Newsletter of The Port St. Lucie Orchid Society June 2016 Volume XXVIII Issue 10

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1 Newsletter of The Port St. Lucie Orchid Society June 2016 Volume XXVIII Issue 10 Editor: Diana Kulaga Tel: (772) Editorial Assistant: Karen Rutkowski Tel: (772) Visit us on the Web at: Join our Facebook group! President s Message Dear Members and Friends, We are getting to the end of our calendar year and summer vacations are coming soon. I wish the best vacations ever to all of you, and wherever you will go bring back some knowledge of orchid growing to share with us next September. Our summer retreat was very nice. We had a good time with fun, games and very good food. Two American Orchid Society Recognition awards were given to David Sherlock and John Erickson, who have constistently helped us so much at every meeting, event and most of all in the Orchid Room. These were well deserved awards. It is been a pleasure to serve as President of a very nice group of orchid lovers at the best Orchid Society on the Treasure Coast. I will finish my term in June, and for the next year the President will be Dana DeMarco. She will be a wonderful president! I will not be at the June Meeting due to a family situation, so our 1st vice President Jamie Lawson will be conducting the meeting. There will be a speaker and installation of officers. Don t miss it! I want to thank all the volunteers who helped us so much with every event, orchid show etc I will keep you all in my heart. It was an honor to serve you as President. A Message from Your Incoming President A Challenge and A Promise The success of our Society depends on contributions of every member of our team. (Team that s you!) Anytime people come together with a collective intention, it s a powerful thing. When everyone comes together magic happens. The Challenge: I challenge each of you to do at least one thing for this Society this next year. It could take many forms bring a plant for show and tell, volunteer to bring food for the break, participate in our annual orchid show or any of the other society events. the opportunities are endless. Participation offers enormous rewards. We get to share our passion for orchids with others who have the same passion. We learn new things all the time and make lasting friendships. The Promise: You and I will make this next year the most fun ever! Thank you for your encouragement to take the Presidency I will need your help! Dana DeMarco President-Elect Sonia N. Manning President Membership Lillian Cruz, Chairwoman There were 65 members at our May retreat. Please remember to wear your name tags to meetings! If you are interested in becoming a member, lillynabel@yahoo.com or call (772) Member Corner Renee Skalet was back in the hospital but is home. Barbara Robinson was ill; we trust that she is feeling better. Orchid Tasks for June, per Martin Motes.. Watch the weather. Watering this month may mean not watering at all. Space plants. Air circulation is crucial during our summer months. Repot Phals and reset Vandas. Make sure the plants are secure. Begin or continue a disease prevention program using Cleary s 3336 or similar. Clean up growing area and plants. Remove dead leaves from area including the ground. Pull weeds. Prune trees and shrubs to increase air circulation. Lightly apply snail bait early in the month and again mid month. Set the AC at 80 degrees and enjoy living in the tropics!

2 Summer 2016 Watch for notifications of our summer rambles. There will be two, one in July and one in August. See you then! ORCHID FACTOIDS According to fossil evidence, orchids have existed on the planet for around an estimated 150 million years. Not too many registered hybrids back then, I suppose. A ten to fifteen million year-old fossil of a bee encased in amber was found to have orchid pollen on its back. Most orchids smell good, but some smell really, really, really bad. Vanilla is the only commercially grown orchid, and they re coming into bloom in the Keys right now. Orchid seeds are the tiniest of all seeds & a single pod can contain up to three million of the little guys. Many orchids look like human or animal faces. Look at an orchid & it looks back at you. Maybe that s why we like them; it s like taking a selfie. Does this look like anyone you know? Ask Dr. Laurie! Dear Dr. Laurie: I love orchids but my collection does not look happy. I fertilize and water weekly weakly. Any other suggestions?? Dear Reader: After doing some research on the AOS site I began to remember the importance of humidity and orchids. I have a humidity guage and I would encourage all orchid addicts to purchase one. I grow most of my Phals on the back patio under a roof but they do receive adequate amounts of light. I checked the humidity level which read 60%. I then took the guage into the air conditioned house and the humidity dropped to 46. The acceptable range is 40 to 70%. Both are in the acceptable range but 60 is far better than 46. If you grow in your home the humidity can be increased by placing fern plants between some of you orchids. Humidity trays are also suggested for increasing humidity. That is a tray filled with pebbles and water half way up on the pebbles. The orchid plants are then placed on the tray of pebbles. Another important factor is air movement via a fan. This air movement should be constant (24 hours per day) and if using a small circular fan it should be facing away from the plants. Remember: stale air and high humidity leads to fungus. We Floridians usually do not have to worry about humidity in our outside collection but in the winter Florida can experience low humidity after a cold front. Remember, when you have a good balance of adequate humidity and air movement you end up with plants that thrive. BALANCE is the important word here. Editor s note: This item is reprinted from the Newsletter of the Key West Orchid Society with the permission of their editor, Louise Wood. Many thanks. Regarding the orchid photo above, it is the genus Dracula, probably species simia. Dues Are Payable in June! If you joined the Society during or after our show in March, you are not liable for dues until next year. If you joined before that, please be advised that payment of dues is expected in June. Dues are $20/single or $25/family living at the same address. You can make the payment at either our May retreat or the June meeting. If you will miss both, please send a check to: Lillian Cruz 2672 SE Solana Lane Port St. Lucie, FL Wishing you a summer full of orchids, laughter and fun. June Speaker! Ryan Kowalczyk Dr. Laurie Hart Growing an Orchid Collection for Quality and Awards Here s an opportunity to improve your collecting skills! Ryan has been growing orchids since he was 15, and has been a Judge with the American Orchid Society for 16 years. He currently has upwards of 80 awards. Ryan is a hobby breeder focusing on quality and awards. He grows mainly Paphiopedlilums, Catasetum types and Lycastes. He will be bringing plants to sell.

3 Scenes from Our Annual Retreat Many thanks for the photos on these pages to Diana Lenartiene, John Benish and Hellen Wagner

4 Thanks to all who helped make this day special!

5 Notes for the June Meeting We forgot to ask for refreshments at the last meeting. If you can bring something in June, please do! Also, remember the plant swap! The last one was very successful. Let s keep it going! Species of the Month Robinson s Collection Orchids & other Exotic Plants Vivian (Robbie) & Barbara Robinson Port St. Lucie (772) Port St. Lucie Orchid Society P. O. Box 8421 Port St. Lucie, FL June Meetings Tuesday, June 14th, 1PM Speaker: Ryan Kowalczyk Growing an Orchid Collection for Quality and Awards Installation of Officers; Show & Tell; Raffle; Door Prizes Sorry, no member sale table this month Dendrobium draconis This epiphyte hails from Assam, India; Thailand; Myanmar; Cambodia; Laos; and Viet Nam. It can be grown potted, but prefers a mount. The pseudobulbs are upright and covered with tiny black hairs. (Note: the canes are hirsute.) Grow this species in bright but filtered light. The plant can be grown cool, so it doesn t mind if our hot weather gives way to some cold in the winter. During growing season, water and fertilize as you would any other Dendrobium, though if mounted it would enjoy a bit more water. For the late fall to winter months, withhold watering and let it have whatever nature gives it. Resume care when new growth appears. Bloom time is spring to early summer. Note: The plant shown above is mounted on a heavy piece of cedar. We acquired it a number of years ago from Andy s Orchids. DK Early Class, Noon: Orchid Miracles * Potpourri Board Meeting Tuesday, June 21st, 12:30 PSL Police Station, PSL Municipal Complex, corner of Airoso Blvd. and Port St. Lucie Blvd. All members are welcome at Board Meetings. Thought for the Month So when is this Old enough to know better stuff supposed to kick in?