Meeting Duty Roster: March 14 A Group April 14 B Group May 14 C Group Catering can be done by any member for any Meeting. February Meeting Results:

Transcription

1 Club & Editor: P.O. Box 1173, Bundaberg, 4670 Volume 03/14 March 2014 Editor: Jean Williamson Office Bearers. President Robert Shield Phone Secretary Rene Thompson Phone Treasurer Glenda Coster Phone Meetings are held at 7.30 pm on the third THURSDAY of each month at the Avenell Heights Hall, Thabeban Street. Visitors and past members are especially welcome to attend. Date Claimers: 5-6 April BITSOF EXPO (BoyneTannum April ROSI Show (Rockhampton Orchid Society Inc.) 19 April CIDOS Cent Sale at Woodgate (Childers Orchid Society) 11 May 14 BOSI Autumn Show (Bundaberg Orchid Society Inc.) 12July 14 Howard Bus Trip Meeting Duty Roster: March 14 A Group April 14 B Group May 14 C Group Catering can be done by any member for any Meeting. Raffle Winner: Shirley Roll Lucky Door: D Sorenson February Meeting Results: 2 nd Eddie Cross Exhibitor: C Dawson OUR MEMBERSHIP grows with new members. WE welcome Brian & Dawn Daly also Bill & Dianne McKenzie to our Club. We trust you will grow in knowledge and confidence as your involvement brings your rewards. Bulk Booklet Orders and/or Enquires: jbhughes4670@gmail.com or Ph

2 The Club merchandise is available only to BOSI members not the public. The merchandise, when available and in stock, includes Sterilizer-Trisodium Phosphate, fertilizer Plantacote, Peters All Rounder, Blossom Booster, Steri-prune Spray, Coloured Labels, White Labels Long and Short, Clips Large, Medium & Small, Pencils (8008), Pencils China Black & White, Stainless Steel Pruners, Modiform Pots, 70mm, 80mm, 110mm, 130mm, 150mm 170mm, and Bags Bark(Large/Medium/Small /Mini) and Charcoal. Charcoal bag graded in sizes of 5, 10, 15 and 20mm. Please phone Bev on to arrange suitable time or she may bring your order to the meeting for you if it is convenient. Labels, clips, trisodium phosphate, pots, fertilizer, etc can now be purchased from the librarian at monthly meetings or from Alwyn & Bev s (Please phone to arrange suitable time). While the Bundaberg Orchid Society Inc. endeavours to ensure reliability and accuracy in this Newsletter s editorial content, responsibility for advice and views expressed is not assumed by the Society or the Management Committee. New & Interested Growers Group, Met at Alwyn & Bev Heidke s residence on Sunday 2 nd March with a wonderful roll-up of 50 plus. This is rather heart-warming to see the interest shown in participation and questions from New & Young Growers that are seeking more info. Knowledge is always so generously forth coming from our Experienced Growers who have tried & tested success for those who attend these meetings to benefit from. Members, always bring along the jotter and pen, the information that you gather can be added to all that you gather at each meeting, compile a folder of knowledge and the info is forever at your fingertips, you cannot absorb it all at a meeting. Thursday Night Meetings at Avenell Hall, 3 rd Thursday of the Month will enlighten you even more with the tabling of some of the best the Club has to offer, learn how Judging and Presentation is done. Get your Newsletter hot off the press, and this is always the advantage should you not have yet got familiar with the Computer. Keep up with the activities of your Club and trips that are always on offer. In May, Mother s day weekend, , our Annual Orchid Show in on and this is not to be missed. Plenty of participation is available for all members. Each group has a competitive involvement for their display, check with your Group Leader at the next meeting. Next New & Interested Growers Group will be Sunday April the 6 th at Jean Williamson s residence, 48 Whites Rd, travel (Moore Park Road, turn right at Gooburrum School, then turn into White s Rd at ORANGE HOUSE, follow to the end of the bitumen).. Potting and Observations of Cutting up an Orchid will be done.

3 Current Events Information On weekend of April 4-5-6, Boyne Tannum Orchid & Foliage Club will be holding their Orchid Expo. Any Growers/Members wishing to put entries into their Expo will need to have the names of plants available to Bob Shield by Monday 31 st March Plants must be delivered to Bob & Deborah Shield s residence by 11am Friday 4 th April 2014 for transportation, should the members themselves not be able to attend the Expo. Even though some of our members will be attending the Boyne Tannum Expo our regular New and Interested Growers Group will still meet for our Sunday Meeting. Orchidaceous Suppliers, Grahame & Margaret Muller will be attending our Autumn Show on Mother s Day Weekend, May 8th 9th 10th 11th of May. Any supplies that you may be in need of for the new Potting Season can be pre- ordered and brought to the Show so as to help immensely where stocks do sometime run-out and leave customers disappointed. By ordering ahead you are guaranteed of your supplies. Our Autumn Show will need the usual supply of Biscuits, Cakes and Slices for Catering. Members are asked nicely to contribute any of their generous specialities for the catering over the 3 days. If in doubt have a chat with Kay Thompson and she will enlighten you of requirements. Sandwiches are made fresh on the day, so hands are always needed early in the mornings. Light Refreshments are served throughout the day, so make it be known at the Thursday Night Meetings that you are available and when. Set-u of the Civic Centre does require many helpers on the Thursday night before so check for the Rostering System a t the meeting also. Chiders and Isis Orchid Club are having an outing at Woodgate, Easter Weekend, so put that on your calendar where they have a Cent Sale and Plant Stalls will be operating, so with money in your pocket, head to Woodgate Easter Saturday.

4 Popular Vote Results February 2014 Cattleya: Unknown D & N Soreson Species: Trgl.phillippinence A& B Heidke Any Other: Dorothy Oka R & G Coster Den. Enobi Purple A& B Heidke Bulb. makoyanum V. Gordon Dillon A& B Heidke Judges Choice Novice: Milt. Spectabilis Var moreliana D Lynch C. intermedia Var. orlata Amelie Kate Ctt. Chocolate Drop Clyfton

5 L. splendida Rlc. Roy Maidment Gct. Why Not Walk Figure 1 Den.Hidden Money Ctt. Blue Boy True Blue

6 What's wrong with my orchid? Bud Drop There are many reasons why buds fall off before flowering: Under or over watering. Temperature extremes and rapid temperature changes (heating vents, air conditioning blowing directly on the plant). Fumes from natural gas leaks, paint, other chemicals. Ethylene - high producers are apple, avocado, peach, pear, plum, melons, figs, and tomatoes. Low humidity. Genetics. Aphids, thrips and some mites. Changing growing location. If you want to change a plant's location so that it will be enjoyed, wait until the flower opens first. Ants can be responsible for infestations of more serious pests. AntsAnts seldom cause any direct damage to orchids, rather they indicate the possibility of infestation by scale, mealybugs or aphids. To control ants it is usually adequate to remove the source of food that is attracting them so you must examine your plants and control the pests that attract ants. Some orchids, especially cymbidiums, produce sugary secretions on the flower spikes. In this case, the ants can be prevented from reaching the plants by setting the legs of the bench into tins partly filled with oil or soapy water, to make an ant-proof moat.if you find evidence of aphids, scale, or mealybugs, you may try either straight 70% or 90% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol - touch the area with a soaked cotton swab, repeat every 3 days for about 2 weeks. If you want to use an insecticide while you have your plants outside you could use Bifenthrin which have been used very effectively against ants. Spray the benches, bench legs, the floors, and walls where the a ants can climb up to the plants. Avoid spraying on the flowers, for this you can use Confidor. Another tip is to use bay leaves around the point of entry and in the pots. Ants are repelled by bay

7 Although mealybugs can multiply rapidly, they are not difficult to control. Aphids, Mealybugs and Scale Insects The following advice has been provided by Paul J. Johnson of the Insect Research Collection of South Dakota State University ( Probably the most popular home remedy against this group of pests is to swab and daub plants with a cotton swab or ball of cotton dipped in isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Do not use other alcohols, such as ethanol or methanol, that will penetrate the plant tissues and cause considerable damage! The common 70% isopropyl alcohol available in sotres is satisfactory. On hard-leaved plants, gentle rubbing with the fingers, a cotton ball, or a soft infant's toothbrush is effective. First remove all the visible insects, large and small. Then treat the affected area with alcohol. With Scale insects and mealy bugs you will still need to repeat the alcohol treatment to remove the tiny yellowish spots which are the recently hatched crawlers. Spraying of alcohol solutions is not always effective against eggs which are often well-hidden, hence the need for thoroughness and repetition. Pay particular attention to the folds, crotches, branch bases, midrib areas, and roots. Spraying the alcohol with a misting bottle or small pump sprayer is effective, but dribbling alcohol into tight areas is necessary Once hard scale is established, it can take several treatments to eradicate it. A potential rare problem with alcohol treatment is chilling of the plant. The rapid evaporation of alcohol cools the plant tissues, especially with air movement that increases evaporative cooling. This chilling is suspected of over-cooling tissues and creating zones of dead cells that may become necrotic from bacteria or fungi. On warm or breezy days consider wiping any residual alcohol with a tissue instead of permitting it to evaporate off the plant. Such problems and tissue drying are found particularly on soft or thin-leafed orchids such as the Oncidium Alliance. Isopropyl alcohol is readily available as rubbing alcohol in cosmetic and health areas at markets and pharmacies. It is normally sold as a 70% solution (90% is also available) and this may be diluted considerably for use against insects. One recipe for a 1.5 litre

8 spray bottle is to mix a 50:50 solution of isopropyl alcohol and water, with a few drops to about a teaspoon of liquid soap to act as a spreader. Many home growers also mix in a small amount of mineral oil, neem oil, or one of the horticultural oils (a teaspoon of oil to a 1.5 litre sprayer). The actual proportions aren't critical; it seems that every grower has their own proportions none of which seem to work significantly better than another. Caution is urged, however, as excessive amounts or too strong a detergent, or use of an ammonia-based chemical cleaner may damage your plants, particularly buds and flowers. This is particularly true of dish soaps and household detergents that could remove natural protective waxes from plant tissues. Our appreciation goes to our Sponsors

9