No speaker this month due to our Holiday Party!!!

Transcription

1 December 2014 Meets every third Monday of the month The COALITION for ORCHID SPECIES Dear COS Members, PRESIDENT S MESSAGE at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens Old Cutler Road Coral Gables, Florida Our Holiday party is fast approaching, December 15th at Fairchild Gardens in the Garden Room, so mark your calendars. If you bring a dish to pass (serving 8 to 10 people) you will get in free. Attending without a dish to pass will cost $10, if you bring a guest the cost for them is also $10. There will be a Chinese raffle with 5 different species of orchids to win. We will also be raffling off the center pieces. You will be getting a blooming size orchid to take home. You will be called up to get your orchid by the number of meetings you have attended. To make this event a big success we need you to volunteer to help. We will need people to help set up the room, work in the kitchen, help serving dinner, and cleaning up after the party. Starting in January we will be moving our meetings to the Corbin Building. Be on the look out for more information in next month s newsletter. We will also be announcing the new board for No speaker this month due to our Holiday Party!!!

2 President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer: Past President: Trustees: William Capps Michele De Bianchi Katrina Whitfield Melana Davison Louis Lodyga Carlos Segrera Carmen Segrera Maria Cerna Alex Garcia Victoria Clemente Rolando Armentero

3

4 COALITION FOR ORCHID SPECIES RENEWAL NOTICE Dear Member, Your 2014 COS membership will expire on December 31, dues are payable now. Checks payable to COS may be mailed to: COS P.O. BOX SW 136 ST. MIAMI, FL Individual: $25; Dual membership: $35 Family (3 + at one address): $45 MEMBERSHIP DUES MAY BE PAID BY CRED- IT CARD ONLINE AT cosspecies.com Or at the annual Christmas party, Monday, December 15 at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 7:00 PM

5 Dear Members and Guests, One of the ways our society raises money to fund all the activities of the club is with the raffle. We use the money to help put food on our table, help to buy the Christmas plants for every member, help pay for the room, provide plants for our displays at the major orchid festivals, fund the symposium and help provide for bus trips. Please think of all the wonderful activities our club helps to provide and do not pass up our raffle table. Your donation helps Besides the orchid you may win, your donation helps to keep our club alive.

6 Coalit ion for Orchid Species De ce mber Pag e 6 Q. Leaftip Burn I ve noticed the tips of the leaves of some of my orchids are brown, and guessed it was due to over-fertilizing. This morning, I discovered two small (not tiny) brown spots on a dendrobium leaf. The cane has at least seven to eight leaves, and the spotted one is top-most. By looking at the back of the leaf, I found the center of the brown spots became thinner than the leaf. Are the spots an indication of sunburn or fungus? I have the orchid at an east window, so it shouldn t be receiving too much sun. Elizabeth Hsu A. The leaf-tip burn you describe is not unusual in orchids grown in the home or under very dry conditions, nor is it necessarily indicative of over-fertilizing, but rather of salt-related damage. This occurs when the salt concentration in the soil solution reaches a certain critical point, either through accumulation by over-dry conditions, or by the excess application of fertilizer. Keeping the plants more evenly moist, and flushing thoroughly with clean water can also help to reduce this sort of injury to orchids. I doubt that the symptom you describe on the top leaf is fungus, and even if it is, it sounds like a type that is the result of a secondary infection that is rarely more than a cosmetic problem. Unusually cold water can bruise the softer tissue of a developing leaf, making it susceptible to infection in the same way that a cut on your hand is liable to be infected. The infection usually stops on its own, leaving the type of lesion you describe. Ned Nash From AOS.org

7 Coalit ion for Orchid Species De ce mber Pag e 7 December marks the beginning of the dry season in South Florida. While this additional dryness provides relief from the autumnal rains that can bring so many fungal problems, December is also the month of shortest day lengths. This contracted period of light, on the contrary, reduces severely the drying potential for our plants. Nature thus both gives and takes away from us in December. We must make sure, therefore, that we do not aid the dark side of the force by improper watering. In December, above all, one must stick strictly to the two cardinal principles of orchid watering: water early in the day so your plants have as many hours as possible to dry, and water heavily when you water, allowing longer intervals between watering to dry plants thoroughly. This practice maximizes the benefit of the dryer air of December and minimizes the adverse effect of the shorter day lengths. When nature has delivered a light overnight or early morning rain as she so often does in December at the leading edge of a cold front, add to her efforts by watering thoroughly that same morning and skip out watering for an extra several days afterward. With this method you can use the general dryness of December to give yourself much of the advantage of a greenhouse in terms of controlling watering. As in all aspects of orchid culture, keen observation is the key to success. In cooler weather your plants need much less water and cool air even at the same relative humidity, strips less water from your plants because cool air has less water holding capability. Always be sure that your plants really need water before you roll out the hose in December. Remember to use at least one of the standard tests for dryness: the finger dug slightly into the media test or the newly sharpened pencil coming dry like a knife from a well cooked custard, or test by hefting a pot that you know the weight of, both wet and dry and be sure that it has attained sufficient lightness. When you are sure they are dry, water them until you

8 Coalit ion for Orchid Species De ce mber Pag e 8 are sure they are very wet, then let the drying air of December do its magic to ward off leaf spotting diseases. Himalayan dendrobiums of the nobile and callista (D. aggregatum, chrysotoxum, etc.) Sections require no additional water (beyond rain) in December. Remember, those of you who water (or, even worse, fertilize) these dendrobiums in December, will be punished by having your flowers taken away in the Spring. Some growers who have the space isolate these dendrobiums along with other types that want hard drying such as Catasetum, Cynoches, Mormodes, and Calanthe. Another strategy is to hang these plants high or at the edges of the collection reminding oneself to neglect them and also to avoid watering them by mistake. Some growers achieve the same result effect by turning the pots of these genera on their side in November or December, to avoid catching water from whatever source. Plants of some of these genera that have finished flowering can even be removed from their pots and stripped to bare roots in anticipation of re-potting them in new media when they break growth in the spring. Most sympodial orchids are resting in December and require less fertilizer. Biweekly or even monthly applications of a balanced fertilizer are still desirable. Nitrate nitrogen is the most readily absorbed in cooler weather; therefore at least one more application of the potassium nitrate/magnesium sulphate (at 1tbs. each per gal.) recommended in November is still a good idea. Motes Orchids will continue offering free spray grade Potassium nitrate at the nursery, to all our friends in December. It's good stuff! Vandas, Phalaenopsis and other monopodial orchids should be fertilized right through the winter although both the amount of fertilizer and the frequency of application can be reduced. Remember reddening of the foliage is not natural, nor is it a response to the cold per se but rather a symptom of nutritional deficiency. December can be cold. Frost has occurred in the first week of the month and unforgettably, the coldest temperatures ever recorded in South Florida were registered on December 25, If you haven't taken some of the precautions outlined in the November Newsletter, get busy! Keep a close eye on the forecasts during this volatile month. Remember that hard cane dendrobiums of the sections Spatulata and Phaleananthe are the most sensitive of commonly cultivated orchids. They resent tem-

9 Coalit ion for Orchid Species De ce mber Pag e 9 perature much below 60 degrees F. Phaleanopsis are next most sensitve, then vandas. Protect all these genera. If you are getting a jump on Spring potting chores by repotting sympodial orchids that have finished blooming, it is particularly important that you take extra care in securing them in their containers. These plants may not be sending out new roots for several months, enough time for them to be shaken loose from insufficient staking. Passing cold fronts can bring brisk winds in December. When new roots start to form on insufficiently secured plants, wind moves the plant and chafes the new root tips off. Improperly secured plants are never able to root properly and slowly pine away. If you love them you must tie them up, tie them down. This is also especially true of mass produced orchids sold in Home Depot, K Mart etc. The soft, peat based media used to grow these commercially produced plants in the controlled environment of a greenhouse often does not provide sufficient purchase to secure the plants in the rough and tumble of a South Florida orchid collection buffeted by harsh winter winds. You probably should have already re-potted these into more durable medium but until you do, tie 'em up!

10 Coalit ion for Orchid Species De ce mber Pag e Water judiciously and well. 2.Protect cold sensitive genera. 3.Provide extra potassium and magnesium. 4.Repot flowered out plants be sure they are secure. Thank you Dr. Motes

11 Coalit ion for Orchid Species De ce mber Pag e 11 Remember we are a SPECIES society and we ask you only bring orchid species for our silent auction. If you want to bid on an orchid, please decide how much you are willing to pay, bid that amount and then walk away from the table. We kindly ask that you not hover around the table so others may see the what we are offering.

12 Coal i t i on f or O rchi d Speci e s D ecembe r Pag e 12 Get your raffle tickets for a chance to win fabulous orchids from outstanding orchid venders. GOT SPECIES? Get your 2011 COS Newsletters on the web at Special Thanks to Webmasterdesigner Mike Haynes of ISatisfy.com, and Home Page photos by Greg Allikas, The Florida-Caribbean Regional Judging Center of the American Orchid Society invites you to bring your orchids in flower to be judged by our teams of experienced American Orchid Society Judges, or just come to learn more about orchids and the process of judging orchids. We meet the THIRD Saturday of each month at beautiful Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Corbin Bldg., Old Cutler Rd., Coral Gables, FL Judging begins promptly at 1:00 p.m.

13 Coalit ion for Orchid Species De ce mber Pag e 13 Please patronize our loyal advertisers! Where Quality is as Traditional as the Orchid Itself SW 182 Ave., Homestead, FL * rforchids@aol.com * For Sale Benches from $65.00 and up (4 to 5 step) For info: call Eddy or Gloria Rodriguez (786) or (786) Susana and Victor Ortiz

14 Coalit ion for Orchid Species De ce mber Pag e 14 Remember it is important for you to make sure you check in in order to get credit for attending the meeting. The number of meetings you attend determine when you get to pick your holiday orchid.

15 Coalit ion for Orchid Species De ce mber Pag e 15 The Board: Coalition for Orchid Species President Lou Lodyga Past President, Mirta Russis Heineman Vice Pres., Michele DiBianchi Treasurer: Odalis Navarro Secretary: Lori Sell Trustees: Carlos Segrera, Erna Maxwell, Katria Whitfield, Cynthia White, Vivian Waddell, Bill Capps, Ketty Bergouignan, Carmen Segrera, Rolando Armenteros, Melana Davison Committees: Vivian Waddel: Membership Guillermo Salazar: Conservation Newsletter Editor : William Capps Raffle: Carmen Segrera AOS Rep: Lynn Corson Webpage Liaison: Rolando Armenterso Cynthia White: Silent Auction Refreshments: Bert Pressman Scholarship: Dr. Rene Izquierdo Advertising/Reporter : Lori Sell Photography: open Roster: Melana Davison Remember we are dedicated to the culture and conservation of species. Please bring only species plants for our silent auction.

16 Coalit ion for Orchid Species De ce mber Pag e 16 William Capps Newsletter Editor