SOUTHERN ONTARIO ORCHID SOCIETY NEWS September 2016, Volume 51, Issue 8 Meeting since 1965 Next Meeting Sunday, September 4, Floral Hall of the Toronto Botanical Garden, 12 noon; Plant sales. Cultural snapshots on the stage at 12:15 pm. The first session will be introduction and watering by Alexsi Antanaitis Speaker Program at 1 pm ; Our speaker is Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids in California. Topic: Species Habitat, Hybrid Habitat –a program that explores how orchids grow in nature and how to take that information and apply it to the plants we grow. Alan hybridizes mini cattleyas and has been a frequent speaker at our meetings. He will be bringing plants for sale, but you can pre-order from his lists that are on the SOOS website. [email protected] Member plant table discussion. Raffle. th th TOUR OF ORCHID GROWERS September 10 —11 , 2016 Please note that this will be a self-directed tour. You decide which growers you wish to visit, and when. You can use Google, MapQuest, your GPS or an old-fashioned map book to get you there. Please respect the conditions, i.e Dates, and hours the growers have indicated that they would be available. 1 Name Address Contact Growing Date & time open situation Crystal Star 20815 2nd Concession Saturday ONLY Eric Lee East Gwillenbury, 905 478-8398 Greenhouse 10am-noon L9N 0G9 1pm-4pm 2535 Winthrop Cres. Jocelyn Weber Saturday-Sunday Mississauga, 905 823-6815 Outdoors 10am-4pm L5K 2A9 Flora-peculia 24 Rockvale Ave. Small indoor Sunday Terry Kowalczuk Toronto, 416 828-8023 greenhouse ONLY M6E 3A9 + draw for a neo 11am-3pm 28 Torrens Ave. Sunday Outdoors Toronto, 416 421-7805 ONLY Synea Tan under lights M4K 2H8 10am-3pm 4 Leahann Drive Sunday Greenhouse Scarborough 416 759-2538 ONLY Joe O'Regan summer outdoors M1P 1B7 1pm-5pm President’s Remarks Welcome Orchid grow in nature and how to take that information and apply it to the plants we grow. Lovers. It is with a saddened heart that we say goodbye nd to a most valued friend and orchid kindred spirit, Mario October 2 Graham Wood Topic: Maudiae. Why has it Ferrusi, who left us on July 31. He worked within the changed so much? November 6th Jean Ikeson Topic: Dendrobiums society and Judging Centre as past president, chairman th of the judging committee, program coordinator, vendor December 4 Party time and auction and auctioneer at our Christmas auction. He brought us so many wonderful speakers. We will find it very difficult Our cultural snapshots will continue to take place on the to match Mario's growing expertise and love of orchids. I stage at 12:15 pm, starting in September. The first will miss his humour, guidance, honesty and friendship. session will be introduction and watering. Alexsi Ed. Mario also was a much respected and loved force in Antanaitis will be running these. All are welcome to the national and international orchid community. He participate in the sessions. Remember, if there is a topic served as an American Orchid Society trustee and vice you would like us to cover, please let me know. president and served the Pleurothallid and the We have finalized our fall growers tour (see schedule in Odontoglossum alliances. th th newsletter). Please keep September 10 and 11 open. Members whose names begin with the letter N through At this time, we have two of our vendors willing to share R will be supplying the treats for the September ideas. This will be a great opportunity for you to see all meeting. the different orchids they have and perhaps purchase ones that catch your eye. Three of our other members Orchidfest has come and gone. If you missed it, you have also offered to share their growing areas as well. missed a terrific speaker in Holger Perner. His Thank you Crystal Star, Flora—peculia (Terry presentation was fascinating and engaging with an Kowalczuk), Jocelyn Weber, Synea Tan, and Joe ample sprinkling of humour. A bonus - many of us were O'Regan for inviting us in. Two of the growers are open able to purchase orchids directly from China. Thank you Saturday and four are open Sunday (again, please see Doug and Terry Kennedy for taking on the plant schedule). This makes it easier to plan your visits. importation and hosting arrangements. Saturday Growers, we very much appreciate your time in letting midnight at the airport and then again Ag Canada plant us tour your setup. Thank you. Ed. You can take in the inspection Sunday morning. Ugh! Ferrusi orchid sale on the same dates or a week later! Our future speakers are as follows: Our fall shows are not so far away. Both Don Wyatt and September 4th Alan Koch Topic: Species Habitat, I will be asking for your plants for the SOOS displays. Hybrid Habitat –a program that explores how orchids 2 September 26th – 27th is the COOS show in AOS Judging Results Cambridge. Don Wyatt will be crafting our display. Please note, all of these awards are provisional until Thanks Don. th th published by the American Orchid Society. October 15 – 16 is the ECOS show in Montreal. I will Toronto Judging Centre at Orchidfest, August 7, be designing the display. nd rd th 2016: October 22 – 23 is Windsor's 4 annual show. Phragmipedium Olaf ‘?’ HCC-AOS, 78 points, Terry and Check their website for discount coupons. I will be doing Doug Kennedy this one as well. th th Note! The next judging will be held at the Toronto November 12 – 13 Essex County Orchid Society's Botanical Gardens, Saturday September 3; judging show. Once again Don will be designing the display. education by Alan Koch at 10 am; judging at 1 pm. Thank you in advance, members who generously loan AOS Judging is a service of the American Orchid us your precious babies. Society and is open to all! Happy Orchiding, Laura Liebgott Questions or comments: Please contact me at: [email protected] or 905 883 5290 Native Orchid Rescue Offer by the SOOS Conservation Committee Do you know places where native orchids grow that may be threatened by upcoming road or building construction Coming Events 2016 or other developments? If so, SOOS's Conservation September Committee would like to know where and whom to 3, TJC Monthly AOS Judging at TBG contact in the hopes of mounting a rescue operation. Our goal will be to carefully remove and transplant those 4, SOOS meeting, Toronto Botanical Garden, orchids to suitable new locations where they will again sales 12 noon, program 1 pm, Alan Koch. have the opportunity to thrive. If you can help, contact 10, 11. Fall growers tour. any member of the Conservation Committee directly or 17, Montreal judging, Jardin botanique de Montreal Tom Shields, the chair, at [email protected]. 24,25, Central Ontario Orchid Society Show, Hespeler Arena, Cambridge, Ontario. Welcome New Members October Sandra Zelazny 1, TJC Monthly AOS Judging at TBG 1-2, Central NY Show, Syracuse. 2, SOOS meeting, Toronto Botanical Garden, Phone Lost at the SOOS meeting August sales 12 noon, program 1 pm 7th. Yellow Windows phone. Please call 647-401- 15-16, Eastern Canada Orchid Society Show and 7337. Thank you, Edna Ruiz Montreal judging. 22-23, Windsor Orchid Society Show. Holger Perner in China transcribed by Inge Poot. 19-23, AOS Members Meeting, Huntington All illustrations courtesy Holger Perner, PhD Library, San Marino, California. Our August 2016 Orchid Fest featured Holger Perner as our speaker and supplier of some of the orchids his November company grows in China. Holger was born in Germany 5, , TJC Monthly AOS Judging at TBG and took on a project for the company he worked for that 6, SOOS meeting, Toronto Botanical Garden, sales placed him in China for the duration. He met his wife 12 noon, program 1 pm Wenqing while there and six months later in 2001 they 12-13, Essex County Orchid Society's show. were married. The project lasted seven years, but at the 12-13, Niagara Frontier Orchid Society Show and Mid end of it they decided to stay in China. Holger worked on America Orchid Congress, Buffalo Botanic Gardens. another project on sustainable uses of natural resources 19, TJC business meeting and Montreal judging, Jardin and when that project ended too, they decided to start botanique de Montreal. their own larger company – putting what the other December projects had taught them to good use. They had two 3, , TJC Monthly AOS Judging at TBG. pretty daughters, Isabell and Stephanie, now teenaged, 4, SOOS meeting, Toronto Botanical Garden, sales who incidentally, accompanied them to our Orchid Fest 12 noon, program 1 pm and helped with the plant sales. 10, Montreal judging, Jardin botanique de Montreal. The Perners’ company, called Hengduon Mountains Biotechnology Ltd, is located in the Hengduon Mountain range in South-West China, on the outskirts of the town of Chengdu in the Sichuan province. It is a six 3 hour drive from Chengdu to Huanglong, the nearest hall, insisted that all cork bark be removed and larger town, going north. Chengdu is in a rounded destroyed and then confiscated six plants to take back to basin-like valley that traps clouds due to the lack of an their labs and see what bugs/ diseases they might outlet. This results in an ideal orchid growing culture from them. The poor Kennedys were beyond environment. The sky is cloudy 300 days of the year, but frazzled! I think we all owe them a big thank you for their global warming is unfortunately increasing the number of efforts to bring off the importation after all! On top of that sunny days each year.