.

UPCOMING AREA EVENTS & CLASSESThe Naples Orchid SocietyWith Naples Rotary ClubPresents the 35th Annual

Orchid Show and Sale

March14, 15 &16, 2008Friday,3pm – 6:30pm Saturday,9am-5pm

Sunday,12pm-4pm

At McSpadden Hall, NaplesUnited Church of Christ

5200 Crayton Road,Naples, FLProceeds to benefit Laces of Love, providing new

shoes to low income and disadvantaged children ofCollier and Lee Counties

For information, go to www.naplesorchidsociety.orgfor info and a $1off admission coupon

or call 239-403-7155Continued on next column

Tampa Bay Orchid Society’sOrchid Show & Sale

“Rainforest Orchid Fantasy”

March 7-9, 2008HOURS: Friday 10 am to 5 pm

Saturday 9 to 5 Sunday 10 to 4Admission: $4.00 Free Parking

( Includes free momento )

Orchids & Orchid Supplies * RafflesFree Orchid Doctor Booth & WorkshopsRe-potting area * Books * Refreshments

LOCATION : Bayanihan Arts & Events Center,14301 Nine Eagles Dr, Tampa,FL

{Near Eagles Golf & Country Club}DIRECTIONS: Hillsborough Ave to north on

Racetrack Road (2.9 miles) to left on Nine Eagles toBayanihan Arts Center.

(North of Tampa Bay Downs Racetrack)

We meet the 3rd Thursday of each month at theSeminole Garden Center at 7:30 p.m.5800 Central Ave., Tampa, FL 33604

Additional info: 813-310-7676Email: tbos1st@gmail.com

www.tampabayorchidsociety.comSave this flyer for FREE raffle ticket!

Continued on page 3

Florida West Coast Orchid SocietyAnnual Auction

Saturday, April 19th, 8am – 4pm. Plant preview 8am– 9am, Auction 9am – 4pm or until plants are gone.

Hundreds of exotic orchids going to the highestbidder. Largo Cultural Center’s Historic Largo FeedStore - 105 Central Park Drive, Largo, FL 33779.

Free Parking and Admission Contact Cheryl Finke –727.420.7230. cfinke@tampabay.rr.com.

Thank you, Barbara Pecan, Publicity

3Email: QuestOrchid@bellsouth.net

Continuedon page 3

Bonnet House Museum & GardenFebruary Orchid Classes

February 23, 2008 Mac Rivenbark of Mac's Orchids -Orchid ABCs. Newcomers to orchids will value theirtime spent with Mac Rivenbark, who makes it easy tograsp the basics of orchid care. Discover how to chooseplants and what they need – water, light, fertilizer, tem-perature – to be healthy and flower. Come learn fromthis enthusiastic teacher who has a passion fordendrobiums and orchids of the Philippines.

Watering Orchids in DroughtDrought restrictions on watering went into effectyesterday!. Many folks are asking how they willmaintain their vandas and other genera that requirefrequent watering. The answer lies in the exceptionfor hand watering plants for 10 minutes with a hoseto relieve stress or prevent them dying.

Properly done, vandas and delicate genera can bewatered easily in a ten minute interval. Rememberwhen water is running off a surface , the surface isas wet as it can be with that application of water.Using a mist head, coat the entire plant and rootsjust till water is starting to drip off. This should takejust a few seconds. Move on to the next plant andrepeat until the entire collection is coated. At theend return to the first plants and repeat the processof misting for the entire collection.

Mist heads come in various volumes. A two gallonper minute head should do even a fairly large collec-tion in ten minutes. The 20 gallons of water used isless than an average shower or a few flushes of aninefficient toilet.

Using the right instruments is key to proper waterconservation. Mist heads are available at many gar-den shops. A watering wand permits accurate andefficient application of water.

SOUTH FLORIDA ORCHID SOCIETYFUNDS ORCHID RESEARCH

I wanted to thank you and the South Florida OrchidSociety for your support to our research program onorchids. It has been quite a challenge to find re-sources to perform good research on orchids. TheSFOS has been fundamental in keeping us alive andkicking. That allow us to provide back to the com-munity, orchid lovers and enthusiasts, and orchidnursery growers, information that could be relevantand of impact to improve the techniques of orchidcultivation, propagation and conservation, as wellas orchid education.

Best regards,Wagner A. Vendrame

Associate Professor, Department of EnvironmentalHorticulture, Tropical Research and Education Cen-ter, IFAS - University of Florida, 18905 SW 280thSt, Homestead, FL 33031-3314

CATTLEYA SPECIALTIES

17899 S.W. 280th Street • Homestead, FL 33031-3310U.S.A.

Tel: (305) 248-6557Fax: (305) 248-9766

Web: www.amazoniaorchids.comE-mail: sales@amazoniaorchids.com

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GOODYERA DAIBUZANENSISby Susan Taylor

Goodyera daibuzanensis is one of the popu-larly called Jewel Orchids known for their lovelyfoliage rather than for their flowers which aregenerally not very interesting. Terrarium enthu-siasts use this and many other Jewel Orchidplants to add leaf color and variety to their gen-erally plain green environments much as garden-ers use outdoor plants for the same purpose. Jewel orchids are distributed widely through-out Southeast Asia, North and South America,and Australia. They are generally terrestrial innature, growing in leaf mold in forested areas.They are spreading plants so can be placed di-rectly in medium in a terrarium and they willquickly spread to provide a great show. Manyjewel orchids will grow when just one piece is bro-ken off and placed in appropriate medium andthese babies can be given to friends for them toenjoy. The various sp species are found around theworld, some even in the northern US where theyare known to as "Rattlesnake Plantain." Most spe-cies are native to India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Ma-laysia, and Indonesia. Goodyera daibuzanensis is found only on Tai-wan, where it is quite common in mountainousforests between 800 and 2,000 meters where itwill receive a good deal of rain. It is one of thesmallest of the Jewel Orchids, with leaves only 2inches, or 5 centimeters, long. The leaves grow ina really pretty rosette fashion which shows thesilver and green striping and mottling to advan-tage. The flower inflorescences will grow to 10inches, or 25 centimeters, high with small whiteflowers which are presented with a spiral aroundthe stem. Grow this little orchid in a terrarium with highhumidity among other similar plants. Providegood air circulation to combat the formation ofmold or bacterial problems. They require low lightconditions which make them very easy to main-tain in a home environment. Too much light willbleach their leaves to dull colors and you will losethe lovely contrast and velvety texture for whichthese plants are so prized. Many terrarium grow-ers will simply cut off any inflorescences sincethey are often too big for a small container andare not at all showy.

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Orchid Growing Tips

Kill those slugsSpray slugs with straight rubbing alcohol and it willkill them. The only problem is finding the slugs tospray! Another remedy is to put a cut apple out over-night where the slugs can find it. They generally canbe found on the underside in the morning. Then appleand slug can be disposed of. Slugs can be a majorproblem in a collection, so if you see any signs ofthem don't ignore it. Treat them immediately.

Monitor plants by checking them out ona regular basisTalking to your plants has been a joke and a piece ofconventional wisdom for years. But as much folk-lore, it has a great deal of common sense attached toit. When you pay attention to the plant, by talkingto it, you are much more apt to notice any change orinvasion of pests. Thus it is a good tip to monitoryour plants on a regular basis. Check out a coupleplants a day, or a certain area of your collection regu-larly. You will be able to see any problems muchearlier this way and take care of problems beforethe plants are adversely affected.

Attack your ant problemsAnts tend scale and aphids just like we tend sheepand cows. They will carry in eggs and deposit themon your plants so that when they hatch the ants willhave honeydew to harvest. You need to be sure touse an integrated (and aggressive) approach to elimi-nating these pests. Bait outside the greenhouse orarea where you have your plants should reduce thenumber that actually makes it to your orchids. Useof DE (Diatomaceous Earth) in pots will make lifedifficult for the ants. Spray any area where you seethem with water with soap in it which will kill them.Use bait that kills the queen when you have a mound.

by Susan Taylor

Continued on next column

Use children's hairclips to as plant clipsA reader sent this idea in and it's a really good one.The hair clips come in different sizes and shapes andcolors. You can use just the right size for the specificplant and stake. And you can color code the clips toyour flowers, too! They are easy to find in almostany store that carries hair products and come in anamazing variety of sizes and colors.

Garden hoses and bacteriaIn a recent presentation a speaker mentioned some-thing that had not even entered my mind -- the gar-den hose used to water orchids outside or in a green-house. Especially during the summer months thewater that is in the hose in the sun gets warm enoughto provide a wonderful growing environment for bac-teria which we then spray on our plants. It is a goodidea to clean this water out before using it on plantsthat you are fond of. Let the water run for about 30seconds or more in order to get clean water in thehose.

AOS MEMBERSHIP SPECIALFrom now through March 31st, new members canjoin for $49.95/yr or $99.95 for two years. Currentmembers may extend their membership at the$99.95/2 year rate. While the $5 rebate to the spon-soring society has been suspended during this pro-motion, two year extensions or sign ups still receivethe $30 coupon. The website has been updated toreflect these prices so people can sign up throughthe secure website, call membership at AOS (561-404-2060) or one of the current membership bro-chures can be used. Just cross out the $60 and enterthe new price. In addition to the obvious benefits ofmembership like Orchids Magazine, membership inAOS gives our members privileges at over 200 Ameri-can Horticultural Society member Gardens and Ar-boreta. This turns out to be, unfortunately, a ratherwell-kept secret. For a complete list go to: http://www.ahs.org/pdfs/07/0708_RAP_Brochure.pdf.Ron McHatton, Director of Education and RegionalOperations

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American Treasures from theLibrary of CongressJefferson's Recipe for

Vanilla Ice CreamA passionate gourmet, Jefferson acquired a stock of stan-dard French recipes for sauces, fruit tarts, French-friedpotatoes, blood sausages, pigs' feet, rabbit, pigeons, andvarious other dishes. Among the most popular of theserecipes at Monticello was this one for vanilla ice cream--written by Jefferson, with his own recipe for Savoycookies to accompany the dessert on the back.

Fun Facts About VanillaTahitian vanilla also originally comes from Mexicanplant stock, but it mutated at some point in the lastfifty to sixty years and became its own species. It issignificantly different from Bourbon and Mexicanvanilla. The United States is the world's largest consumerof vanilla, followed by Europe - especially France.About 1400 tons of dried vanilla is produced world-wide each year. Our worldwide interest in naturalvanilla has grown considerably in the past severalyears, however, and the current annual demand isfor 2200 tons of vanilla. Vanilla is not only used as a flavor in foods andbeverages, but also in perfumes. It's also used inmany industrial applications such as a flavoring formedicines and as a fragrance to conceal the strongsmell of rubber tires, paint, and cleaning products.

Orchid Care

You remember when it was thought that orchid carewas only for the rich and famous. Well that was quitea while ago. Today most people know that orchidsare easy to care for. The real trick in orchid care is tobe preventive. Yes, it doesn't take much time orknowledge to keep them healthy. One of the fundamental orchid growing tips is tolook closely at each of your plants once a week. Itdoesn't take much time, probably 1 minute per plant.But this is a very important minute. Inspect closelyat the leaves including the underside, at thepsuedobulbs and at the spike. If you can see any ofthe roots look at those as well. This time spent onyour orchid care will be valuable. After a while youwill be used to seeing what is normal. Then you willbe able to spot any abnormality and be able to diag-nose and treat. To make orchid care easy, purchase orchids at areputable supplier and make sure they look vigor-ous. Once you bring them home it is wise to sepa-rate them from the rest of the collection for a coupleof weeks. In case, they do have a disease or insects itis best not to spread it. When you spot a problem acton it quickly. If you are unsure what it is consultyour local orchid society or the local nursery for ad-vise on what it is and the best orchid care treatment. Care of orchids includes identifying insects likeaphids, scale, mealy bugs, spider mites are amongthe insects that attack orchid plants. To see the lat-ter you will need a magnifying glass. Check with yourlocal nursery or a handbook for the best treatment.Remember these insects have varying life cycles andneed to treated so you stop growth at all the cycles.For good healthy growth of your orchids you needthe right amount of humidity as well as air circula-tion. Humidity with out circulation is the perfect setup for fungal and bacterial diseases. The leaves arethe first to be affected. There will be soft or sunkenspots. The flowers can also be affects. Orchid care willhelp to spot this, it usually can be a fine specklingon the flowers. They will not last long as well. Or-chid growing tips also show that flowers can be af-fected by virus'. You probably will notice some flowerspeckling, deformed flowers or irregular brown spotson the flowers. If this occurs and you feel this is aviral disease there is not much in the way of treat-ment. Care of orchids will tell you to throw out theplant before it infects others in your collection.

Keeping Your Orchids Healthyby Orchids-Plus-More

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7:30 pm - Registration & Judging of Plants7:45 pm - Announcements8:00 pm - Program8:45 pm - Refreshments9:00 pm - Awarded Plants Discussed9:15 pm - Raffle

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SFOS Meeting ScheduleWednesday, February 20, 2008

South Florida Orchid Society10801 S.W. 124 StreetMiami, Florida 33176

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