Santa Clara Valley Orchid Society Established 1951 Helping You to Become a Better Grower. August 2008 SCVOS Newsletter

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1 Santa Clara Valley Orchid Society Established 1951 Helping You to Become a Better Grower August 2008 SCVOS Newsletter (please note that links in electronic copies are functional Speaker Notes This month, Doug Pulley will speak on the 6 th of July on his favorite topic, and his favorite plants, Stanhopeas. Doug is a wealth of knowledge on the genus, so I certainly hope you ll come by to hear this excellent presentation. Dr. Pulley has been raising orchids for over 34 years now. It all started when his wife gave him a cattleya for his birthday on April 1st, 1974, and he gave her another three weeks later. Because of the Armacost & Royston moving sale, he had over 100 orchids by that August. He moved to Los Gatos in 1976 and put up his greenhouse. He received his first AM/AOS award in 1979 on an Angraecum, a seedling purchased for $5 from the A&R sale. Soon he started breeding. His over 200 orchid hybrids include Cattleya, Miltonia, Dendrobium, Angraecum, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium, Cymbidium, and Stanhopea. He is the world s biggest breeder of Stanhopeas, having made about half of all hybrids ever registered. His plants have won over 25 AOS awards. He has spoken at seven societies in northern California, including San Francisco. He has been President and Vice President of the Santa Clara Valley Orchid Society a total of seven years. Professionally he is an Ophthalmologist. You can visit his website at for complete instructions on Stanhopea Culture and how to bloom Stanhopeas in pots. The website also features photos of several Stanhopeas, Phragmipediums and others, but availability of plants is out of date. He welcomes visitors to his greenhouse in Los Gatos (by appointment only). Please call for more info. Doug will be providing a wonderful plant table with a mix of genera this month, including some awarded cultivars!! Slc. Falcon Westonbirt FCC/RHS, FCC/AOS A few of Dr. Pulley s plants: Stanhopea grandiflora AF Stanhopea Starry Night 1

2 Stanhopeas are among the easiest orchids to grow. They will grow vigorously and bloom easily under widely varied conditions. Blossoms are fantastically unusual "jungle gems" of curious shape, 4-8" across and 2-12 per spike, depending on variety and culture. The blossom spike grows downward through the planting mixture, so they will not bloom in a pot. Flowers hang below the plant. Mature plants (bulbs larger than 1" diameter) must be planted in baskets lined with moss so the spikes can find a way out. I recommend 1" wire mesh, easy to cut out and form your own square basket 4-5" deep and 5-8" across, lined with moss, and filled with mix around the roots. Or you can use plastic baskets from I use approximately 70% small bark, 20% medium perlite, 5% charcoal and 5% fine hapuu, chunk peat moss, or coir for my potting mix. They can be grown in 100% New Zealand sphagnum moss as well. Stanhopeas do best in cool to intermediate temperatures, but will easily tolerate F. They will grow well in low to high light, but seem to bloom best in medium light. They are best a hanging plant, but seedlings grow well in pots on or under the bench, even with only indirect light. As spring turns warm, you can water nearly every bright day for best blooming in mid-to-late summer. Frequent watering in the summer is your key to blooming. Taper watering in the fall. Some species, such as hernandezii, insignis, jenischiana, and martiana prefer a cool to cold and dry winter. Fertilize with or similar every 2 weeks April-October, less in other seasons. Repotting is necessary every year for fastgrowing seedlings, but a mature plant in a basket can wait 2-3 years if it is doing well. If new growths poke out through the basket, you can just cut the wire around them and include it inside the new basket. The one drawback is that flowers only last 5-7 days, which is why so few are awarded. But you ll know they re there!! No other orchid has such pleasantly powerful fragrances, and some continue to perfume the air at night. Stanhopea connata smells like narcissus; panamensis like wintergreen; oculata Chocolate Mint speaks for itself; while tricornis, reichenbachiana and some clones of grandiflora have the sensuous fragrance of the Naked Lady Lily. A big plant will bloom for 2-4 months, one spike after another. Pests are unusual, except that Stanhopeas seem quite susceptible to mites. If you start seeing multiple small spots on the leaves, spray with a good miticide (Pentac, Mavrik or Talstar), 3 applications 7-10 days apart. Stanhopeas aren t fussy, and you ll love em! This month s we will skip the Ask the Expert Corner, which will return in September from its summer vacation. Please make sure to attend the meeting; Doug knows more about Stanhopea growing than anyone else in the world. We re lucky to have him and his expertise as part of our society. Remember the goal of the SCVOS: helping people become better growers even of things we don t usually think of growing Please stop by to learn at the August meeting. See you there!! New Members Since Peter and Oliver had a little vacation to the Philippines during July, we haven t quite gotten around to finding out who was a new member last month, so we ll just combine all the new members in the September newsletter. Have a look below to see what they were up to!! Other News If you are not getting your newsletter via , please be sure to give your currently correct address to Ed Nazzal, paphman@gmail.com. All plants brought for sale by members must be properly labeled, disease free, and priced in even dollar amounts. Ten percent of the sale price goes to the club treasurer, Marvin Bell, before you leave. We rely on the honor system. Thank you to those abiding by this rule; those who are not will have plant sales privileges revoked. Well I guess Dave Smitt has become the official society photographer. This month he s really come up with some wonderful things, added greatly to by Peter Brown and Oliver Colmenar, Susan Wiedmann, and me. 2

3 Tanya Lam was our speaker in July; she shared with us he successes in using coconut products in orchid culture, as is evidenced by this beautiful semi-terete Vanda. Tanya regularly has some pretty spectacular specimen plants, and this one is no exception, so she must really be doing something right. Thanks very much to her for sharing her secrets!! Thanks to Dave Smitt for the photo. This one s illegal, so I won t write down whose it is, and I won t say where it s from except that it was purchased on the bus tour. This is Paph. Wossner Vietnam Love, a cross of Paph. vietnamense with Paph. malipoense. Unfortunately this picture doesn t do it justice; the flower is about 8 inches across, more than three times as large as the entire plant. Although the flower is a little bit skewed, just think what this will be like when the little plant grows up. Just spectacular!! Also of note is the Paph. barbatum in the back; this is a rather rarely seen species brought to us by the same grower, who says it blooms and grows like clockwork! Wow!! Photo by Dave Smitt. Above, Tom Bailey holds his spectacular Stanhopea tigrina v. nigroviolacea Predator FCC/AOS, one of the absolute premier examples of Stanhopeas. This is likely what we ll see at Doug s presentation: some beautiful flowers in this group for sure. And this one just at it s peak of flowering. What a treat!! Thanks to Tom and to Dave Smitt for the photo. Below is Stan. tigrina v. nigroviolacea Black Tiger AM/AOS, one of Dr. Pulley s plants and a good close-up of a really wonderful species. It s pretty cool that people can manage to get these awarded Probably the best known Stanhopea, this species grows in Mexico, and is hardy outdoors in our area with some protection from winter rains. Although the lifetime of the flower is short, it is tremendously fragrant and incredibly bizarre, large, and showy. I must admit for a long time I didn t really think too much of Stanhopeas, but after seeing, or should I say, smelling, two huge Stanhopea tigrinas in flower together in a little enclosed room, I changed my mind in a hurry. I cannot stress enough the fragrance of this species!! 3

4 These next two images are straight from the Philippines, where Peter Brown and Oliver Colmenar took a trip this July. Peter and Oliver have decided to create a refuge for Philippine species orchids on the island of Palawan, where they ve purchased 20 acres of forest. Their latest trip was to see their plot of land from the ground, assessing the different microclimates in which they can grow as many of the variety of Philippine species as possible. An example would be the Gramatophyllum seen below, species unknown, growing as an ornamental plant in Oliver s mother s back yard. Add to this many Phal. species a number of Paphs, and I think they re set to have a pretty impressive display. Hopefully once they re a little further along, they will be able to give us a synopsis of what they ve been up to and how we can help. Nonetheless it s an ambitious plan, and one that we as a society can take pride in: here are two people actually putting forward and implementing an idea in orchid conservation. Excellent work!! Susan Wiedmann sends us this image of Paph. Snowflake x Double Trix, a Brachypetalum hybrid from Nick Tannaci. Susan s clearly done a great job of blooming this plant; brachys are notoriously difficult to grow and bloom without rotting out the growths. Nick has an interesting strategy to avoid this: any plant, no matter how good the flower, is immediately thrown out when the slightest bit or fungal or bacterial growth is found. He is absolutely insistent on cleanliness and disease-free plants. I think breeding for vigor is often overlooked in orchids, and that Nick s strategy is a good one. More people should make it a goal. In any event, if you missed the bus tour and would like to see some of Nick s plants, he s recently told me that his website, has been recently updated for your viewing (and purchasing) enjoyment Lastly, this is a picture I took of Lycaste Shoalhaven x Angulocaste Paul Gripp, grown by Dave Sorokowsky and shown in Sacramento. 4

5 Thanks for all for your images. Please keep them coming!! This was an excellent month, with a good deal of submissions, but I m sure many of you out there have pictures that you d like to share as well. Please send me images!! Your work as a photographer counts towards the 2008 Dance Card (available on the website) and becomes a valuable part of the tradition of the SCVOS: helping people become better growers. Future Speakers September 3 rd : Annual Auction This is a change from previous newsletters! The SCVOS will forgo the presence of a speaker for the month of September, making up for learning with our real passion: buying plants!! The auction is probably the best time all year to get really nice plants for very reasonable prices; be sure to attend this one, as plants go fast and cheap!! Remember that for this event, there is no show and tell or scheduled refreshment time, as this meeting is more free flow than normally scheduled speakers. For more information and details, see below!! Recent and Upcoming Events July was certainly a slow month. Or a SLO month I was in San Luis Obispo last weekend and was reminded of the fun and adventure of finding new and different greenhouses to look at and to buy plants from. Cal Poly SLO is one of the foremost schools in horticulture and agriculture in California, and their greenhouses really showed them off to be jus that. There are a number of greenhouse complexes there, and, while they don t do orchids specifically, they do have lots of other interesting plants. Do you have any non-orchids in your orchid spaces? I have a whole greenhouse full of other plants maybe you should try some too. I think it would be interesting to have some of our members show the interesting other things they grow, especially in these months where orchids are a little sparse in their flowering. So here s a challenge: find the most interesting other plant in your collection and bring it to show and tell in August. I will and mine will be cool!! I hope I m not the only one who brings something In other news, the auction is right around the corner, and so it s only prudent to include the auction rules. Again, we ll have much more info on the auction in next month s newsletter, but if you have questions, please direct them to Auction Chair Ed Nazzal, at paphman@gmail.com. Auction Rules 1. Orchids only, no other plants. 2. Place a tag on each plant with the following information: Identifying number made from the seller's initial and a numerical number ( i.e. AB12). Name of the plant (and parentage if known). Cultural information and color. Minimum bid if any. Any additional information that will help the auctioneer sell your plant. 3. Maximum of 20 plants per seller. (This is a change from previous years!!) 4. Make a list of the plants and leave one copy at the auction desk, and keep one for yourself. 5. Only SCVOS members can sell (and no, you cannot join just before the auction). 6. Anyone can buy plants, so invite friends!! 7. Plants to be at the hall between 6:30 and 7:00 pm, auction starts at 7:30. I can t wait should be a lot of fun with some great plants. Big thanks to Ed for organizing this!! Peter Brown is heavily involved in OrchidMania, a non-profit group which sells donated plants for AIDS research. OrchidMania is having a big sale pretty shortly, and he ed me and mentioned the following: We've had some great donations this summer. Some guy donated his whole collection because his wife said it was either the orchids or her. I would have chosen the orchids, but OM greatly benefitted. Also we got a huge number of plants from Petite Pleasance. Some water and regular growing conditions and they are springing back to life. We've never had such an interesting collection. Sounds pretty interesting here s the website for more info: 5

6 Remember, for much more information about orchids, links, our future schedule, care sheets, contact information, previous newsletters, and lots of pictures of plants and people, visit the website: santaclaravalleyorchidsociety.org/links.htm The SCVOS: Helping You to Become a Better Grower Calendar Aug 9-10: OrchidMania 19 th Annual Sale San Francisco County Fair Building, 9 th Ave and Lincoln, San Francisco. Contact: Eric Hunt orchidmania@erichunt.com See Flier Below!! Sep 3: SCVOS Annual Auction Come for great plants at great prices; American Legion Hall, Minnesota Ave, Willow Glen. Contact: Ed Nazzal paphman@gmail.com Sep 20-21: SFOS OrchidFest Hall of Flowers, County Building, 9 th Ave and Lincoln, San Francisco. Contact: Angelic Nguyen See Flier Below!! Refreshments Announcement: All members with last names starting with X, Y, Z, and A please bring in refreshments for August. Feel free to bring refreshments any month you d like as well. Bring food it makes the meeting so much more fun. Also, remember that if you bring food, you have the highest percentage chance to win a plant from the opportunity table; last month there were only 3 tickets in that drawing one could be you!! Board Meeting The August board meeting will be held at the home of Tom Bailey. For more information, directions, or if you d like to make an announcement, please contact Kristina by phone at (408) or by at kbellwolf@aol.com. SCVOS Board The Santa Clara Valley Orchid Society is a non-profit organization that meets the first Wednesday of each month at the American Legion Hall, 1504 Minnesota Avenue, in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose, California. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM. The skill session starts at about 7:00 PM. Officers for 2008 Kristina Bell, President (408) kbellwolf@aol.com Bruce Davidson, Vice President (408) bwdavidson2@bbnow.net Sylvia Grossman, Secretary (408) sylviag@cadence.com Marvin Bell, Treasurer (408) marvskis@aol.com Tom Bailey, Past President (408) thydebailey@yahoo.com Directors for 2008 Tim Culbertson (301) timc@harker.org Kate Mackey (301) kmackey@stanford.edu Ed Nazzal (408) paphman@gmail.com Eanghak Quach (408) epigarden@yahoo.com Dave Woodfill (408) ofiew@comcast.com Peter Brown (510) pjb@presol.com Ann Stuart (408) annystuart@yahoo.com Dawn McPhee (408) dmcphee@mofo.com 2008 Auction Chair Ed Nazzal (408) paphman@gmail.com Membership Peter Brown (510) pjb@presol.com 6

7 Website: santaclaravalleyorchidsociety.org Tim Culbertson (301) Member Database Ed Nazzal (408) Newsletter Tim Culbertson, Editor (301) Dave and Ofelia Woodfill, Mailing (408) Publicity Susan Wiedmann Library Marie Lofton (408) Plant Opportunity Tickets Dave and Ofelia Woodfill (408) Kitchen Crew Conrad Kumata Liz Gehrig (408) Show and Sale Tim Culbertson, Co-Chair (301) Eanghak Quach, Co-Chair (408) Bus Tour Kristina Bell, President (408) Greenhouse Tour Doug Pulley (408) Holiday Party Dawn McPhee (408) AOS / ODC Representative Tim Culbertson (301) timc@harker.org Recent AOS Awards From the AOS Pacific Central Judging Center Images are property of the AOS and should not be reproduced Barbosella dunsenii 'Joan' species CCM 85 Exhibited by Howard Gunn Awarded June at OSC Meeting AOS Cal-Nevada Region Judging occurs on the first Wednesday of the month at the Oddfellows Hall in Sacramento in association with the Sacramento Orchid Society meeting. AOS Judging occurs on the first Tuesday of the month at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park in association with the SFOS meeting, and on the third Wednesday of the month at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland in association with the OSC meeting. Masdevallia unnamed hybrid 'Winston' (Masd. coccinea x Masd. Swallow) HCC 77 Exhibited by Amy and Ken Jacobsen Awarded June at OSC Meeting 7

8 Slc. unnamed hybrid 'Winston' (Slc. Sierra Doll x C. loddigesii var. harrisoniae) HCC 76 Exhibited by Amy and Ken Jacobsen Awarded July at OSC Meeting Macroclinium lexarzanum 'Gold Country' species CCE 90 Exhibited by Gold Country Orchids Awarded July at OSC Meeting Oestlundia (Encyclia) cyanocolumna 'Winston' species CCM 84 Exhibited by Amy and Ken Jacobsen Awarded July at SFOS Meeting Paphiopedilum Lyro Blackhawk 'Sierra Sunset' (Paph. St. Swithin x Paph. glanduliferum) AM 80 Exhibited by Curtis Gean Awarded July at OSC Meeting 8

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11 Welcome to the advertising section of the SCVOS Newsletter! The following advertisers help support our orchid society, and you should help support them!! If you have a business, or know someone who would like to contribute an advertisement which would reach upwards of 100 readers, all of whom you have the chance to interact with on a monthly basis, please the newsletter editor, Tim Culbertson, at twculber@hotmail.com. Advertising donation rates are as follows: ¼ Page ½ Page Full Page $5.00 Donation Monthly $10.00 Donation Monthly $20.00 Donation Monthly 11

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