All About Potting Media, Basketing and Re-potting!

Transcription

1 March 2009 The COALITION for ORCHID SPECIES PRESIDENT S MESSAGE at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens Old Cutler Road Miami, Florida Meets every third Monday at 7:30 p.m. by Eduardo Marcellini Dear members: I m sure you ll agree with me that this is the best time of year for orchid lovers. Ever since I started growing orchids, or better said, since the orchid bug infected me, I can t wait to see all the orchids that bloom in the spring. That is the reason that we have shows almost every week from January to May. We are the lucky ones that not only get to enjoy our own plants, but we have the chance to appreciate what the growers are bringing to us as well. I hope you are making the time to attend all these events. Whether you are a serious grower or a small hobbyist, you cannot afford to miss them. This is also the occasion where all the different clubs use the opportunity to show what their members can grow by displaying their orchids in exhibits or table tops. At C.O.S. we love to participate and support as many shows as we can. This year we have been at the Tamiami festival, Miami International Orchid Show and this week at the Fairchild Orchid Show. I would like to congratulate and thank Mirta Russis-Heineman for the splendid tabletop that she created two weeks ago at the Miami International Orchid Show. We won FIRST PLACE. Mirta! Well done! Thank you for putting the name of C.O.S. up there. THIS MONTH S PROGRAM A Multi-Media Treat : Come join us at the March 16, 2009 meeting, at 7:30 p.m. in the Corbin Education Building at Fairchild Botanic Gardens. (continued on page 2) All About Potting Media, Basketing and Re-potting! With the potting season just around the corner, members Betty Eber (a.k.a the orchid lady) and Lou Lodyga (COS program chairman) will discuss the pros and cons of various potting medias and demonstrate repotting. If you have repotting question or problem plants that need mounting or basketing but you re not sure what to do, then this is a meeting you don t want to miss. Note that Betty Eber s orchid class, usually held prior to the meeting, will not be given this month.

2 Coal i t i on for Orchid Species March Page 2 Continured from page 1 We still have several more months of blooming orchids, so sit back and enjoy them. I hope I ll see each of you at this week s upcoming show. If I miss you, I ll see you for sure at this Monday s meeting. Sincerely, Eduardo Marcellini 2009 COS BOARD President: Eduardo Marcellini Vice President: Lou Lodyga Treasurer: Tom De Mello Secretary: Melana Davison Board Members: Betty Eber, Cindy Langdon, Melanie Trexler, Michele De Bianchi, Carlos Segrera Membership: Vivian Wadell Education Committee: Lou Lodyga Conservation Committee: Katria Whitfield Newsletter Editor: Melanie Trexler 2007 President: Mirta Russis-Heineman (current Special Events Chair) 2008 President: Katria Whitfield To our new and returning COS members: FRED APPELKVIST and ALEX MAXIMIANO! WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE SMILING? Because they paid their 2009 COS membership dues! GENTLEPEOPLE, YOUR 2009 COS MEMBERSHIP FEES ARE DUE THIS MONTH! Annual Dues are $20 for one person, or New COS members Rosmarie & Casper Rubeo $30 for a dual membership. SEND or GIVE your check, made out to COS, to ANY BOARD MEMBER. If you fail to pay your dues by March, you will not be included in the COS Roster for and COS won t be able to have those top-quality speakers and lush raffle tables -- and c mon, you LOVE that raffle table! The beauty of orchids and the company of like-minded friends will encourage us through hard economic times! So join COS today! Your orchids will thank you! Epi. stamfordianum - Erna Maxwell

3 Coal i t i on for Orchid Species March Page 3 GET GROWING! Maxillaria tenuifolia by Lou Lodyga If you are a fragrance freak, than this orchid is a must for your collection! A Summer bloomer, this plant bears long lasting coconut-scented blossoms, about 1-1/2 across, that are dark red with yellow speckles arising from the grassy leaves, which somewhat resemble a mini-cymbidium. Maxillaria tenuifolia does best in bright filtered sunlight, and easily performs in our South Florida temperatures. It can be grown potted, or in a basket as the plant becomes large and tends to become semi-pendulous. It is easily propagated by divisions of the pseudobulbs which spring from a creeping rhizome. Cattleya of the Month by Mirta Russis-Heineman Cattleya trianae Originally from Colombia, there is much variety in the color and shape of flowers of this species. The flowers of C. trianae number from three to four, and are six to nine inches across. The flower color varies from white to rose to amethyst-purple, most forms being a medium color lavender. The plants will grow like most Cattleyas, in bright light, but not direct sun light, and are easy to grow. A well grown Cattleya will have upright, medium to light green foliage and have an overall appearance of health. The best time to repot them is when overgrown, or when new roots emerge from the base of the newest growth.

4 Coal i t i on for Orchid Species March Page 4 Bits and Pieces by Mirta Russis-Heineman Wow, what a terrific picture and write-up on our very own Betty Eber in the Sunday, February 22, 2009 Home and Design section of the Miami Herald! COS member and friend Helen Lloyd was recently in the hospital after taking a nasty fall. Please keep her in your thoughts. Welcome Melana Davison as the new Secretary to the COS Board of Directors! Pan American Orchid Society is having its annual auction on Tuesday, March 17 at Christ the King Lutheran Church at Red Rd. Pinecrest, Fl. Thank you, Lou Lodyga and H&R Orchids of Hawaii for our lovely raffle plant table this month! The COS tabletop display set up by Mirta Russis-Heineman at the Tamiami Show, with help from other COS members, received the distinctions of Best in Show and Best Botanical Display in Show! Ernie Barham received a CCM of 83 points for one of his Pescatorea lehmanni at the Venice Area Orchid Society Show in February. CCM of 83 points, 15 flowers + 6 buds on 21 inflorescences on a 12-growth plant, growing in an 8 basket with sphagnum (see picture at right). Congratulations, Ernie! To the left is Melana Davison s newly awarded Rrm. Memoria Gracie Peters AM/AOS. My mom loved my orchids and the color pink. I told her that the next time I had a pink one awarded I would name it after her. But she passed away in September before I could do that. So this orchid is for her. Congratulations to Mirta Russis-Heineman; her Dendrobium aberrans (see p. 5) received the distinction of Best Miniature in Show at Tamiami this year! Mirta will also be teaching a beginning orchid culture class in Spanish this Saturday, March 14, 2:00p.m. at Fairchild entitled, Cultivo de Orquideas. Come and learn from the best! HOSPITALITY VOLUNTEERS for MARCH! Thanks to the following members, who will bring goodies for the March meeting: Mirta Russis-Heineman, Melana Davison, Erna Maxwell, and Cynthia White

5 Coal i t i on for Orchid Species March Page 5 WHAT S IN BLOOM! February 09 Photos by Melanie Trexler, with Sue Samuels Dendrobium aberrans - Mirta R-H Den. violaceum Epidendrum porpax - Jim Lindberg Oncidium stenotis - Erna Maxwell Schomburgkia lueddemanii - Mirta R-H Cattleya walkeriana

6 Coal i t i on for Orchid Species March Page 6 Oncidium papilio - Mirta R-H Cattleya guatemalensis (yellow form) - Mirta R-H Coelogyne (graminifolia?) - Sue Samuels Cattleya guatemalensis (roseate form) - Mirta R-H Epidendrum ciliare Tuberolabium kotoense - Jim Lindberg

7 Coal i t i on for Orchid Species March Page 7 Gongora quinquinervis Gongora pleichroma - Anita Hoffman Dendrobium farmeri Dendrobium aggregatum Ceratostylis rubra New member Jim Lindberg at the COS bloom table Ascocentrum christensonianum Thanks to all who brought in blooming plants for the February table! And a special thank you to Sue Samuels, who helped me to record names of the orchids and their owners; my apologies to all whose names I have omitted from the pictures - be sure to put your name on your plants for each month s show & tell!

8 Coal i t i on for Orchid Species 13th Annual March Page 8 Javier Morejon with his Dendrobium farmeri REDLAND INTERNATIONAL ORCHID FESTIVAL May 15-17, :00AM - 5:00PM Fruit & Spice Park SW 187th Ave. Homestead, Florida America's Favorite Orchid Festival! This is an AOS-judged event! Entries will be received at the Show Tent in the park on Thursday May 14th between Noon and 3:00 p.m. Judging begins at 3:00 p.m. Featuring over 60 orchid vendors from all over the World and The U.S.! Be sure to attend this wonderful local event! Fairchild s 7th Annual International Orchid Festival this weekend, Friday, March 13, Sunday, March 15, 2009 from 9:30 AM to 4:30 p.m. More than 8 acres of orchid vendors, walking tours of Fairchild collections, great food and entertainment. Also, an American Orchid Society juried show, educational lectures and how-to demonstrations presented by the Orchid Society of Coral Gables. For more information please contact Ann Schmidt at , ext or at aschmidt@fairchildgarden.org Vanda lamellata var boxallii - Betty Eber

9 Coal i t i on for Orchid Species March Page 9 Newsletter Photos and Article Submissions The COS Newsletter welcomes your digital orchid photos, news, articles, events, and any other items of interest to our members. Send your items by the FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH to: mbtrexler@gmail.com Please include your name at the beginning or end of your text, and include the name of your blooming orchid if you send a photo (.jpg). All submissions will be reviewed and may be edited for space limitations. THE AMERICAN ORCHID SOCIETY NEEDS YOU! For $60.00/year, you reap the following benefits: Monthly subscription to Orchids magazine Free and discounted admission to more than 200 botanical gardens and arboreta Receive the annual Orchid Source Directory detailing orchid suppliers worldwide Access to Members-Only section of the Web site, 10% discount on purchases in the Orchid Emporium or on-line at Discount on back issues of Orchids magazine and on American Orchid Society published books Reduced processing fees for American Orchid Society judged plant and flower awards Discounts on orchid class fees at the American Orchid Society Botanical Gardens JOIN TODAY! For information, contact Michele De Bianchi. Green Returns on This Investment! No Bailout Funds here, the Orchid Digest is a nonprofit membership-based organization dedicated to orchids. Designed to appeal to the mid-range to advanced grower, nothing beats the Orchid Digest for terrific information and eye-popping photographs. Your investment is guaranteed to GROW! For just $34/year you get 4 issues of full-color, in-depth articles about orchids. The magazine is large format and the fourth issue of the year is always an extra-special issue devoted to a single genus. For more information, contact Mirta Russis-Heineman at mrussis@bellsouth.net. COS ROSTER PUBLICATION COS plans to publish its membership roster in April and is accepting applications for advertising. You don t have to be a member to advertise, and our rates are terrific! Full Page $ /2 Page $60.00 Business Card $35.00 Full Back Cover $ Ads are not limited to orchidrelated businesses. See Eduardo Marcellini for more information.

10 Coal i t i on for Orchid Species March Page 1 0 Please patronize our loyal advertisers! Michele R. De Bianchi ATTORNEY AT LAW Where Quality is as Traditional as the Orchid Itself SW 182 Ave., Homestead, FL * rforchids@aol.com * Order toll-free VANDAS LEVEY, FILLER, RODRIGUEZ, KELSO & DE BIANCHI, LLP 1688 MERIDIAN AVENUE, SUITE 902 MIAMI, FL TEL.(305) FAX (305)