San
Diego County Orchid Society Volume 5 Newsletter Distribution - 712 Members June 1999 NOVICE CLASS JUNE 1, 1999 - 6:30 PM - CASA DEL PRADO - ROOM 104 By Chris Herndon, 2nd VP Last month, we did not have a Novice Class because of the Awards Banquet. I hope you all enjoyed the banquet. This month, I will be presenting the Novice Class on growing orchids. This will be a general discussion, ranging from how to grow different types of orchids to the differences between growing outdoors and indoors, under sunlight or under artifical light. I urge you to bring any questions you might have or even a plant or two that you are having difficulty growing. I hope to see you all there! THIS MONTH’S GENERAL MEETING JUNE 1, 1999 - 7:30 PM - CASA DEL PRADO - ROOM 101 By Ben Machado, 1st VP In a way this month is a continuation of the Australian connection because our guest speaker is a highly regarded referral from David Banks, our April speaker from Australia. He suggested Howard Gunn of Sacramento. As it turns out, several other members of our society also know Howard, giving him high marks for his personality and knowledge about species orchids. With that, his presentation will be titled "Miniature Species". Howard has a wealth of knowledge and experience (34 + years) above and beyond miniature species. To give you an idea what kind of a person he is, his last e-mail said he and his wife had just returned from a three day trip to Yosemite with David Banks. Now there’s a challenge! Anyone who can keep up with David Banks for three days has to be high energy. Here’s what Howard has to say about himself. "I’m too old to want to talk about my age (74). I’m growing about 1800 plants. About 1400 are species. Major interests are paphs (about 500, have nearly all the species), phrags, bulbophyllums (about 200 sp) maxillarias, miniature species of any kind, anything that falls into the weird category - stanhopeas, leafless orchids, etc. Grow phals (for my wife). Been growing orchids since ’65. Refuse to be a judge. Have about 25 AOS awards - 6 CCMs, 4 AMs, a bunch of HCCs, a CBR, CHM, about everything but an FCC. All but 4 are on species. Got the 4 AMs in the last year. One of my friends said it was about time I learned to grow". Howard will also provide plants for the Plant Opportunity Table. He says he has plenty of plants ready for dividing, so expect to see some nice division of mostly species. Dear Orchid Friends: First of all I want to wish our president, Fred Weber and his new bride Jill all the happiest, best wishes from the entire Orchid Society membership. It was fun to see them presented with the engraved crystal vase at the Banquet last month. They both wanted to be sure I mentioned how pleased they were with it and the thoughtfulness of the membership. They say it will be a beautiful addition to their home and a fond reminder of their SDCOS friends. I was also one of the 20 or so folks who travelled from San Diego to Vancouver, Canada for five days to the 16th World Orchid Conference. We were blessed with good weather and had lots of fun. The floral displays, lectures, plant sales and general gathering of so many orchid lovers was an event I will long cherish. I gave Duncan my three disks full of digital photos which I hope he will include on our website. (I still haven’t a clue how to put them into this newsletter! Hang in there with me I’ll get it yet!) As usual there’s lots of great member participation represented in this month’s newsletter. You people are really making this fun for all. I appreciate all the team effort. Keep those articles coming in! Take good care of your orchids. Conservation, I learned, begins right in our own collections. The better we grow our plants the more were are assuring their future.
Conservation Corner by Ron Kaufmann The 16th World Orchid Conference (WOC) was held in Vancouver, Canada, from April 27-May 2. The main theme of this conference was conservation, particularly as it relates to orchids and the habitat in which they live. Speakers from around the world gave talks on orchid conservation, culture, hybridizing, natural history, and classification. Here are some highlights from the wealth of information presented. Ned Nash, Director of Education and Conservation for the AOS, discussed the role of societies and individuals in conservation. He emphasized that orchid conservation shouldn’t be viewed as a goal that only can be accomplished by large groups with extensive financial resources and political influence. Each one of us, and the local orchid societies to which we belong, can practice orchid conservation by 1) growing our species orchids well, reducing the demand for "replacement" plants, 2) trading or giving divisions of species to other growers so as not to put further strain on wild orchids, and 3) supporting efforts by local societies to encourage conservation. Ned’s take-home message was that each one of us is capable of supporting orchid conservation, and that together we can be very effective in reducing stress on native orchids and their habitats. Juan Felipé Posada from Colomborquídeas in Medellin, Colombia, talked about the current conservation situation in his country. Colombia is one of the world’s richest repositories of orchid species, particularly high altitude beauties such as Masdevallia and Odontoglossum. Overcollecting of orchids in Colombia hasn’t been too much of a problem: the risk of meeting armed drug producers deters even the most ardent collector. However, the drug trade is destroying orchid habitat in Colombia, as is population growth. As populations increase, additional land is required for housing, subsistence-level agriculture and raising livestock. Native forests are cut down to provide housing materials and support the needs of burgeoning populations. The drug trade has a much more deadly effect on orchid habitat. Forests are destroyed to plant coca and poppies that are used to make cocaine and heroin. Once the authorities locate these illegal crops, they fumigate from the air with chemicals to kill the drug-producing plants. When their fields are destroyed, drug producers move into previously undeveloped territory, destroy more virgin forest and replant their crops. The current outlook for the interruption of this vicious cycle is bleak. These summaries only cover two of the 70+ talks that were given at the 16th WOC. This conference takes place every three years; the 17th WOC will be held in Malaysia in 2002. If there is sufficient interest, summaries of other talks from Vancouver will be included in future editions of this newsletter. Advice on Orchid Culture William A. Farone, Ph.D. How many times have you read advice on growing a particular orchid, then decided that the plant was simply too difficult to grow? I grow some 550 different species or hybrids, and over 700 plants, and have been studying guidelines on orchid culture for over 30 years. After reading and talking with other growers and hobbyists, I have concluded that many reference books simply repeat the same advice. Often a book is not useful for our growing conditions here in California. I would like to collect information on how you grow your orchids here in Southern California. I will collate that information and put it in a form for the newsletter so we can all share it. I believe the response will be very helpful to those thinking about growing the plants for which we provide the information. It may also be more helpful than much of the published literature. It may encourage more people to grow that plant who otherwise would not try it. Categories of information could include:
Obviously, we cannot all take time to answer this type of question for every orchid in our collection. However, we can pick one orchid group at a time. If you are willing to participate, and send the information in for your best or favorite orchid or orchids in the group, it would limit the effort to 7 lines of text once a month. Through the magic of e-mail (farone@msn.com) or the Post Office (14112 Picasso Court, Irvine, CA 92606) your information can help others. Maybe this is worth a try for a few months anyway. Let’s try Laelia species and hybrids for June/July. Possibly our editor can formulate a schedule and maybe even solicit some interest as to what groups to tackle. If enough members take the time to send in information, these data could have some lasting horticultural value. I have never seen a realistic database of growing information from even a small sampling of growers. I hope you will participate in this group endeavor--the more, the merrier! ORCHID TALK…By Esther Sivila Did you practice these multigeneric names, guessing the crosses in your collection? Isn’t it fun? Now, we continue on with the multigeneric hybrid crosses. RENADES (Renanthera X Aerides) RENAGLOTTIS (Renanthera X Trichoglottis) RENANDA (Renanthera X Arachnis X Vanda) RENANSTYLIS (Renanthera X Rhynchostylis) RENANTANDA (Renanthera X Vanda) RENANTHOGLOSSUM (Renanthera X Ascoglossum) RENANTHOPSIS (Renanthera X Phalaenopsis) RHYNCOCENTRUM (Rhynchostylis X Ascocentrum) RHYNCHONOPSIS (Rhynchostylis X Phalaenopsis) RHYNCORIDES (Aerides X Rhynchostylis) RHYNCOVANDA (Rhyncostylis X Vanda) ROLFEARA (Brassavola X Cattleya X Sophronitis) SANDERARA (Brassia X Odontoglossum X Cochlioda) SARCOTHERA (Sarcochilus X Renanthera) SHOMBOCATTLEYA (Shomburgkia X Cattleya) SHOMBOEPIDENDRUM (Shomburgkia X EpidendruM) SHOMBOLAELIA (Shomburgkia X Laelia) SHOMBONIA (Shomburgkia X Broughtonia) SOPHROCATTLEYA (Sophronitis X Cattleya) SOPHROLAELIA (Sophronitis X Laelia) SOPHROLAELIOCATTLEYA ( Sophronitis X Laelia X Cattlleya) TANAKARA (Aerides X Phalaenopsis ) TRICHOCIDIUM (Trichocentrum XOncidium) TRICHOVANDA (Trichoglottis X Vanda) VANDACHNIS (Arachnis X Vandopsis) VANDAENOPSIS (Phalaenopsis X Vanda) VANDOFINETIA (Vanda X Neofinetia) VANDOPSIDES (Aerides X Vandopsis) VANDORITIS (Vanda X Doritis) VASCOSTYLIS (Ascocentrum X Vanda X Runchostylis) VAUGHNARA (Brassavola X Cattleya X Epidendrum) VUYLSTEKEARA (Cochlioda X Miltonis X Odontoglossum) WARNEARA (Comparettia X Oncidium X Rodriguezia) WILSONARA ( Cochlioda X Odontoglossum X Oncidium) YAMADARA (Brassavola X Laelia X Cattleya X Epidendrum) ZYGOCASTE (Zygopetalum X Lycaste) ZYGOCOLAX (Zygopetalum X Colax) This is the end of my notes on the Multigeneric hybrid names. There are a lot more, but I picked the names that have a good chance of landing in your collection. I hope you learned a little from this column. Did you like it? Give me some feedback. Next month, we’ll talk about the common names used for some orchids. Can you tell the name of the orchid known as "The Fly?" How about "Deadman’s Fingers?" We’ll find out in the next issue. Dates to Remember June 1,
7:30 pm June 5, 9:00 am June 8, 7:00 pm June 11, 7:30 pm June 16 – Cymbidium Society
Meeting Visit our SDCOS Home Page... FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions About Orchids WHEN SHOULD I REPOT? The simple answer: When fresh rooting activity is expected (generally in the spring) or is very evident, generally every one or two years. Fresh rooting activity is best shown by the succulent green root tips on plump white roots. Often, the main flush of rooting will come from the base of the plant (in the case of phalaenopsis) or from the developing newest growth (in the case of dendrobiums and other orchids with pseudobulbs, such as cattleyas). Orchid plants need repotting for one or a combination of two main factors: Potting mix breakdown, often evidenced by dead roots, or the plant outgrowing the container. In the first case, a larger pot may not be required, simply replacement of the growing medium. In the second case, the plant may need dividing or may be shifted into a larger pot. Fresh medium should always be used. A good general rule of thumb is to pot for the bottom of the plant, the root system, and not for the top, the foliage. Freshly repotted plants should be placed in a shady, humid area until continued new growth is observed. In general, if in doubt, pot in the spring. MY ORCHID’S LEAVES ARE WRINKLED AND LEATHERY. WHY? The simple answer: Lack of water or dehydration. The next step is to determine why the plant is not getting sufficient water. First, look at the roots. If they appear a healthy white or green and are plump, and the medium is in good shape, suspect underwatering, especially if the roots are white and the pot is very light. If, on the other hand, the roots are in poor condition, suspect root loss. If the plant has no roots, it can not take up any water, no matter how much you give it. In this case, the cause may be root loss owing to overwatering or medium deterioration, or a recently repotted and poorly established plant. The immediate solution is to raise humidity in the plant’s vicinity to reduce stress on whatever roots there may be, and then deal with whether to repot or to simply wait until the plant establishes in the fresh medium. By Ned Nash, Director of Education and Conservation, American Orchid Society. Reprinted from Beginner’s Care Sheets in New Member’s packet, available from the AOS.6000 South Olive Ave. West Palm Beach, FL 33405-4199 E-mail TheAOS@compuserve.com How DO you grow Orchids?? Enter the Dillon/Peterson Essay Competition. Fame and Fortune Could be Yours!! (sort of) Discover the author in yourself by entering the 1999 Gordon W. Dillon/Richard C. Peterson Memorial Essay Competition. The theme for the 1999 competition is "How I Grow Orchids". You are encouraged to write about how you grow orchids, both the growing area and the cultural techniques you use to raise orchid plants. The winning entry (if any) will be published in the May 2000 issue of Orchids. Color slides or black-and-white prints as well as line drawings or tables that enhance the essay are welcome, but not necessary for prize consideration. The winner of the essay will receive a cash award (not to exceed $1,000) equaling the annual interest on an endowment established by the Northeast Judging Center. The rules for entering are printed on page 502 of the May 1999 Orchids. Deadline for receipt of all entries at AOS Headquarters is Tuesday, November 30, 1999. Submit all entries to Dillon/Peterson Memorial Essay Contest, American Orchid Society, 6000 South Olive Ave., West Palm Beach, FL 33405 or electronically to TheAOS@compuserve.com (documents must be saved in Word 6.0/Windows 3.1). Please direct requests for a set of rules or any questions to Jane Mengel at AOS Headquarters at the address above (tel. 561-585-8666; fax 561-585-0654; e-mail TheAOS@compuserve.com). Got a Great Recipe for Chili Rellenos? Curried Couscous? Marinated Mahi-Mahi? The AOS Wants YOU! AOS Special Funding Committee member Sandra Leopold is still seeking your best recipes for an Orchidists’ Cookbook she is putting together. She especially needs meat and vegetable recipes, but wants to get hold of your best, regardless of the type. She’d like to have recipes from a variety of regions, and thus far has primarily heard from hobbyists in Georgia and Florida. (Hey, we have 712 members…SOMEONE has to know how to cook!) Sandra is also gathering together culture tips ("those not ordinarily found in culture books") to add as special ingredients in her cookbook. So, send your recipes to: Sandra Leopold, 1617 Fox Hall Road, Savannah, GA 31406. Let’s let’em hear from San Diego!! Short-Growing Orchids By Tom Biggart Vanda lamellata I was looking around the greenhouse the other day in search of a great orchid to write about this month. After about fifteen minutes of searching I was about to give up when--right in front of my face--was Vanda lamellata! I said to the plant, "You’re it for this month, you little rascal." Vanda lamellata is found in most provinces of the Philippines, Borneo and even into Taiwan. It’s a very popular plant in Asia due to its almost ever-blooming habit. The peak season for flowering is November to January with periodic bloomings throughout the year. This Vanda is adaptable to a wide variety of extremes in nature, which makes it a great horticultural subject. The plant eventually grows to 24 inches tall. The 8 inch leaves are recurved, folded and leathery. The 12 inch inflorescence bears from 8 to 15 flowers. They are extremely long-lasting. You get sick of looking at them long before they fall off! The typical color is yellowish cream with varying amounts of brown spots and/or stripes. The lower sepals are normally more heavily marked. Fragrance is an additional characteristic. Many people make a collection of the various varieties of Vanda lamellata. Four varieties are listed in ORCHIDIANA PHILIPPINIANA by H. L. Valmayor, l984. An especially nice variety is Boxalli, which has light cream flowers with purple on the lip. I am very pleased with the way this plant thrives under my conditions of low humidity, low temperatures and bright light. Give this ultimate Vanda a shot. You won’t be sorry! THOSE MIGHTY MITES I have had a Paphiopedilum that has been doing quite well until about 2 months ago. It began developing a reddish brown rust on some of the leaves, so I sprayed it down with systemic insecticide and then wiped down the leaves with alcohol. I had to cut off some parts of the leaves because they were completely destroyed. Some leaves fell off on their own. I continued watching the plant and the rust kept coming back. I also continued to spray at 2 week intervals and removing infested portions. I am down to 3 leaves (from the original 12) and the rust keeps coming back. I originally thought that these were spider mites, but I never saw any webs. In case it was a fungus, I also tried an application of systemic insecticide (don’t worry, they were all applied at appropriately spaced intervals). What could this be? How can I get rid of it? From the symptoms you describe, your plant may have a case of spider mites or false spider mites. I have had an occasional outbreak of mites in my collection (seems after a new -apparently healthy- acquisition has been introduced) although I have yet to see a sign of webs. I have been able to actually see a mite moving on the underside of a leaf by using a hand lens. (A binocular scope would be even better, if you have access to one.) This is what I have learned--by no means a complete education, but it may be of some use to you: 1) Mites are most happy in low humidity situations, so keeping ambient humidity high and air circulating is important in keeping numbers down. 2) Mites can hide in the crowns of plants and cripple the flower spike and bud; if you see the stem has a browning scab on one or more sides, and the stem is distorted (one side can grow longer than the other, damaged side, so the spike is stunted and contorted) that may well be due to mites. Also, teeny-tiny pits on the top or bottom of leaves which cause browning and sinking of the tissue are a sign of mite infestation (you have to look closely). In my experience, leaf structure can affect the way the damage is expressed--heavy, waxy strap-leafed paphs tend to show minute pitting on the upper surface, while tender-leaved paphs like urbanianum and bullenianum show browning pits on the underside of the leaf, beginning at the base of new leaves and spreading up. 3) Mites are not controlled by regular pesticides (e.g.Orthene, a systemic insecticide) but must be treated on schedule as per instructions with a specific miticide like Pentac or Avid. Sometimes adding an "irritant" like Mavrik to the Pentac can be helpful in flushing the little critters out of safe harbors in the crown or leaf axils. 4) Mites can spread rapidly and easily in a collection through water splashed, handling, etc. Once you determine mites are most likely present on a plant, it is probably a good idea to treat the whole bench or adjacent plants. 5) Some plants are mite-magnets—Oncidium lanceanum is a favorite of mites, and tender-leaved paphs, and some phals. When I see symptoms on these ‘canary’ plants, I know I need to treat my entire GH collection (all 7 by 8 feet of it :-) before the mites can settle in further. 6) Mites can cause damage that leads to secondary bacterial or fungal infection of the plant, which can make diagnosis confusing. Usually once the mites are controlled, the secondary infections clear up by themselves. 7) Mite infestation needs to be taken seriously; it can kill healthy plants, and seriously damage the foliage of survivors. Also, mites may transmit virus from one plant to another, putting other plants in your collection at risk. 8) It is a good idea to quarantine any new plant, keeping it away from your collection, for 3-4 weeks to make sure it is free of pests and disease. The previous owner may not have observed the mites, or treated the plant only once, killing only some of the population, or the mites may have escaped treatment by lurking in the leaf axil. After a few weeks of quarantine, symptoms would be apparent if pest or disease was present. I admit that I do not always do this with my new plants, being eager to put them in optimal conditions. However, advice I have read, and which I agree with, is to keep your new plants separate until you are confident they are not bringing new pathogens to your collection. As for the difference betweem false spider mites and spider mites and how you tell them apart, I will leave that for someone else to clarify (one is an insect, the other an arachnid, I think) . My treatment method: a mixture of Orthene and Pentac the first week, Pentac and Mavrik the second week, and Pentac alone the third week, which seems to effectively eliminate both insects and mites. I do not use a ‘preventive’ regime of pesticides, since I want to avoid their overuse; I just apply (according to package directions) when I observe insect/mites to be present. Written by Cindy Hill, for Orchid Discussion Online (ODO), orchidlist@vengers.com SDCOS Board of Directors Meeting May 11, 1999 Present: Fred Weber, Bud Close, Leno Galvan, Edith Galvan, Ann Tuskes, Concepcion Boyd, Jerry Boyd, Gary Pierwola and Siv Garrod. Meeting called to order at 7:03 P.M. REPORTS 1. Last meeting’s minutes were read and approved. 2. Treasurer - Edith Galvan - report for April was read, accepted and filed for audit. 3. First vice president - Ben Machado - Next month’s speaker will be Howard Gunn, he will speak on "Miniature Species" and will also provide plants for our table. 4. Show Chairman - Bud Close - No show meetings until August. Soliciting for a show theme will start soon. NEW BUSINESS 1.Jerry Boyd suggested that SDCOS should develop an educational orchid related program for 6th grade school children, to introduce them to the world of orchid growing. Bud Close suggested that this might be a project for a Science Fair. He will look into a program used in Arizona and submit a request for volunteers in the newsletter. The meeting was adjourned 7:38 P.M. Submitted by Siv Garrod "SERVICE TO OUR MEMBERS SECTION" HELP HOTLINE: The SDCOS offers a service to members who seek cultural information about their orchids. Here are some friendly hobbyists who have a great deal of experience and knowledge about certain types of orchids, and who have kindly volunteered to answer your questions. There are no commercial growers on this list. Cattleyas,
Oncidium/Odontoglossum, and Vandaceous, Greenhouse grown,
West SD county Forrest Robinson - (619) 270-6105
San Diego County
Orchid Society OUR MISSION: These are many of the
hard-working volunteers that keep our Society running.
There are many others with no titles that help these
folks make it happen. You are invited to help. Ask any of
these people how. |