Santa Clara Valley Orchid SocietyHaving acquired enough orchids to make repotting a burden on my 60...
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Santa Clara Valley Orchid Society Established 1951 Helping You to Become a Better Grower January 2008 SCVOS Newsletter (please note that links in electronic copies are functional Cattleya Bob Betts ‘Perfection’ FCC/AOS 1 Speaker Notes The speaker this month is none other than SCVOS auctioneer par excellence Dennis Olivas, co-owner of D & D Flowers in Half Moon Bay. Dennis‘s presentation will be on hybridizing, and is called “1+1 Does Not Always Equal 2”. Dennis will be providing a presentation and hands-on demonstration on how to hybridize orchids. This will no doubt be a very entertaining and easily understandable demonstration of how to make your first orchid hybrids. Born and raised on the island of Kauai, Dennis has been raising orchids since a teenager. He has participated in the San Francisco Orchid Show since 1984, has served as the President of the San Francisco and Peninsula Orchid Society, and is a member of more than 15 orchid societies. He has served as a board member for most, and does advisory work for the various orchid shows and auctions. Dennis is an active judge of the American orchid Society and has registered numerous crosses and won numerous awards from the AOS. He maintains a wonderful collection of many genera, including Paphs, Phrags, Cattleyas, Masdevallias, and assorted other species and hybrids. His favorites are Masdevallias, including some very highly awarded clones, and Catts, of which a favorite must be Lc. Dennis Olivas, a Laelia anceps hybrid which is beautifully splashed with yellow and red as well as being outdoor temperature-tolerant in this area. All this is grown in an unheated greenhouse in Half Moon Bay, open only a few times per year, when it gets too bulging at the seams to support everything in it!! Look for special D & D Flowers Open House announcements throughout the year to visit. This month’s opportunity table will be provided by Dennis, with some Cym. seedlings from noted Peninsula hybridizer Ken Jacobsen. Look out for a special table offer this month!! Other News Big thanks to our new board members for this year: Peter Brown and Ann Stuart (returning after a long absence), and to Marvin Bell for taking on the onerous position of Treasurer. In addition, thanks to Dawn McPhee for taking over from Cathi Contreras the role of 2008 Holiday Dinner Chair and to President Kristina Bell for taking over from Dawn the role of 2008 Bus Tour Chair. Want your vote to count? Want to fill out another mark on your new 2008 Dance Card? Volunteer your time to our society!! Help others to become a better grower!! If you are not getting your newsletter via email, please be sure to give your currently correct address to Ed Nazzal, [email protected] . All plants brought for sale by members must be properly labeled, disease free, and priced in even dollar amounts. Ten percent of the sale price goes to the club treasurer, Marvin Bell, before you leave. We rely on the honor system. A new member to the SCVOS, Dave Smitt, submitted a fantastic article on building a potting bench. Thanks so much for the article, and to Ann Stuart, Curtis Mitchell, the Foxes, and Rick Barry for submitting images. Look for them on the website soon!! Want some notoriety? Want to check off yet another box on the 2008 Dance Card? Please email me pictures of your beautiful plants! You contributions will help people get better at identifying all kinds of new and different orchids, and will give others ideas about what grows and blooms well in our unique climate, all of which can help people to become a better grower.
Transcript of Santa Clara Valley Orchid SocietyHaving acquired enough orchids to make repotting a burden on my 60...
Santa Clara Valley Orchid Society Established 1951
Helping You to Become a Better Grower
January 2008 SCVOS Newsletter (please note that links in electronic copies are functional
Cattleya Bob Betts ‘Perfection’ FCC/AOS
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Speaker Notes
The speaker this month is none other than SCVOS auctioneer par excellence Dennis Olivas, co-owner of D & D Flowers in Half Moon Bay. Dennis‘s presentation will be on hybridizing, and is called “1+1 Does Not Always Equal 2”. Dennis will be providing a presentation and hands-on demonstration on how to hybridize orchids. This will no doubt be a very entertaining and easily understandable demonstration of how to make your first orchid hybrids.
Born and raised on the island of Kauai, Dennis has been raising orchids since a teenager. He has participated in the San Francisco Orchid Show since 1984, has served as the President of the San Francisco and Peninsula Orchid Society, and is a member of more than 15 orchid societies. He has served as a board member for most, and does advisory work for the various orchid shows and auctions.
Dennis is an active judge of the American orchid Society and has registered numerous crosses and won numerous awards from the AOS. He maintains a wonderful collection of many genera, including Paphs, Phrags, Cattleyas, Masdevallias, and assorted other species and hybrids. His favorites are Masdevallias, including some very highly awarded clones, and Catts, of which a favorite must be Lc. Dennis Olivas, a Laelia anceps hybrid which is beautifully splashed with yellow and red as well as being outdoor temperature-tolerant in this area. All this is grown in an unheated greenhouse in Half Moon Bay, open only a few times per year, when it gets too bulging at the seams to support everything in it!! Look for special D & D Flowers Open House announcements throughout the year to visit. This month’s opportunity table will be provided by Dennis, with some Cym. seedlings from noted Peninsula hybridizer Ken Jacobsen. Look out for a special table offer this month!!
Other NewsBig thanks to our new board members for this year: Peter Brown and Ann Stuart (returning after a long absence), and to Marvin Bell for taking on the onerous position of Treasurer. In addition, thanks to Dawn McPhee for taking over from Cathi Contreras the role of 2008 Holiday Dinner Chair and to President Kristina Bell for taking over from Dawn the role of 2008 Bus Tour Chair. Want your vote to count? Want to fill out another mark on your new 2008 Dance Card? Volunteer your time to our society!! Help others to become a better grower!!
If you are not getting your newsletter via email, please be sure to give your currently correct address to Ed Nazzal, [email protected].
All plants brought for sale by members must be properly labeled, disease free, and priced in even dollar amounts. Ten percent of the sale price goes to the club treasurer, Marvin Bell, before you leave. We rely on the honor system.
A new member to the SCVOS, Dave Smitt, submitted a fantastic article on building a potting bench. Thanks so much for the article, and to Ann Stuart, Curtis Mitchell, the Foxes, and Rick Barry for submitting images. Look for them on the website soon!! Want some notoriety? Want to check off yet another box on the 2008 Dance Card? Please email me pictures of your beautiful plants! You contributions will help people get better at identifying all kinds of new and different orchids, and will give others ideas about what grows and blooms well in our unique climate, all of which can help people to become a better grower.
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Building a Potting Bench
Having acquired enough orchids to make repotting a burden on my 60 something back, a potting bench became a necessity. I have admired the design of the ones in the Charley’s Greenhouse Catalog, but they seem pricey and flimsy. We pretty much copied Charley’s structure. Although I am new to orchid growing, I am an adequate carpenter. With the help of my college age son, I set out to make one. The first thing I didn’t like about Charley’s was the wood. Theirs is one inch cedar which cannot be that strong or durable. I purchased two by four kiln dried redwood from Economy Lumber in Campbell. This made the bench heavier but much stronger. Southern Lumber in San Jose supplied mahogany slats for the top (mahogany is hard and very strong) and I bought chrome carriage bolts and stainless screws from Home Depot. I was lucky to scrounge a stainless steel sink and faucet from work and my materials were complete. The only power tools we needed were a mitre saw and a cordless drill. We chose to make the bench 84 inches long and 25 inches wide because it fit the space on my deck where the orchids are grown, 30 inches is a comfortable working height. The two by four rectangular frame is held together with carriage bolts and the screws. The legs are attached to the frame with two carriage bolts with nuts and flat washers. There are also braces on the legs which support a refrigerator rack which holds plastic containers for medium bark, small bark, perlite and charcoal. A large plastic tub is placed under the sink to catch the old potting medium. The plastic tray (see photo) is used to mix the medium and prevents spilling. Water comes from a hose bib in the wall behind the bench. The used medium is recycled in the garden as mulch. The best and cheapest place to buy plastic containers is Big Lots. We gave everything a good coat of Thompsons Water Seal and plan to do so every year.
The total cost was about $120.00 which is a big savings from commercial ones. We constructed the whole thing over a weekend. If I am ever lucky enough to get a greenhouse, the bench will fit right in. The bench has held up well and by back is forever grateful. If you want to construct one of your own and have questions, email me at [email protected].
The finished product; what a beautiful and functional piece of furniture. I think the sink is an especially useful touch. Again, big thanks to Dave for the article!! A Zygocolax hybrid (Zyc. Tarcoolax x Zyg. Gumeracka) from Dave Smitt, no doubt repotted on his bench above. Zygo breeding, including Bolleas, Pescatoreas, and a few other obscure genera are a big hit in a lot of other places with Mediterranean climates such as Australia: they’ll grow well outside, provided cover from rain in the winter, and most have a pleasant, hyacinth-like odor. We’ll have one of the world’s foremost Zygo breeders from Bali later this year, Steven Monkhouse. To see some more of these plants, try wading through (the admittedly difficult to navigate) Adelaide Orchids website. Have a look at the “Show Bench Division” page in particular – some really beautiful plants!!
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A Miltassia hybrid from Dave Smitt. Does anyone know what cross this is? I’m sure Dave would love to know. Miltassia is a genus containing Miltonia (in this case the Brazilian, low elevation, true Miltonia, of which Miltonia spectabilis is probably the most familiar example) and Brassia, an easy-growing genus commonly known as “spider orchids”. In this case, the objective of the cross was undoubtedly to get some of the beautiful colors from Miltonias into the rather tri-chromatic (yellow, black, and white) Brassias...overall very well done I’d say! Now remember, everyone…keep careful track of those labels!!
h. Angela, from Rick Barry (who I hope won’t mind the edit-for-spacing necessary sometimes), is a cross of Paph. niveum with Paph. fairrieanum. An interesting trait of niveum is that it often suppresses the colors of things bred to it. An interesting historical cross (other than Angela, which is old in and of itself, being first made in 1910 by Mrs. Cookson) is Paph. Olivia, niveum x tonsum, a nice clear pink flower, made first in 1898 by Oakes Ames, who I hope you’ll remember from the previous newsletter. In any case a beautiful hybrid.
Pap
Some new members of the SCVOS, the Foxes, clearly have a penchant for beautiful photography. This and the next image are probably some of the best orchid photography I’ve ever seen!! This plant, Blc. Momilani Rainbow, is a spectacular splash-petalled Cattleya that I would bet a lot of members picked up at our show three years ago. Anyone else blooming theirs? An interesting “contest” that a number of other societies engage in is buying a group of the same mericlone, and offering a prize to the person who flowers it first. Anyone game? I think this sort of thing would be great fun for our society…and interesting to see the results!!
Another photo from the Foxes, this one Degarmoara Winter Wonderland x Dgma. White Fairy. I wonder if this has the interesting peppery aroma of Dgma. Winter Wonderland… Degarmoara is a complex genus including Miltonia, Miltoniopsis, Brassia, and Odontoglossum, probably among others. Again, a beautiful and easy-to-grow group well worth your time.
Again, please keep your images coming… Having lots of pictures also helps people to learn about different types of orchids and be exposed to new things to grow. And in addition, your work can too become a valuable part of the tradition of the SCVOS: helping people become better growers. Please send some images, and hopefully articles as well!! ☺
Future Speakers
February 6th: Fred Clarke Fred Clarke is an exceptionally fine grower of a wide variety of genera, including Cattleyas, Paphs, Bulbophyllums, and Catasetinae (including Mormodes, Cychnoches, and Catasetum), for which he is probably best known. He will speak on Catasetinae, including some spectacular man-made genera like the black, beautiful, and extraordinarily rare genus Fredclarkeara. Can you guess who that’s named after? What a fantastic privilege to have him come and speak…His presentation will include a discussion of recent hybrids, culture, and awards to this fantastic, and under-grown group of orchids. See you there for an assuredly entertaining evening on a group of
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Curtis Mitchell sent in this image of Burrageara Nellie Isler ‘Swiss Beauty’. About it he says: “I got this one a little more than a year ago from Valley Orchids in Morgan Hill. The last pseudobulb sent up two spikes for a total of 11 flowers. In the morning it produces a fragrance which I describe as a fresh airy spicy smell.” Interesting stuff about a neat genus notable for beautiful Cochlioda – influenced reds and named after the first AOS President A.C. Burrage.
plants you should be growing…want to check off another box on your Dance Card?
Are you having difficulty with a certain genus? Need some help? Have a look at the AOS Orchid Care Sheets linked from the SCVOS Website at: www.santaclaravalleyorchidsociety.org/links.htm The SCVOS: Helping You to Become a Better Grower
Refreshments Announcement: I don’t think anyone is scheduled to bring refreshments this month. If you have some spare food from the holidays, or you’re like me and you got way too much chocolate and need to get it out of the house as soon as possible before you eat it all yourself, bring it in and share some of your holiday cheer. More food and more drink make for a more fun evening…just ask anyone who went to the Holiday Party!! Thanks for volunteering!
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Recent and Upcoming Events The SCVOS Holiday Party was a smashing success for those people who decided to attend. Our numbers were up some from last year, bolstered by the promise of lots of very inexpensive plants and the new Dance Card Awards, including a beautiful certificate and gift card for $20.00 to Maplethorpe Orchids, previewing this year’s bus trip. The food was excellent, the drinks free-flowing and the plants decidedly easy to come by. With a fair degree of certainty, I can say that everyone who bought opportunity table tickets went home with at least one plant, including our president, Kristina Bell, who went home with an armful. These plants came from Hawaii, and were in peak condition, including a number of exceptional seedlings and mericlones, as well as 30 enormous plants in spike and badly in need of repotting or dividing. Bring a little extra cash to the January meeting to pick up a few if you missed out…we’ll have a few of them for sale to benefit the society. Altogether it was a wonderful evening, for which we should thank Cathi Contreras. Cathi has decided this will be her last time organizing this event; a big thanks for many years of dedicated service in this capacity to the society. Thanks Cathi!! Next year our previous Bus Tour Chair Dawn McPhee will be taking care of the Holiday Dinner; if you’ve enjoyed the bus tours these past few years, please consider jotting this down for the second weekend in December in your 2007 calendar, as this event is truly one of the best the SCVOS has to offer. In addition to the fun of the Holiday Dinner, we had the chance to reward those members who were able to achieve the required items on the 2007 Dance Card. Fantastic award certificates were duly rewarded to 13 society members, who can take their $20.00 coupons to Maplethorpe Orchids in Soquel who has generously partnered with us to allow our members to become better growers. Want to participate in next year’s Dance Card Program? Click here for your copy for next year, and listen up at upcoming society meetings for opportunities to complete some items. A wonderful dinner all around!!
Have you decided what shows to attend? January’s just full of them, including the premier orchid event for the next several years. The upcoming 19th World Orchid Congress will be a
wonderful opportunity to see some of the finest orchids brought up from their native countries and elsewhere worldwide. The exhibits will be astounding and the vendors will have some really rare and fantastic stuff, and the speakers will dole out information on how the world’s best grow their orchids. Have a look at the 19th World Orchid Congress site for more details. Please make every effort to attend this event; a congress only happens every three years, and one hasn’t been in the United States since the early 1980s In addition, in the weeks before will be the Peninsula Orchid Society Show (on the first weekend) and the 52nd Annual Paphiopedilum Guild Meeting at the Inn at Morro Bay on the second weekend of the month. There is perhaps no better group of hybridizers, collectors, botanists, and enthusiasts in general for this group of orchids. If you’re interested in Paphs, this is the premiere opportunity on the West Coast to learn more about them. And the speaker lineup is fantastic: a day and a half from the likes of Terry Root, Olaf Gruss, and countless other “greats” of the paph field. Kate and I will be attending…so should you!!
February will be here before you know it…will you go to the Pacific Orchid Expo or will you go to Santa Barbara? Ahh…so many choices!! In addition, the Sonoma County Orchid Society, the Santa Cruz Orchid Society, and a number of others are all coming up in the very near future. Make plans to attend, and see the calendar for dates and additional information.
Be sure to keep in mind that the 58th Annual Clara Valley Orchid Society Show and Sale will occur on March 28-30 2008 at Westgate Mall in San Jose. Mark your calendars, start staking plants, and begin planning…exhibits, individual plants, time to volunteer!! Do you want the ODC Trophy, the highest honor for a non-commercial exhibit in the AOS? We have displays from several members so far, but we always have room for more. Let me know soon to assure you’ll have space to exhibit!!
Calendar
Jan 5-6: Peninsula Orchid Society Show Community Activities Building, 1400 Roosevelt Ave, Redwood City Contact: Dennis Olivas (925) 969-1246. www.penorchidsoc.org/See Flier Below!!
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Jan 12-13: 52nd Annual Paphiopedilum Guild Meeting at the Inn at Morro Bay Reservations required. Contact: Marilyn Levy [email protected]
Jan 23-27: 19th World Orchid Conference Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel, Exhibition Center, Miami, Florida.
For Information: (786) 621-9962 [email protected]
www.19woc.comSee Flier Below!!
Jan 23-27: Santa Cruz Orchid Society Show
Soquel High School, 401 Old San Jose Rd., Soquel. Contact: Bridget Binko (831) 338-4220 See Flier Below!!
Feb 2-3: Sonoma County Orchid Society Show Santa Rosa Veterans Building, 1351 Maple Ave., Santa Rosa. sonomaorchids.comSee Flier Below!!
Feb 28- SFOS Pacific Orchid Exposition Mar 2: Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavilion,
San Francisco. Contact: Frances Larose
(650) 548-6700 [email protected] Flier Below!!
Feb 28- Santa Barbara Intl Orchid Show Mar 2: Earl Warren Show Grounds,
340 Calle Real, Santa Barbara. Contact: Sandra Tillisch Svoboda (805) 969-4536 [email protected]
Mar 28-30: 57th Annual SCVOS Show and Sale,
Westgate Mall, 1600 Saratoga Ave, San Jose (link for the mall here). Contact: Tim Culbertson (301)-641-2556 [email protected]
Board Meeting The January board meeting will be held at the home of Sylvia Grossman at 7:30 pm. Refreshments will be served. For more information and directions, please contact Kristina by phone at (408) 229-2747 or by email at [email protected] so that a chair may be set up for you.
SCVOS Board The Santa Clara Valley Orchid Society is a non-profit organization that meets the first Wednesday of each month at the American Legion Hall, 1504 Minnesota Avenue, in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose, California. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM. The schmoozing and the skill session start at about 7:00 PM.
Officers for 2008 Kristina Bell, President (408) 229-2747 [email protected] Davidson, Vice President (408) 623-0413 [email protected] Grossman, Secretary (408) 266-6922 [email protected] Bell (408) 229-2747 [email protected] Bailey, Past President (408) 997-1850 [email protected]
Directors for 2008 Tim Culbertson (301) 641-2556 [email protected] Mackey (301) 356-4041 [email protected] Nazzal (408) 268-3573 [email protected] Quach (408) 629-3794 [email protected] Woodfill (408) 248-5983 [email protected] Brown (510) 755-3654 [email protected] Stuart (408) 267-3397 Dawn McPhee (408) 375-1345 [email protected]
2008 Auction Chair Ed Nazzal (408) 268-3573 [email protected]
Membership & Hospitality Peter Brown (510) 755-3654 [email protected]
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Website: santaclaravalleyorchidsociety.org
Tim Culbertson (301) 641-2556 [email protected] Member Database
Ed Nazzal (408) 268-3573 [email protected]
Newsletter Tim Culbertson, Editor (301) 641-2556 [email protected]
Dave and Ofelia Woodfill, Mailing (408) 248-5983 [email protected] Publicity Susan Wiedmann
[email protected] Library Marie Lofton (408) 629-0264
[email protected], for much more information about orchids, links, our future schedule, care sheets, contact information, previous newsletters, and lots of pictures of plants and people, visit the website:
Plant Opportunity Tickets
Dave and Ofelia Woodfill (408) 248-5983 [email protected]
Kitchen Crew
Conrad Kumata [email protected] www.santaclaravalleyorchidsociety.org/links.htmLiz Gehrig (408) 363-6901 [email protected]
The SCVOS: Helping You to Become a Better Grower
2008 Show and Sale
Tim Culbertson, Co-Chair (301) 641-2556 [email protected] Eanghak Quach, Co-Chair (408) 629-3794 [email protected] 2008 Bus Tour
Kristina Bell (408) 229-2747 [email protected]
2008 Greenhouse Tour Doug Pulley (408) 354-1412 [email protected] AOS Cal-Nevada Region Judging occurs on the first Wednesday of the month at the Oddfellows Hall in Sacramento in association with the Sacramento Orchid Society meeting.
2007 Holiday Party Dawn McPhee (408) 375-1345 [email protected]
AOS / ODC Representative AOS Judging occurs on the first Tuesday of the month at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park in association with the SFOS meeting, and on the third Wednesday of the month at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland in association with the OSC meeting.
Tim Culbertson (301) 641-2556 [email protected]
Recent AOS Awards From the AOS Pacific Central Judging CenterImages are property of the AOS and should not be reproduced
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Laelia anceps var. lineata 'Clown' species AM 86 Exhibited by Amy and Ken Jacobsen Awarded December 4 2007 at SFOS Meeting Lycaste macrophylla ssp xanthocheila* 'x' species HCC 75 Exhibited by Anna S. Chai Awarded December 4 2007 at SFOS Meeting
Platystele repens 'Joan' species CCE 91 Exhibited by Howard Gunn Awarded December 4 2007 at Sacr. OS Meeting
Pterostylis nutans 'Baukham Hills' HCC 77 and CCM 81 species Exhibited by Anna S. Chai Awarded December 17 2007 at OSC Meeting
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Welcome to the advertising section of the SCVOS Newsletter!
The following advertisers help support our orchid society, and you should help support them!!
If you have a business, or know someone who would like to contribute an advertisement which would reach upwards of 100 readers, all of whom you have the chance to interact with on a monthly basis, please email the newsletter editor, Tim Culbertson, at [email protected]. Advertising donation rates are as follows:
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