tos newsletter feb 2010 - triangle orchid society newsletter feb 2010.pdf · 2012-02-17 · the...
TRANSCRIPT
Orchidacea Inside this issue:
This Month’s Speaker 1
Minutes of the Last Meeting & Treasurer’s Report
2
Last Month’s Speaker’s Transcript
3
Jack Webster Show
Table Awards 4-5
Recent Orchid Shows 6-7
Growing Tips by Courtney T. Hackney
8
Orchid Events, Speaker Dates, TOS Meeting Schedule Volunteer Schedule
9
Map and Directions to Sarah P Duke Gardens
10
The Triangle Orchid Society meets at the
Sarah P. Duke Gardens,
Durham, NC The Second
Monday of the Month
at 7:30 PM
www.Triangle OrchidSociety.org
Newsletter of the Triangle Orchid Society
Associated with Sarah P. Duke Gardens
Speaker for February 8, 2010
Francisco Miranda - Rupicolous Orchids Francisco Miranda was born in Rio de Janeiro on February 6, 1956. He has been growing orchids since ‘79, when he got his degree in Biology. While living in the city of Manaus, Amazonas, during ‘81, he began taxonomic studies in the orchid family. The following year in Rio de Janeiro, Francisco began field trips to Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, mainly to try to find rupiculous Laelia species in their natural habitats. He returned to Manaus in ‘83, working on a Master’s degree and making extensive field trips to Rondonia. From hundreds of herbar-ium specimens prepared, many new species were described in subsequent years, mostly in Catasetum and Mormodes. Francisco finished his Master’s degree
in ‘85, and his thesis was “section Cattleyodes of the genus Laelia”. Many years of orchid field research have resulted in many new species de-scribed in several scientific papers and books. These books are not taxonomic treatments, but instead illustrated guides on very interesting Brazilian areas of orchids. Since ‘88, he has been giving lectures to Orchid Societies on several different subjects on Brazilian orchids. In ‘96, he was the Program Chairman for the 15th WOC in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From 1986 to 2000 he had an orchid nursery in Rio de Janeiro, Orquidário Boa Vista, specializing in producing supe-rior cultivars of Brazilian orchid species. Presently, he owns Boa Vista Orchids, a new Haines City, Florida-based nursery, where high-quality species in the Cat-tleya alliance are being produced continuing Orquidário Boa Vista's tradition. Since 2001, he is a qualified Taxonomic Authority for the AOS specializing in
the determination of Brazilian orchids, mainly of the Cattleya alliance.
Francisco may be reached at:
Miranda Orchids, 4763 Polk City Road,, Haines City , FL 33844,
Phone/Fax: 863-422-9398, Email: [email protected],
Website: http://www.mirandaorchids.com/ Speaker will have plants for sale
2010
TOS Membership
Dues are Due!
$18 per year single,
or $24 per year for 2 persons
living at the same address
Please mail to:
Melissa Bullard, Treasurer
510 North Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Dinner with the Speaker
5:30 PM - before the meeting
at the Neo China Restaurant
4015 University Drive,
Durham behind Target’s
at the South Square Mall.
Call Alan Miller at
(919) 969-1612
before 5 PM Monday
to make your reservations.
Orchidacea Page 2
TOS Officers and
Board Members
President
Robin Gurlitz (919) 929-9717
Vice President
Program Chairman
Alan Miller (919) 969-1612
Secretary
David Pickett (919) 688-8410
Treasurer
Melissa Bullard (919) 929-6806
Past President
Philip Warner (919) 785-0151
Board of Trustees:
At Large Trustees: 2010
Bob Davidson (919)-969-7365
At Large Trustees: 2011
David Devine (919) 828-5332
At Large Trustees: 2012
Lee Allgood (919) 721-7192
George Bizub (919) 454-4514
Jeremy Bueter (336) 301-3798
Sally Carpenter (919) 464-5764
Minutes of the Last
Meeting 1/11/2010 The first meeting of this decade was called to order at 7:30 by the president of the TOS, Robin Gurlitz. She thanked all of last year's volunteers with special mention to outgoing Treasurer, Leo Sagasti and welcoming the new Treasurer Melissa Bullard. Outgoing Secretary Bob Meyer was also thanked and the new Secretary David Pickett was welcomed. George Bizub was welcomed as the new host for the TOS speakers. Marie Crock, former speaker host was thanked for her great work. All 3 outgoing volunteers had held their positions for 2 years. A big thank you goes to each of them. The incoming Chair for Meeting Refreshments is Michael Arner and the incoming Chair for the Welcome Table is Lee Allgood. Volunteers are
needed for the Welcome table. Refreshments were provided by Nancy Hardy and Lee Allgood was at the Wel-come table. Volunteers are needed at each and every meeting to help put up and take down the lights for our Orchids tables.
See Paul Feaver to volunteer to help. Guests were welcomed and the minutes to last month’s meeting were reviewed
and accepted. We were reminded to pay our dues. Any checks can made out to TOS, and handed to Melissa Bullard at the meeting or mailed to her at 510 North Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514. A single membership is $18
and a dual membership is $24. Raffle tickets were available for $1 a ticket and there were 21 raffle plants. A reminder that if you bring in plants for the table you get 1 free raffle ticket for every
plant brought in, up to 5 tickets. There will be 2 upcoming shows in Janu-ary. The NC Piedmont Orchid Society near Charlotte will have a show Jan. 15-17 with the theme of "Orchids in trees". Any-one wishing to loan any orchids please label your plant with your name and fill out a sheet with your name and the name of the orchid. Marie Crock, Josh and Robin Gurlitz will put in the exhibit and
Miriam and Leo Sagasti will take it down. The 2nd show is the Triad show Jan. 29-31 in Greensboro. Alan Miller, George Bizub and Heather Schneider will put in the show. Bob Meyer will take down the show and will help. We will need the loan of about 50 plants. Alan will be contacting
TOS members about borrowing orchids. The Jack Webster Award Plants were: Greenhouse Grown Awards: 1st Place: C. percivaliana ‘Summit’ FCC/AOS b y N i c k P l u m m e r , 2nd Place: Laelia anceps var. veitchiana ‘Fort Caroline’ by Michael Wagner, and 3rd Place: Coelogyne mossiae var. alba
by Alan Miller.
The Non-Greenhouse Grown Awards: 1st Place: Cycnodes Jumbo Puff ‘Jumbo Orchids’ BM/TOGA by Jeremy Bueter; 2nd Place: Cymbidium unknown b y M a r i e C r o c k ; a n d , 3rd Place: Epicatanthe Volcano Trick
(Fireball) by Melissa Bullard. Thanks to Bob Davidson & Paul Feaver for giving us such a good presentation this evening. Alan Miller introduced the speaker, Art Chadwick Jr., who gave his talk on Classic Cattleyas. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM. Minutes submitted
by David Pickett, Secretary, TOS.
Treasurer’s Report,
Melissa Bullard
January 25, 2010
INCOME
Membership Dues $324.00
December Auction $17.00
Raffle $72.00
TOTAL INCOME $413.00
EXPENSES
Greenhouse Bench Rental: 1st Qtr $240.00
Refreshments $40.00
Hartford Insurance $350.00
Speaker Dinner $31.48
Raffle Plant $30.00
TOTAL EXPENSES $691.48
NET INCOME (LOSS) ($278.48)
Page 3 Orchidacea
Art Chadwick Jr. has a hard act to follow: his father, Art Sr., a very young at heart 80-year old. Not only is he one of the nation’s premier hybridiz-ers, he a respected author and historian. His book, The Classic Cattleyas is one of the most compre-hensive reviews available today. Art Sr. is also an avid ballroom dancer!! Together father and son founded Chadwick Orchids in 1986 in Powhatan, VA. Today, they also have a retail outlet in the mu-seum district of downtown Richmond. Art Jr. came to orchids via a degree in Electrical Engineering from NC State, a most unlikely route to be sure. Possibly, being raised in the world of orchids imprinted him early, for he is now as accomplished as his father
and is carrying on the family tradition. Art discussed the Classic or Large Flowered Cat-tleyas, which are all South America species, with the exception of C. dowiana which is native to Puerto Rico. The first to be discovered was C labiata, in 1821. By 1906 seventeen distinct species had been discovered, named and officially described. Art explained many of these species were discovered, their location lost (or deliberately disguised), then found again years later. Often they were renamed or considered new species when they were rediscovered. As a result, there was a great deal of confusion in orchid circles for many years until all
species were definitively described and named. During the early 1900s, large flowered Catts were used to create big showy corsages, a fashion state-ment made famous by first ladies such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Mamie Eisenhower. By the end of the WW II however, the fashion had faded and breeders turned to more “trendy” orchids. The large orchid houses that had supplied the flowers for corsages either went out of business, or found new business opportunities by developing new niche markets. Many of the wonderful, classic plants were simply thrown away and some are now lost to us. There were however, a number of growers who main-tained some of these classic specimens, and at Chadwick and Sons, it is the Classic Cattleyas that
have formed the basis of their breeding program. Art described C trianaei, C mossiae, and C labiata as the foundations of the Cattleya cut flower
industry. These three species are all vigorous, long flowering plants that can be brought into flower in time for major holidays or flower events. A carefully chosen collection of these three varieties can ensure continual blooming almost year round. C schroederae, C gaskelliana, C warscewiczii and C percivaliana augmented the market for the Big Three, and provided backup blooms as the seasons transitioned. Other species, such as C ludeddeman-niana, C lawrenceana, C mendelii, C warneri, C eldorado, C rex, C maxima, C jenmanii and C quadricolor did not have the size and vigor of the primary three, and their flowers were not as useful
to the cut flower industry. Art pointed out that these classic Cattleyas often are far more vigorous than the hybrids we have today. Additionally, they have excellent “carriage”, referring to how the flowers are presented. Presen-tation is critical to an orchid’s appeal and a cluster of flowers on a stem that is upside down, or crowded together; do not show the flowers to their best advantage. Species, however, naturally present well. While they often need staking, just like their hybrid offspring, they generally display themselves to
their own best advantage. Often these old species have better form than newer hybrids as well. Art said that in 1943 his fa-ther received a jungle collected division of C ludedde-manniana. To date, he believes that this particular plant, C ludeddemanniana ‘Arthur Chadwick” it is still on of the best lavender species available. A division of the original plant is still available if you absolutely have to have it for your collection – but it will cost
you thousand of dollars. Within the Orchid community, the Chadwicks are known for one very special tradition -- they have named a particularly nice new hybrid for each of the First Ladies, from Barbara Bush through to Michelle Obama. They have also named promising new hy-brids for Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher, the former British Prime Minis-ter. I checked the website but could not find any of
these plants for sale – but I’ll keep checking!
Transcript by Joy Lemieux, Sandhills Orchid Society
Transcript of Last Month’s Speaker
Orchidacea Page 4
The Triangle Orchid Society presented a table-top
exhibit at the N.C. Piedmont Orchid Society show
held recently near Charlotte. The exhibit was set up
by Marie Crock and Robin & Josh Gurlitz on January
14. Miriam & Leo Sagasti took the exhibit down on
January 17th. The show, attended by several orchid
societies, was held in the beautiful Daniel Stowe
Garden center which has its own outstanding
collection of orchids.
The TOS table top had a total of 20 orchids to exhibit
and we won 13 ribbons ranging from first to third
place. Plants were supplied by Marie Crock, Paul
Feaver, Robin & Josh Gurlitz, Bob Meyer & John
Stanton. The award ribbons were received by: Bob
Meyer, Marie Crock, Paul Feaver, John Stanton, Robin
and Josh Gurlitz.
NC Piedmont Orchid Society Show
January 15th-17th, 2010
“Orchids in the Trees”
Page 5 Orchidacea
The Triad Orchid Society held their show “Tropical
Dreams” at the end of January at the Greensboro
Council of Garden Clubs. The triad Orchid Society
hosted from across the region the Blue Ridge
Orchid Society, NC Piedmont Orchid Society,
Virginia Orchid Society, and Triangle Orchid
Society. Seagrove Orchids, Woodland Orchids &
Marriott Orchids were the vendors
The show was set up by George Bizub, Alan Miller,
John Myhre, and Heather Schneider on Thursday,
Triad Orchid Society Show
January 29th, 2010
“Tropical Dreams”
January 27th. Judging was done on Friday as the
snowstorm approached. The storm put a
unexpected end to the show Friday, with David
Pickett & Bob Meyer quickly recovering the plants.
Thank you for your heroic efforts!
11* Plants won ribbons out of the 50 that were sup-
plied by Lee Allgood, Paul Feaver Bob Meyer, Alan
Miller, Ann & John Myhre, David Pickett, Phil
Warner and Heather Schneider. *Results were still
being tallied by the judging committee at press time.
Orchidacea Page 6
Jack Webster Awards
Non Greenhouse
Grown
3rd Place Ribbon:
Ett. Volcano Trick ‘Fireball’
grown by Melissa Bullard
1st Place Ribbon:
Cyc. Jumbo Puff ‘Jumbo Orchids’
grown by Jeremy Bueter
2nd Place Ribbon:
Cymbidium unkown
grown by Marie Crock
Anyone who feels qualified and
is interested in teaming up to
do the plant table for the
monthly meeting, please get
in touch with Bob Davidson,
Jack Webster
Awards
Greenhouse
Grown
Page 7 Orchidacea
3rd Place Ribbon:
Coelogyne mossiae var. alba
grown by Alan Miller
1st Place Ribbon:
C. percivaliana ‘Summit’ FCC/AOS
grown by Nick Plummer
2nd Place Ribbon:
Laelia anceps var. veitchiana
‘Fort Caroline’
grown by Michael Wagner
Growing Tips for February By Courtney T. Hackney EMAIL at [email protected]
Winter is the time when spikes from the multiflora
Paphs in my collection suddenly appear. Paphs are not a
group of orchids that I used to have in my collection, but
gifts over the years brought the occasional Paph that
would flourish for awhile and then suddenly decline
because I did not repot them frequently enough. After
reading an article on Paphs in their natural habitat, I
realized that they typically grow in limestone outcrops so
high acidity in decaying media seemed like a logical expla-
nation for the decline in growth as the medium degraded.
A visit from Paul Phillips confirmed what I suspected;
dolomite limestone aided Paph growth and was
discovered long ago by English Paph growers. For many
years, I added pelletized lime to my Paphs every month or
so. If I forgot, I would notice a change in leaf color on a
few Paphs that would prompt me to add lime. Within a
week, I could see the color change in my Paph leaves
reverted to its normal light green color. With this
regimen, I could go a year without repotting, but still the
medium degraded too quickly for my taste.
Perhaps Paph lovers enjoy repotting, but those of us
that grow cattleyas find repotting a chore; hence, my
search for another medium. The use of lava rock as a me-
dium for Paphs was almost accidental. A large plant of
Paph Lady Isabel fell off the bench and a growth broke off
leaving its roots behind. I threw the growth into a clear
plastic pot, which immediately fell over from the weight of
the plant. I was experimenting with lava rock for my cat-
tleyas at the time, so I threw a handful of lava rock into
the pot to keep it from tipping over and set it among the
other Paphs with the intention of repotting as soon as I
got some Paph mix. Needless to say, I forgot about the
plant until I saw a large spike emerging on the Paph bench.
When I lifted the plant the root system had almost filled
the bottom of the pot and there were two new growths.
Rock doesn’t seem like a medium that Paphs would like
because Paphs like constant moisture in their medium.
Their fine roots dry out quickly. How could they survive
in rock? As I experimented with lava rock as a medium it
became clear that lava rock had an ability to absorb a large
quantity of water once it had weathered. Initially, I used
pea sized lava rock right out of the bag, but would find a
layer of fine, red sand at the bottom of the pot after a few
months. Paphs in this mix often had dead roots similar to
situations where the medium had degraded.
After several iterations it became clear that the lava
rock had to be weathered by soaking in water for a few
weeks or left outside to loosen the fine grains of sand
from the porous surface. This is not necessary with most
rock materials. Also, it was clear that larger size lava rock
was necessary to allow enough air movement around the
roots. Half inch diameter worked best, although in larger
pots one inch diameter or larger is placed in the bottom
to increase drainage.
Dolomite lime, preferably the pelletized form, is still
added to the surface because it lasts longer, but the pow-
dered form will work just as well. When I used rainwater,
which was acidic, lime was added monthly, especially in
summer when orchids were watered two or three times
per week. The combination of lava rock and lime led to
Paph roots that would fill the plastic pot and occasionally
deform it from their expansion. Often the pot would need
to be cut to remove the Paph, but only after several years’
growth. At last, no repotting.
The only modification in this protocol occurred after my
move to Florida where I have water with more dissolved
solids and a pH of 7.5. I now add lime less frequently and
get the same results. I am still experimenting with even
larger pieces of lava rock for larger pots, now required
because the Paphs get so large. Crushed lime rock is also
readily available in Florida and is now being added as a sur-
face dressing as both an additional source of lime and be-
cause it does not absorb water providing better drainage.
Stay tuned for the next chapter after these experiments
are concluded.
Orchidacea Page 8
Lots of
Roots
Calendar
2010
Speaker
Topic
February
8th
Francisco
Miranda
Plants for Sale
Rupicolous
Orchids
March
8th
Tom
Nasser
Plants for Sale
Bulbophyllums
April
12th
Cordelia
Head
Plants for Sale
Good things
come in
small packages
Announcements & Upcoming Orchid Events
Welcome Table Refreshments
March Olivene Virtue Gerry Bowater
Feb Jeremy & Debbie Bueter Miriam & Leo Sagasti
Page 9 Orchidacea
If you have not paid your membership dues for the new
year, please do so by the March 8th Meeting. You will not
receive the newsletter unless your dues are paid. :A
membership is $18 per year single, or $24 per year for 2
persons living at the same address Please mail to: Melissa
Bullard, Treasurer, 510 North Street, Chapel Hill, NC
27514. Checks can be made out to TOS.
Feb. 13th: Darwin Day, Noon to 5PM,
NC Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 West Jones St,
Raleigh, NC, 27601, (919) 733-7450. Please contact Robin
Gurlitz at (919) 929-9717 or [email protected] to help.
Feb. 6-April 11th: Orchids, a Cultural Odyssey, US
Botanical Gardens, Washington DC. 100 Maryland Ave.
SW, Washington, DC. For Information (202) 225-8333,
Website: http://www.usbg.gov/index.cfm
Feb. 12-14th: SC Orchid Society Show,
Riverbanks Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Visitors Center,
1300 Botanical Garden Pkwy., West Columbia, SC.
Contact: Stan Hutto, (803)359-3680 or [email protected].
http://www.scoshome.com/index.html
Feb. 13th: Paphiopedilum Forum, US National
Arboretum, Washington, DC. Contact: Lynn & William
Goldner, 5810 Huntingtown Rd., Huntingtown, MD
20639; (410) 286-2664, [email protected].
Feb. 26-28th: Virginia Orchid Society Show,
Strange’s Nursery, 12111 W. Broad St.,
Richmond, VA. Contact: Valerie Thacker,
( 8 0 4 ) 3 3 8 - 7 1 0 0 , v t h a c k e r@comc a s t . n e t
http://www.vaorchidsociety.com/2010VOSShow.html
Also: www.aos.org, click on “Events” & “Show Schedules”
Triangle Orchid Society Meeting Agenda:
7:00-7:30 Set Up Show Table and Chairs
7:30-7:45 Business Meeting Announcements
7:45-8:10 Show Table Review
8:10-8:30 Refreshment Break
8:30-9:20 Program
9:20-9:30 Show Table Awards, Raffle & Door Prizes
9:30 P.M. Meeting Ends
Triangle Orchid Society Dues are:
$18 per year single, or $24 per year for two persons living at the same address.
Mail to: Melissa Bullard, Treasurer 510 North Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Newsletter Editor Heather Schneider
610 Royal Tower Way Cary, NC 27513
Phone: (919) 465-1984
E-mail: [email protected]
Associated with Sarah P Duke Gardens
The Triangle Orchid Society
meets at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens,
Durham, NC The Second Monday of the Month
at 7:30 PM
Visitors are Welcome!
www.TriangleOrchidSociety.org
Exit 14
From the East. Exit 13 on the Durham Freeway(#147)
Head South on Chapel Hill Rd. Turn right on Anderson St.
The Gardens are on the left.
From the West. Exit 14 on the Durham Freeway (147)
Head South on Swift Ave. Turn right on Campus Drive ,
Turn right on Anderson St. The Gardens are on the left.
Exit 13