orchids alberta.com Orchid Society of Alberta February 2017 Volume 41, Number 5 President’s Message FOCUS ON PHALAENOPSIS SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE This year we are celebrating our 40th Our hard-working Show Committee has ✦ Patrick van Adrichem knows annual show and sale. Orchid Fair will been busy behind the scenes getting Phals – come and share the once again be held in the beautiful, warm everything in place. You the dedicated joy of growing these most and sunny Moon Flower Room at the volunteer make Orchid Fair possible, so rewarding of orchids! Enjoy Centre in St. Albert. The focus of be sure to sign up for a job or two at the the show is to display your orchids for next meeting. If you can’t make the judging, so start grooming those blooming meeting, you can sign up by contacting INSIDE THIS ISSUE plants for display. Every plant counts, so if our show volunteer coordinator, Yp (that’s you are not entering your own display pronounced “Eep”) de Boer, at ypentom@ February Meeting ........ 2 please bring your plants for the Society telusplanet.net. In addition to earning you Coming Events ........... 3 display. If you only have a few show- free admission to the show, volunteering is worthy orchids, make sure to attend this great fun and a wonderful opportunity to Meeting Calendar ........ 3 month’s culture session, which will present socialize and contribute to the success of Orchid Fair 2017 .......... 4 ideas for making small displays with five our Society. or fewer plants. ...continues on page 5 Membership Matters ..... 7 What’s in a Name ......... 7 January Meeting Report ... 8 AOS Judging Centre News . 12 What’s Blooming in OSPF? . 14 Members’ Photo Album ... 16 OSA Contact Information .. 19 Membership Form ........ 20 Right: Cattleya percivaliana. Owned and grown by OSPF, photographed by Chuck Taylor. FEBRUARY MEETING SPEAKER We really like Pat van Adrichem! Pat is the proprietor of Kingfisher Orchids in Deep Cove, British Columbia, and a very accomplished grower and breeder of Phalaenopsis. He is also an excellent speaker with lots of practical information to share on how to optimize plant health and blooming. At our February meeting he will be focusing on Phalaenopsis and sharing information on some beautiful new hybrids. Pat is also bringing plants to sell. There’s still time to pre-order if you want something special – you should have received a plant list and ordering information by e-mail recently (if you missed it, e-mail [email protected] and we’ll send it to you again). Check out the Kingfisher website (www.kingfisherorchids.ca) and contact Pat directly ([email protected]) to pre-order. Who Is Patrick Van Adrichem? Pat van Adrichem spent his childhood growing up at the world famous Butchart Above: Patrick Van Adrichem, showing a Gardens near Victoria, where his father was a gardener. He has lived in Deep Cove couple of good catches as he enjoys sport fishing for salmon and halibut. in North Saanich, BC with his wife Cathy for 35 years, and has been growing Photograph: Kingfisher Orchids. orchids for over 30 years. At Kingfisher Orchids, Pat and Cathy specialize in warm growing orchids such as Phalaenopsis and Dendrobium. Pat has been breeding and cloning his own orchids for many years, and has many crosses registered with the Royal Horticultural Society in England. Over the years Kingfisher Orchids has won over 35 American Orchid Society awards for flower quality, culture, and displays. Currently Kingfisher is breeding to create new hybrids in red, yellow, and art shades, as well as cloning selected species and virus-free hybrids. When not ‘playing’ with his orchids, Pat owns a local business, Service First Ltd., and can often be seen sport fishing for salmon and halibut! Culture Session Our February session should be fun and inspiring. Carol Albert will discuss how to make displays of 1 to 5 plants for exhibition. Carol is really, really good at this, as anyone who has seen the Alberts’ orchid displays at shows can attest. The smaller displays at Orchid Fair are often the nicest, and most people can muster a blooming plant or two for a display. So think about entering! Carol will show you how to make a little gem of your own. Left: The Enchanted Forest, Darrell and Carol Albert’s exhibit at Orchid Fair 2016. Photograph by Edward and Judith Higham 2 ✦ OSA News ✦ February 2017 Vol 41, Num. 5 ✦ Orchid Society of Alberta COMING EVENTS WORLD ORCHID holding pre and post WOC nature tours. Our own Orchid Species CONGRESS AND Preservation Foundation (OSPF) is POST-CONGRESS TOURS organizing a group tour in cooperation with Ecuagenera – are you interested? Here it comes – If so, contact OSPF President Dave the Olympics of Nixon at [email protected]. Complete orchid events! details of the tours can be found on the The 22nd World Ecuagenera website, Ecuagenera.com. Orchid Congress takes place in November 2017 GO WEST, ORCHID in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Ecuador is one FANCIERS! The Victoria show always offers a of the most biodiverse nations in the chance to see some different plants in Tired of the endless snow and cold? world, with a huge native population of bloom from what we typically see here Here’s a cure for the winter blues: head unique plants and animals. The in Alberta. The Victoria society has west to Victoria, where spring always Congress promises to be a wonderful some excellent, award-winning growers comes early. Our friends at the Victoria gathering, with speakers and orchid who always bring out their best. The Orchid Society will be holding their growers from around the world. Don’t show also ushers in the start of the Annual Show and Sale from March 3 to miss this one - for all the details, check 2017 orchid show season, so there is 5, 2017 at their usual venue, Our Lady out woc22.com. usually a nice selection of vendors to of Fatima Hall on Elk Lake Drive. This buy from as well. In addition to the main event, our year’s theme is “Spring Fantasies”. Set friends at Ecuagenera, the Ecuadorean up and judging are on Friday, March 3, Sound good? For more details, check orchid propagation centre, will be with the show opening to the public on out the VOS website at: March 4. www.victoriaorchidsociety.com. OSA MEETING CALENDAR 2016 –17 Pull out your Day-Timers – here’s our Society’s year at a glance! September 25, 2016 Alan Koch, Gold Country Orchids – Miniature and Compact Cattleyas October 23, 2016 Sam Tsui, Orchid Inn – Focus on Paphiopedilum / Phragmipedium November 27, 2016 OSA Annual Meeting and Silent Auction Fundraiser January 22, 2017 Gordon Heaps, OSA Vice-President, Horticulturalist – Native Orchids of Alberta February 26, 2017 Pat van Adrichem, Kingfisher Orchids – Focus on Phalaenopsis March 26, 2017 Mary Gerritson, Orchid Author and Director of the Orchid Conservation Alliance – Miniature Orchids and Their Culture April 7– 9, 2017 Orchid Fair 2017 – 40th Anniversary! April 23, 2017 Beginners Month – Hands On Growing Demonstrations May 28, 2017 Sergio Garcia, Olompali Orchids – Focus on Brazilian Orchid Species. June 25, 2017 TBA Orchid Society of Alberta ✦ Vol 41, Num. 5 OSA News ✦ February 2017 ✦ 3 COMING EVENTS, continued HERE COMES ORCHID FAIR! They say life begins at 40 … if so, we ORCHID DISPLAYS can expect great things from this year’s We’re very excited about our 40th edition of Orchid Fair, which will be anniversary show, so help us to make our Society’s 40th Annual Show and this the best Orchid Fair ever. Above Sale. The show takes place April 7, 8 all, we need your blooming orchid and 9 at everyone’s favourite venue, the plants to display. If you don’t have sunlit Moonflower Room at the Enjoy enough plants to mount your own Centre in Saint Albert. We’re hoping to display, enter your orchids in the OSA make the Fair extra special this year, so display. Even if you only have one nice mark your calendars and start grooming plant in bloom, there’s always a chance your plants! to win a ribbon, trophy or AOS award. As always, there is no show without Plant registration forms will be Above: The Orchid Fair 2017 poster. volunteers. We need YOU to make available on the OSA web site. Printed copies will be available at our Orchid Fair a success, so please sign up February meeting. Please take a few with you and help promote this special 40th for a position or three when the ORCHID ART Anniversary Show event by posting it in volunteer sheets come out at our public places. The OSA is once again inviting January meeting. No experience or Remember, YOU are our best marketing expertise is required, just enthusiasm! artists of all ages (youths, adults and agent! seniors) and of all abilities (amateur If you want to help but can’t sign up at and professional) to submit 2D and LOOKING FOR SOME HOSPITALITY! a meeting, please contact Volunteer 3D orchid art for display and Coordinator Yp (“eep”) de Boer by judging. All art submissions must I’m starting to get all the AOS judges e-mail at [email protected] or have an orchid as a dominant part of organized for our upcoming show and by phone at 780-476-7839. If you the piece. Updated information and some have requested billeting while aren’t sure what a job entails, don’t be registration forms are available on they’re in Edmonton. shy! Ask any executive or Show our website (www.orchidsalberta.com). I only need lodging for Margaret Prat Committee member (see our website, The same information will also be sent from Vancouver as yet.