P.O. Box Royal Palm Beach, FL Like us on Facebook

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1 P.O. Box Royal Palm Beach, FL Like us on Facebook August 2018 President s Message, August was a good month for most of our Orchid Collections in South Florida. We had a slight dip in temperatures, highs are only hitting 89 and 90 now versus 93s and 94s in July. I am surprised that I now consider highs of 89 more comfortable. Also, the heavy rains we had in June and July have subsdided a little. Consequently, we are seeing lots of things blooming in our collections. It is a good time to catch up on the maintenance work on our collections before show season starts. If you are not caught up on your maintenance work, going to a show and adding 10 or 20 new orchids tends to increase your workload and often leads to the demise of the orchids in your collection that you have been neglecting. I still go to shows and I still buy too many, however, I try to be very selective and buy fewer plants until I catch up. Our August meeting was our annual Luau celebration of our 68 anniversary as a society. The party was a great success and a good time was had by all. I would like to thank Jo Ella Manalan for organizing the party and all our members who pitched in on decorating, set up, food preparation, raffle plants etc., and we would like to thank everyone who brought side dishes. The highlight of the evening was a game of Orchid Bingo with Odom s Orchids as prizes and there were many great bargains in the Silent Auction due to the generosity of our members. Thursday, September 13 th our speaker will be Raphael Romero from Plantio la Orquideas in Sarasota and he will speak about Shomburkias. Raphael will also have plants for sale. Raphael is also an expert on orchids from Venezula and he should be familiar to many members from the many shows he does in South Florida including Delray show Halloween weekend. Happy Growing, Wayne 1

2 Hello OSPB, Well, didn t we have a great Anniversary Luau? 40+ members and guests dined on the most delicious roasted chicken and side dishes prepared by our own society gourmet cooks. The room was beautifully decorated by Jo Ella and her crew. I would name you all but I m afraid I might miss someone. Everything was so pretty; you all did an excellent job. Our silent auction was a huge success. We made enough money from it to pay all expenses and have some left to add to the treasury. Thanks everyone, we had quite a selection of different plants to bid on. We also had several really lovely orchids from Odum s Orchids for our Bingo prizes. I m sure all the winners were pleased with their new additions. 68 th Anniversary Party 2

3 Pictures by John Goehring Our September meeting will feature Rafael Romero, of Plantio La Orquidea, located in Sarasota. When I attend orchid shows, I usually make a beeline for their sales booth. They sell some of the best hybrid crosses and bare root species of all the growers around. Raphael was born in Caracas, Venezuela and graduated as a biologist from the Universidad Simon Bolivar. He began working with orchids in 1986 with his father-in-law, Henrique Graf, owner of Plantio La Orquidea, the largest orchid nursery in Venezuela. Together with his wife, Tina they started the laboratory at Plantio La Orquidea where they produced the species and hybrids for which they are known. They moved to Sarasota in 2003 and started their nursery; approximately sq. ft., where they established a good sample of the species and hybrids produced in Venezuela. They ve also added interesting species and hybrids from around the world. Rafael will be sharing his knowledge and experiences as well as answering questions and will have a fine selection of his orchids available for sale. **Info from the web Our members celebrating birthdays in September are Keith Allum, John Goehring, Charline Nakamura and Danny Salkin. Happy Birthday to you all. You are in charge of bringing refreshments for the meeting. Thank you. Volunteers Needed September 15 and 16 will be Mounts Shady Affair sale; (now renamed Exotic Plant and Orchid Sale). Ten Members stepped up and signed up at our August meeting, but we still need more volunteers. We need a cashier and sales representative / ambassadors for 2 hours shifts on Saturday (9/15) and Sunday (9/16). It is a good opportunity to promote the society and to share your orchid knowledge and passion with customers and potential new members. This is how we fund our meetings, speakers, raffle plants and Christmas party, so come on out and give us a hand. If you have not signed up yet be prepared to sign up Thursday 9/13 or call Wayne Green at or e mail at waynegreen@aol.com. Members who want to sell their plants are required to work a shift. Member plant sales proceeds go 80% to member and 20% to society. Volunteers on the list will get free admission to the show. 3

4 Orchid Judging My Latest Orchid Addiction Saturday August 25, 2018, I took 10 plants out on a rainy day to West Palm Beach Orchid Judging. By the time we arrived at Flamingo Gardens where the Judging takes place, it was pouring and I got soaked unloading the car. Patt Lindsey and Cheryl Akey also came to Judging with a few of Patt s spectacular plants. Apparently, getting soaked and sitting in a wet shirt for two hours was a satisfactory sacrifice to the Orchid God. Here is a photo of the Orchid God laughing at our efforts. I was rewarded with three orchid awards. a Certificate of Cultural Merit ( CCM) on my B. nodosa Big Jim and two Awards of Merit (AM)s on my Vandas. Here is a photo of my winning plants: Patt s efforts were not rewarded this time even though her plant was spectacular. The flowers were a couple of days past perfection. It also could be that Patt did not get as wet as I did and her sacrifice of prepping and driving 70 miles each way was not enough for the Orchid God. I am not exactly sure what value there is to having your orchids awarded and I am still thinking about that. However, it is thrilling to have your plants evaluated and considered and sometimes Awarded by a panel of independent expert AOS Judges that have studied over seven years. For me it was certainly exciting, and it was even better because Patt and Cheryl were there to share the moment with me. Wayne Green Yes, Wayne did talk me into going to judging and it was very interesting and educational, even though they passed on the two plants I exhibited. I have a better idea of what they are looking for now and next time perhaps I ll come home with an award too. This picture is of my plant of C. Amphion Showtme. It really is stunning. Judges look for flat petals with no space between them. So even though it was a little past its prime, I don t think it would qualify when the blooms are fresh. With or without an award, it is one of my most favorite plants. 4

5 The Mounts Sale officially kicks off the start of the orchid show season here in South Florida. Get out there and enjoy a couple of them. Sept. 29 & 30 South Florida Orchid Society Show Orchid Holiday University of Miami Watsco Center, 1245 Dauer Dr., Coral Gables, FL Oct East Everglades Orchid Society Show R.F. Orchids, S.W. 182 Ave., Homestead, Fl Oct Delray Beach Orchid Society Show, Orchids on the Square. - Old School Square Fieldhouse, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach, FL We have a little produce stand and orchid business here in Loxahatchee Groves. The lady who sells the orchids is very nice. Her orchids are very pretty however, they don t have names and I usually would not promote buying from anyone selling them. I stopped in there to buy a Dendrobium so I could use the blooms to decorate our anniversary cake with the blooms. Instead she cut off a bouquet and gave them to me. In addition to her plants, she also sells some very pretty orchid pots, pottery and baskets. If you re traveling out in the western community stop by and check out her little business. I told her I d give her a plug to repay her kindness. It s that time of year again when the storms start churning up in the Caribbean and Atlantic Oceans. The next couple of months will be really scary. I hope you are all prepared and I pray we make it through unscathed. Maybe Wayne has a hurricane- deflector-god who can help us out here. Please plan to attend the September meeting. This is the first time Raphael has done a program in this area. Let s pack the house to show our appreciation. Bring a friend! Happy Labor Day Enjoy the Orchids, Patt Lindsey 5

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