experiences on the site, post photos of your flowers and , and feel free to comment or ask SOUTHERN questions. The spring orchid shows that were to have been held by the London, Montreal, Toronto Artistic and ONTARIO Ottawa orchid clubs, in which SOOS would normally have participated, have all been cancelled. AOS Judging at the Toronto Judging ORCHID Centre has also been cancelled for April. While we understand that our meeting cancellation SOCIETY NEWS is an inconvenience for our members, many of our vendors had been gearing up to participate in the April 2020, Volume 55, Issue 4 spring orchid shows with plants and supplies for Meeting since 1965 sale, and the cancellations are therefore causing significant difficulties for them. Many of these Covid 19 Cancelations vendors do have websites or Facebook pages and may sell plants and supplies through them, so if Sunday April 12 SOOS Meeting you need supplies or would like a new or Cancelled. flowers during this difficult time, we encourage you April 4 AOS Toronto Judging also to order from them. cancelled. I want to thank Jean Allen-Ikesen for her talk on TBG building closed. Chocolate Drop at our March meeting. As a alliance fanatic, I was very disappointed to miss the meeting. Jean is an President’s Remarks Welcome Orchid American Orchid Society (“AOS”) Judge, the AOS Enthusiasts, Our daily activities have been National Judging Education Coordinator, the Chair dramatically altered by the COVID-19 Pandemic of the AOS “Orchids” magazine Editorial Board, a declared by the World Health Organization. frequent contributor to the “Orchids” magazine, After careful consideration by the Southern Ontario the author of special supplements to the “Orchids” Orchid Society (“SOOS”) Executive, we decided on magazine, and a world class orchid expert, living in March 15 to cancel our regular monthly meeting our own backyard, in Dundas, Ontario. We are scheduled for April 12 due to COVID-19 concerns. lucky to have her nearby, and as a member of Since then, conditions have dramatically worsened, SOOS. and many governments globally have restricted I would also like to thank Inge Poot, for filling in for normal activities in an effort to avoid me in my absence. That role would normally fall to overwhelming already stressed health systems. the Vice-President of SOOS, however, that role is We will decide on a course of action regarding currently unoccupied. Anyone with an interest in future meetings, as the situation develops, taking becoming Vice-President, or who has questions our cue from provincial and local health officials. about the role, is encouraged to contact me We will inform you via e-mail, through notifications directly at [email protected] , or contact one of on the SOOS website https://soos.ca/ , and on the the members of our Executive. SOOS Facebook sites, and of course through this Stay safe and healthy. newsletter for those without electronic access. John Vermeer Your orchids will continue to grow and bloom, so while we cannot meet in person to share our We are on facebook at: blooming beauties, or to ask for advice, we https://www.facebook.com/groups/298874747302722/ encourage you to join and participate with others And www.facebook.com/SOOSOrchid/ on the SOOS Facebook Group page on Instagram at instagram.com/soosorchid/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/SOOSOrchid/ . The link for the Toronto Judging Centre on Face book is https://www.facebook.com/groups/457408221588858/ Please share your growing successes and April 4, TJC Monthly AOS Judging at TBG. Cancelled. 4-5, Orchidofolie, Quebec City. Postponed April 2020 Conservation Corner 12, SOOS meeting, Toronto Botanical Garden, Hiking season will be here before we know it. And sales 12 noon, program 1 pm. Cancelled with the onset of the spring weather comes the 15-19, AOS Members meeting, Sacramento, opportunity to see our native orchids. We have California. Postponed over 70 species of endemic orchids nationally. Of 18-19, TAOA show, Toronto.Cancelled these, around 60 can be found in Ontario with 40 25-26, Ottawa orchid society show, Ottawa. Cancelled. plus appearing on the Bruce Peninsula. May 2, TJC Monthly AOS Judging at TBG. Each year the Friends of the Bruce District Park 3, SOOS meeting, Toronto Botanical Garden, Association ( http://www.friendsofthebruce.ca/ ) sales 12 noon, program 1 pm host a festival celebrating the orchids that can be 3, Ontario Rock Garden and Hardy Plant Society found in the area. The Bruce Peninsula Orchid Super Plant Sale. Floral Hall 11 am – 2 pm. 16, Monthly Montreal AOS judging, Jardin botanique Festival de Montreal is a wonderful way to be introduced to the June diversity of the area and to meet other wildflower 6, TJC Business meeting and Monthly AOS Judging enthusiasts. In addition to the orchids that grow in at TBG. the area, the festival looks at other rare plants 7, SOOS meeting, Toronto Botanical Garden, which are native to the Great Lakes basin. Guided sales 12 noon, program 1 pm tours help you safely explore the area without the 20, Monthly Montreal AOS judging, Jardin danger of trampling these amazing plants. The botanique de Montreal festival organizers believe that through education July 4, , TJC Monthly AOS Judging at TBG we can help prevent the poaching and extinction of 18, Monthly Montreal AOS judging, Jardin our native plants, particularly orchids. It is also a botanique de Montreal criminal offence to remove anything from a August 9, SOOS Orchidfest, all day at the national park. The festival is the first weekend in TBG th th June, from the 5 to 7 this year. Registration will open by mid-April ( http://www.orchidfest.ca/about-us.html). If you AOS Judging Results decide to come, book your accommodation early, RBG orchid society show, February 29, 2020: and register for the lunch on Saturday if available. Cymbidium goeringii ‘Tama-no-yuubae’ CCM 84 Come to the festival and experience the truly Michael Hwang/ Taras Kowalzuk awesome. Paphiopedilum Raison Jewel (Egret's Jewel x Raisin Magic)’ Boston's Best’ HCC 78 Daniel Scher

Coming Events 2020. Most orchid Paphiopedilum Pink Ghost ( Magic Pink x Macbeth's events from now until the end of April have been Ghost) ‘Vegs Baby’ HCC 76 Daniel Scher cancelled or postponed because of Covid 19 as noted below. All other dates are subject to Paphiopedilum Hiu Hua Dancer x praestans further confirmation. ‘Scher Exstacy’ AM 81 Daniel Scher March 9-15, World Orchid Congress, Taichung, Taiwan. Postponed Rhyncattlianthe Roy's Magic (Burana Beauty x C. 21-22, London orchid society show, London Ontario. Tokyo Magic) ‘Di Ciommo Sun Flares’ CCM 84 Joe Cancelled. Di Ciommo 26-29, Genesee region orchid society show, Rochester. Cancelled AOS Show Trophy display ‘Bright Idea’ Orchids 26-29, Manitoba orchid society show, Winnipeg.. Canada and Daniel Scher 84 points Cancelled. 28-29, OrchidExpo, Montreal. Cancelled Toronto Judging Center March 7,2020: address was included with their article, I emailed them about the rooting concentrate. They Paphiopedilum jackii HCC 78 grown by John promptly replied to say that Nutriboost1 is equally Doherty effective. Homegrown Hydroponics in Etobicoke Paphiopedilum fairrieanum AM 80 grown by John and Oakville carry this product. Doherty The method I used was very similar to the Hartmanns’. I first removed the lower leaf or two Phragmipedium besseae HCC 75 grown by John at the base of the plant, and then sunk the base in Doherty a small plastic yogurt container with holes cut in Cymbidium FouFou (Fifi ‘Harry’ x Roger Lee the bottom. Large Perlite was pressed against the ‘Geyserland’) CCM 81 grown by Jean Allen Ikeson base of the plant to prevent it from wobbling. After securing the plants in pots, I watered the Next judging May 2, 2020, 10:30 am at Perlite with a solution of 1 mL Nutriboost1 per litre of water. Each pot was placed in a divided plant the TBG. Judges education at 10.30 am, AOS judging at 1 pm. tray filled with tap water to a depth of about 2 cm. AOS Judging is a service of the American Orchid Small stones were placed around the pots to Society and is open to all! Bring us your flowering increase the surface area for evaporation and to orchids. keep just the right amount of humidity around the area where roots emerged. The Perlite was watered with the Nutriboost1 solution twice a From our Show Chair week and excess water in the tray was removed Interested in recycling ribbons from previous with a turkey baster to maintain the 2 cm water shows? Please give them to myself or Terry depth. The tray was kept in natural light on the Kennedy. dining table starting on January 8, 2020. A photo of the set up is shown below. Interested in helping to organize the 2021 After 6 weeks, on February 22, I pulled some of the Show? Please email Cathy Dunn paphs out of the Perlite. Some of these, like the plant in the photo below, had grown nice fat, at [email protected] with a note about yellowish, new roots up to nearly 2 cm long! Paphs what you would like to do. with roots were immediately potted in small pots

I look forward to seeing all of you at our 41st Annual using small size (Classic) Orchiata bark and watered Orchid Show and Sale to be held Saturday, February with the Nutriboost1 solution. Paphs without roots 13th and 14th, 2021. were pushed back in the Perlite and the treatment Cathy Dunn. was resumed. These will be checked again in a few weeks. How to get Roots on Paphiopedilums by Why did the roots grow? Was the increasing Jocelyn Webber daylight a factor in initiating roots? Could the same We’ve all had them: the ones that get smaller each results be expected at other times of the year? year, those rootless wonders on life support. Could this method be successful in initiating roots Before you consider ditching them, here’s in other orchids? something to try. According to “Initiating Paphiopedilum Root Growth” by Anne & Rainer Hartmann (Orchid Digest, Vol. 72-3, pp. 135-139) it is possible to do this semi-hydroponically. They used small plastic pots, sponge rock (a.k.a. large Perlite, 1 to 2 cm pieces), water, a special rooting concentrate (the Hartmanns used Dyna-Gro K-L-N), and some rootless paphs. All these items were easy to come by, except the Dyna-Gro, which is no longer available in Canada. As the Rainers’ email Beauties of the Beast: Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop and Its Hybrids, by Jean Allen Ikeson and transcribed by Inge Poot

Cattleanthe Chocolate Drop ‘Kodoma’ CCM/AOS (83 pts) The picture shows a plant so well flowered that the foliage defects still allowed it to get a certificate of cultural merit! The shiny red sepals and petals are Plant of the Month for March 2020 offset by the yellow side-lobes on the otherwise red lip. It was the colour, gloss and floriferousness that made breeders use it as a parent and the good results kept them at it! The plant is a primary hybrid of aurantiaca and Cattleya tigrina. The registration states that guttata not tigrina is the second parent, but that was a mistake. Since guttata and tigrina, formerly called leopoldii, have a confused history the mistake is not too surprising. Ernest Hetherington who made the cross said he used an amber/bronze form of the tigrina as the second parent

Sue Loftus won the honours with her LaeliocatantheTzeng-Wan Love (Laeliocattleya Puppy Love x ) which charmed us with its two tall heads of four and five respectively, perky pink flowers. Sue summers the plant out of doors and keeps C. guttata, as you can see is quite similar to C. it in a cool, south-west facing bay window in tigrina. Background colour and spotting can vary in both species. the winter. She fertilizes it with Miracle Grow slow-release fertilizer formulated for tomatoes and fruit trees. It is 10-5-15 +Ca +micronutrients from organic ingredients. She waters once a week with rainwater to which she adds a fertilizer two to three times and the next time she just flushes with rain water. The plant is grown in a bark mix. Well-done Sue!

You can try it out yourself: put linseed oil on a piece Because so many colour forms exist in both of raw plank and see how it darkens the colour and parents, the progeny will be quite varied. Not all are lets the grain shine through. Or recall how on a wind going to look like the clone pictured at the beginning still day a lake will reflect all the shore-line colours of this article. Chocolate Drops have been flowered back to you. If a wind starts up the lake becomes in reds, oranges, golds and yellows and with and dull. without spots. Even a white form of Chocolate Drop Our speaker showed us a few crosses with flowered but it was a poor grower and died. Chocolate Drop as a parent and the gloss and vivid colour came through every time. In other words it is Orchid Wiz lists the most prolific parents of awarded a dependable parent for good colour. In other words crosses in the Cattleya alliance in order of the it is not a one-trick pony! number of awards granted to their hybrids and Those of you who are familiar with the point scale Chocolate Drop comes as number two with 284 for AOS judging, may recall that the point scale for offspring of which 93 were awarded, only surpassed Cattleya type flowers has 20 points assigned for by C. Beaufort which had 265 hybrids of which 99 substance (how thick the tissue is) and texture were awarded. Number three is Ctt. Trick or Treat – (what the surface of the flower looks like). No other an orange : remember the one Wilson Ng wows us genus has so many points for those characters. The with at our shows!- and number four is C. Horace a reason for it was that the scale was put together huge flowered purple cross. during a time when corsages for ladies were the There are a lot of crosses that have one or two major use of . A limp flower at the end of winners that win an award or two, but it means you the ball was something to be avoided. We have to have to kiss a lot of frogs until you get one that turns thank that point scale for today’s firm cattleya out to be a prince! Not so with the most famous flowers! Remember: parents. Heavy Substance = No Dulling of Color Why is the colour so stunning in this cross and in so As light cannot pass through the flower many of its progeny? Heavy substance is one Reflective Texture (glossy/satiny/velvety) reason. It makes the colours seem more solid. The Reflects and Enhances Color other is gloss. Gloss makes colours appear brighter. Look at the slide below: the right-hand flower is not glossy and somewhat thin in substance and it glows not nearly as richly as the left hand flower.

Cattlianthe Tutankamen (Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop x Cattleya Mae Hawkins) and Rhyncattleanthe Brassy Gold (Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop x Rhyncattleanthe Love Sound) are two crosses that show that Chocolate Drop also confers floriferousness onto its progeny. The other There are yellows: good point with these two crosses is that they carry Ctt. Golden Wax their flowers on strong upright stems. (Ctt Chocolate Drop × Ctt. Kauai Starbrite) big heads of flowers! With the many colours present in Chocolate Drop’s ‘Brittany‘ is gold with a red lip and ‘Lone Star II’ is all parents some crosses with it give a myriad of gold different coloured progeny:

Cattlianthe Crème Brule’ There are reds: (Ctt Chocolate Drop × C. forbesii) where Chocolate Rhyncattleanthe Ruby Suisse drop intensifies the dull yellow forbesii colour (Chocolate Drop × Rlc. Owen Holmes) enormously! Rhyncattleanthe Love Triangle ‘Louisiana’ Rhyncattleanthe Laurie Tsuda HCC/AOS (Ctt Chocolate Drop X Rhyncattleanthe Orange (Chocolate Drop X Rlc. San Daminano ) Nugget) is a cross whose colours vary from all Rhyncattleanthe Nobile’s Bruno Bruno ‘Big Red’ yellow to all red and lots of combinations of both AM/AOS colours. Rth. San Diego Sunset ‘Coqui’ AM/AOS (Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop x (Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop x Rhyncholaeliocattleya Rhyncholaeliocattleya George Suzuki) Waikiki Sunset) -flowers burnt orange with a red lip Ctt. Elegant Oak ‘Mei-Chin’ HCC/AOS Cattlianthe Orange Passion ‘Paraiso’ AM/AOS (Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop x Cattleya Wendy's an all orange flower (Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop Valentine) x Cattlianthe Chicanery)

There are Red with Spots: Magenta colours: Cattlianthe Anne Tapper ‘Kura’ AM/OCNZZ Cattlianthe Rose Drop (Cattlianthe Porcia x (Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop x Cattleya Precious Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop) is a gleaming magenta Stones) jewel! (where C. Precious Stones contains C. aclandiae) Cattlianthe Bernie Black (Ctt. Chocolate Drop × C. aclandiae)

Cattlianthe Chongkolnee ‘Burgundy Ace’ AM/AOS ( x Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop) the flower is described as beet purple with a lip that is indigo distally. Perhaps a blue clone of Guarianthe bowringiana was used?

Sometimes the lurking green colours in the background of the flowers can result in wishy washy colours in the progeny Enanthleya Utuado Beauty ‘Veronica’ HCC/AOS (76) (Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop x Encyclia tampensis) the clone shown was warm rose with green centrally, but a yellow clone with a magenta lip was also shown in Orchid Wiz.

Ctt. Orglade’s Cheer ‘Louise’ HCC/AOS (77) has Now we will look at some second generation a bit too much green mixed into the red for true Chocolate Drop crosses: beauty! The clone ‘Lone Star Black Cherry’ AM/AOS however was glossy deep burgundy red with a bright magenta lip!

Rth Chief Sweet Orange ‘Linda’ AM/AOS (Ctt. Tutankamen × Rlc. Chyong Guu Chaffinch) Go take a gamble on some Chocolate Drop 8 fls/1 infl.; ‘substance very firm; Crosses – chances are very good that you will get a texture crystalline;’ 12 cm natural spread, s& p winner! golden orange, lip gold with red picotee.

What we want to achieve in the second generation is an improvement in the somewhat starry form to a fuller flower, but without losing the floriferousness.

Using Broughtonia sanguinea is the way to do it!

Guaricattonia Red Tape ‘Dark Horse’ AD/AOC has a head of somewhat cupped full red flowers, the lip enhanced by two big gold eyes, column white. Substance seems to be heavy and the texture satiny glossy = lovely! (Ctt. Lasseter’s Gold × Guaritonia Why Not) Lasseter’s Gold = Chocolate Drop × Lc. Chine Why Not = Guar. aurantiaca × Bro. sanguinea

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SOOS Display RBG show 2020

RBG Orchid Show SOOS Display Ribbons

Entry Class Ribbon Owner Genera Trophy Brother Sara Gold (Phal. 18 540 1 Synea Tan Phalaenopsis Sara Lee x Phal. Taipei Gold) Best in Class Memoria Suranaree 'Synea' (Aer. lawrenceae x 22 630 1 Synea Tan Rhynchorides Rhy. coelestis) AM/AOS Best in Class Mini Snowflake 'Synea' (Den. aberrans x 23 870 1 Synea Tan Dendrobium Den. johnsoniae) CCM/AOS Best in Class Nanboh Pixy ‘Cherry Moon’ (Bard. Terusan × 1 110 1 Jocelyn Webber Bardendrum Bark. scandens) Angel Voice 'Orange Fantasy' (Rth. Shinfong Little Love x 7 260 1 Synea Tan Rhyncattleanthe C. coccinea) Haley Decker (Phrag. Saint 15 411 1 Jocelyn Webber Phragmipedium Owen x Phrag. kovachii) Younghome Pink Clouds (Phal. Luchia Roseherz x Phal. 17 490 1 David Bryan Phalaenopsis Sun Prince) Display of more than 15 Southern Ontario flowering orchid a 8 2 Orchid Society AOS Affiliated Society plants or cut inflorescences. Little Stars (B. nodosa x 3 120 2 Synea Tan Brassavola B. subulifolia) Toshie's Magic (Rlc. Toshie Aoki x 26 220 2 Jocelyn Webber Rhyncholaeliocattleya C. Tokyo Magic) Wolf's Folly (Paph. wardii fma alboviride'Granny Green' 11 310 2 David Bryan Paphiopedilum x Paph. Dire Wolf 'Green Glory') Calurum (Phrag. longifolium × 14 411 2 Jocelyn Webber Phragmipedium Phrag. Sedenii) Emeraude (Phal. Allegria × 20 540 2 David Bryan Phalaenopsis Phal. Tarragone) SOOS Celebrates 50 'Synea' (Den. aberrans 24 870 2 Synea Tan Dendrobium x Den. Little Atro) AM/AOS

4 150 3 Synea Tan 'Heiti Jacobs' FCC/AOS Arctic Star ‘Snow Queen’ 5 190 3 Jocelyn Webber Cattleya (C. Claesiana × C. Fred Cole)

As well, Kelvin Sue won a second and a third in water colour paintings. Mar 1 2020 Show Table Ribbons

Class First Second Third Class 1 Lc. Tzeng-Wan Love Cattleya Alliance Sue Loftus Class 2 Phrag. Fritz Schomburg Paph. Hung Sheng Royal Paphiopedilium 'Synea' AM/AOS Henry Glowka Synea Class 3 Asconopsis Irene Dobkins Phal.Brother Redland Phalaenopis and Vanda 'Elmhurst' HCC/AOS Henry Spots Alliance Glowka 'Synea' AM/AOS Synea Tan Class 7 Aerangis fastuosa X citrata All Others Maria Zhukova Class 9 Beautiful Basket Baskets and Displays Henry Glowka

About SOOS Web site: www.soos.ca ; SOOS Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/298874747302722/ Member of the Canadian Orchid Congress; Affiliated with the American Orchid Society, the Orchid Digest and the International Phalaenopsis Alliance. Membership: Annual Dues $30 per calendar year (January 1 to December 31 ). Surcharge $15 for newsletter by postal service Membership secretary: Liz Mc Alpine, 189 Soudan Avenue, Toronto, ON M4S 1V5, phone 416-487-7832, renew or join on line at soos.ca/members. Executive: President John Vermeer,; 905-823-2516 Vice-President ? Treasurer, Cathy Dunn, Secretary, Sue Loftus 905-839-8281; Past President Laura Liebgott, 905-883-5290 Other Positions of Responsibility: Program, Terry Kennedy; Plant Doctor, Doug Kennedy; Meeting Set up, Yvonne Schreiber; Vendor and Sales table coordinator, Lynda Satchwell; Library, Liz Mc Alpine; Web Master, Max Wilson; Newsletter, Peter and Inge Poot; Annual Show, Cathy Dunn; Refreshments, Joe O’Regan. Conservation Committee,various C.C. members; Show table, Synea Tan, Cultural snapshots, Alexsi Antanaitis, Directors at large Marion Curry, Jay Norris, Eric Tai, Anne Antanaitis.

Honorary Life Members: Terry Kennedy, Doug Kennedy, Inge Poot, Peter Poot, Joe O’Regan, Diane Ryley, Wayne Hingston. Next Annual Show: February 13 and 14 , 2021