NEW ORLEANS ORCHID SOCIETY NEWSLETTER NOVDEC 20092009 NOOS Newsletter President’s Message Prez Sez, OFFICIADUNT Well, the year is coming to a close. In, this, my last letter as President, I’d like to thank the membership for all their support throughout the year. OFFICERS We were able to raise money for City Park that supplements our PRESIDENT Carol Stauder yearly $1000 donation because people stepped up to staff the VICE-PRESIDENT Molly Prokop Secretary Vienna Mackey exhibits there and sell raffle tickets. Treasurer Alice Barrios We were able to go to six ‘away’ shows because members were Newsletter Editor willing to go the distance to put the exhibits up and take them Vienna Mackey down. We also had a couple of new members who volunteered to Website Editor do so and this is especially important because it’s the ‘newbies’ who Stephanie Nienaber will eventually carry on when the ‘oldies’ are no longer able to do Board of Trustees so. Donna Stange Despite the economy, our June show (the one we had in May) Charlie Stange was a great success with nearly all the vendors satisfied with their Ed Schllhaas profits. The show was well attended and many of our members volunteered for the different jobs that needed to be filled. We had a successful OrchidWiz raffle. If my total is correct, we made $165 that goes right into our treasury. We had many interesting out-of-town speakers for our monthly meetings who brought opportunities to purchase plants at a discount and without paying shipping costs. We honored members Alice & Eddie Barrios and Lillia & Paul MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!!! Young with Life Memberships in recognition of their many years of work on behalf of the New Orleans Orchid Society. We had a very good year and my hope is that next year will be as good .... no ... BETTER than this past year. Please support Molly in her endeavors to make NOOS the best. The Society is only as good as its membership. Thanks again to everyone. Happy Holidays. Stay safe. See you in the New Year. Carol 1 NEW ORLEANS ORCHID SOCIETY NEWSLETTER DEC 2009 Minutes of the Last Meeting The meeting was called to order at 7:33 with 28 member present. There was a reminder that dues are coming up. Do the new secretary a favor and get the dues in ASAP. Having them dribble in all year is inconvenient. A reminder for those old members that paid their dues late in the year - you need to pay them again to be current. Let’s give Larry a break and get those dues in! The Orchid Whiz raffle is still on, but time is running short so get your tickets. The drawing will be at the Christmas party. Speaking of which, it will be a Max’ as usual on Dec. 6 at 6:00 p.m. Signup and bring your dish. The OSJ results can be found in the newsletter. And we received a thank-you note for our donation to the AOS. We are going to need volunteers for the Gulf Coast Orchid Society show to help set up. Mark your calendars for Jan. 29-31, 2010. Also, be thinking of a theme for our show in June. The meeting in Jan. also will be one week early and there will be no Feb. meeting, as usual, due to Mardi Gras. The new officers were elected and all ran unopposed. Here are the results. President - Molly Prokop Vice-President - Max Mipro Secretary - Larry Hennessey Treasurer - Alice Barrios The Newsletter Editor (Vienna Mackey), Website Editor (Stephanie Nienaber) and the Trustees (Donna & Charlie Stange and Ed Schellhaas) will remain the same. Monthly Winners Award Member Plant BG-1 Alice & Eddie Cirr. Elizabeth Ann Buckleberry FCC/AOS Barrios BG-2 Ethel & Ed C. Portia 'Gloriosa' Suberville BG-2 Patricia Sander Trctm. Ollie Palmer BH-1 Alice & Eddie Den. Jacquie Stocker Barrios BH-2 Margaret Bossier Dtps. Pixie Star 'OK Too' AM/AOS BN-1 Jacqueline C. Chocolate Drop 'Volcano Queen' Carey BN-2 Anna Maria Ball Lc. Rosette x C Chocolate Drop BS-1 Patricia Sander Paph. concolor BS-1 Alice & Eddie Cym. ensifolium v. alba 'Quan Ying Sues' Barrios BS-2 Ethel & Ed Lus. discolor Suberville 2 NEW ORLEANS ORCHID SOCIETY NEWSLETTER DEC 2009 Orchid Shows OSJ show 44 plants in the exhibit Ann Roth: Epc. Viola ‘Howland’-- Blue ribbon – Trophy best flower of classes 102-104 C. Maggie Daly – Red ribbon Den. Lavender Star – Red ribbon Anna Maria Ball: Colm. Wildcat ‘Bobcat’ AM/AOS – Blue ribbon Carol Stauder: Blc. Edisto ‘Newberry’ – Red ribbon Margaret Bossier: Bc. Little Marmaid ‘Janet’ – Blue ribbon John & Linda Bourgeois: C. intermedia ‘Breckinridge Snow’ – Blue ribbon Ed & Ethel Subervielle: Den. Karen – White ribbon Pot. Varut Feastful – White ribbon Margaret Bossier: Den. oligophyllum – class 614 Blue ribbon and class 716 Red ribbon Max Mipro: Cym. Green Sour – Red ribbon Larry Hennessey:Bulbo. echinolabium – White ribbon – considered for award Bulbo. annandalei – considered for award Paph. Honey – Blue ribbon Phal hieroglyphica – Blue ribbon Vasco. Viboon Velvet ‘Powder Puff’ AM/AOS – Blue ribbon Phrag. Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Red ribbon Ian Hiler: Pths. hemirhoda – Red ribbon Epi. criniferum – Red ribbon Stenocoryn aurea-fulva – White ribbon Ed Schellhaas: Ascda. Memoria Louis Hatos – Red ribbon Molly Prokop: Sc. Pumpkin Festival ‘Fung Yuen’ AM/OSROC – Blue ribbon Ascda. Thai Classic – Blue ribbon Patricia Sander: Epi belizense – Blue ribbon Den. convolutum – Blue ribbon – trophy best flower 602-616 – awarded an AM of 80 pts. – named for her brand new grandson. Congratulations on both. AOS Trophy went to Terrebonne Orchid Society Show Trophy went to Orchid Society of Jefferson There was no ODC Trophy Best Commerical Floor exhibit was Linda & John Bourgeois Their Aranda. Broga Giant awarded AM 80 pts ‘Queen Bee’ best grown classes 302-318 best grown in show -- Congratulations Vanda Nakorn Sawan ‘Blue Spotty’ 3 NEW ORLEANS ORCHID SOCIETY NEWSLETTER DEC 2009 Vanda tricolor Vanda tessellata ‘Alice Motes’ CHM/AM/AOS Martin Motes On Vandas by Vienna Mackey Plant architecture tells you a lot about a plant’s cultural needs. With Vandas, you have roots and leaves - that’s it. No thick, heavy bulbs, no waxy water storage organs, nothing. As a result, Vandas are not built to withstand much stress. When they are stressed, they go into a state of dormancy and wait until things get better. So, NEVER STRESS THE PLANT! Always keep it growing. There are two points of growth on a Vanda, the root tip and the crown of the plant. These should constantly be growing. This growth may slow down durning blooming as the plant puts much of its energy into the flowers, but it should not stop. You may have to be observant to observe this constant growth. In fact, to be a good orchid grower you need to take the following pledge: I will look at every one of my orchids every day. Let’s look at each growing point. Root Tip - the biggest thing that will stop it growing is cold stress. In our climate, the biggest mistake is waiting too long to bring them in. You can leave it out to 50F, but not below. If the air temperature drops to the upper 40s, but is going to warm up rapidly the next day, it will be OK to leave it out. If it drops quickly to below 50, you need to bring them in. You can water on a cold morning because the water coming out of the ground is much warmer than the air. Another thing that will stop root tips from growing is thrips. (See Bug Bites). Crown - The other growth point is where the leaves are unfolding. The color here should be paler. That tells you it is growing. The flowers come out right below that growing region where the tissues are maturing. Drought and lack of fertilizer slows down this continuous growth. Fungal infection will also stop growth. This can be seen as little brown spots in the crown. Pour a slug of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the crown. Vanda Culture Potting - Vandas can be grown with material in the baskets as long as the plant doesn’t stay too wet. If you grow them under some kind of cover, you can use material in the basket. Plants should not, however, be loose in the container. They will not thrive and will go downhill due to the roots chaffing off. So, do what you must to tie the plant down and keep it still. You want bright light but not full sun. The leaf color should be a shade or two darker than a Granny Smith apple. If they are more yellow, it is due to too much light, not enough water or not enough enough fertilizer. Roots 14-16 inches long can be cut off or you can weave them or wrap them up in the basket. Roots are major storage organs for Vandas so don’t get too knife happy with the roots. 4 NEW ORLEANS ORCHID SOCIETY NEWSLETTER DEC 2009 Fertilizer - If plants show a reddish tinge when it is cold. there is a Mg (Magnesium) deficiency. If the plant shows a deficiency when stressed, it has been deficient all along. Give the plant Mg until the red goes away. Fish emulsion is good but MSU studies show that what plants need is low P (phosphorus). This means - don’t use bloom boosters. These are really bloom blockers because of the low N (nitrogen), not the high P. Substitute fertilizer every 5 or 6 waterings and water the same way. Use the MSU fertilizer or Peter’s Excel (15-5-15 with extra Mg (magnesium) and Ca (calcium)).