June 3rd Meeting - Santa Cruz Orchid Society

June 2016
Newsletter for the Santa Cruz Orchid Society
SCOS
Sarcochilus Fitzheart (Photo by Vicky Smith)
June 3rd Meeting
This month our speaker will be Mary Gerritsen. The title
of her talk is, “Miniature Orchids and How to Grow
Them.”
Defined as orchids whose individual growths (i.e. bulb,
leaf) are less than 6 inches, the variety of epiphytic and
lithophytic orchids circumscribed by this definition is
incredible, with over 3500 species meeting these criteria.
Mary’s talk focuses on habitats where you might find
these orchids in the wild, and provides detailed cultural
information about how to grow these gems to perfection.
This is followed by some true “eye candy”, a selection of
some of Mary’s favorite miniatures. For those of you who
have run out of room, like to grow on a windowsill or
terrarium, learning more about miniature orchids is for
you! See Mary’s bio on page 2.
Dinner with the Speaker:
Dinner will be at Sabieng Tai Cuisine, 1218 Mission St.,
Santa Cruz at 5:30. Please contact Vicky Smith by
Thursday, June 2, if you plan to attend at 831-336-2688.
Opportunity table: Provided by Mary Gerritsen
Quality Select Drawing for this month is Cochleanthes
discolor `Lil’ AM/AOS. Donated by Scott Collins. Tickets
for this special drawing will be $5 each. See page 2 for
details about this month’s Select Quality plant.
Refreshments for this month to be provided by: Linda
Locatelli, Lillian Derrigan, Cheri Wagner, Mike and Isabelle
Scott. Thank you!
Meeting Information
WHEN: First Friday of the
month
TIME:
7:30 pm
PLACE: Live Oak Grange Hall
1900 17th Ave
Santa Cruz, CA
Board Members
President: Open
Vice President: Vicky Smith
Treasurer: Lillian Taft
Secretary: Bruce Hill
Directors: Bridget Binko, Scott
Collins, Lucy Ferneyhough
Newsletter Editor: Cheri Wagner
Librarian: Gordon Lion
Membership Chair: Linda Locatelli
Publicity Chair: Lucy Ferneyhough
Refreshment Committee: Denise Polk
and Bruce Hill
PO Box 1405, Santa Cruz 95061
Website:
www.santacruzorchidsociety.org
Visit our facebook page
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June 2016
Newsletter for the Santa Cruz Orchid Society
About Our Speaker
Mary is an independent biotechnology consultant who has been growing orchids (mostly species)
for more than 30 years. She likes to grow miniature species and has a large collection of small, cool
growing pleurothallids (e.g. Masdevallias, Porroglossums, Lepanthes) as well as other assorted
tiny gems, and in a second intermediate greenhouse, larger species such as Angraecoids,
Dendrobiums, Oncidiums, Laelias, Phalaenopsis and Bulbophyllums.
She loves to see orchids growing in situ and has made it her mission over the last few years to see
as many as possible with trips to see and photograph orchids in a wide variety of countries.
She is the co-author (with friend and well known photographer, Ron Parsons) of several botanical
books: Masdevallias, Gems of the Orchid World, the two volume Compendium of Miniature
Orchid Species, and Calochortus: Mariposa Lilies and their Relatives.
Mary is past president of the Peninsula Orchid Society (San Mateo), and the San Francisco Orchid
Society (SFOS) and is currently vice-president of SFOS. She serves on the board of directors of the
Orchid Conservation Alliance and the Orchid Digest.
Phal. parishii (Photo by Vicky Smith)
Oberonia rosea (Photo by Vicky Smith)
Select Quality Plant
Cochleanthes discolor `Lil’ AM/AOS
Donated by Scott Collins. A unique blue colored flower, with
a peppery fragrance, this plant is easy to grow under
intermediate conditions with bright indirect light. It will
multiply quickly given proper conditions. Its distribution is
from Honduras, south through Venezuela and Ecuador. This
plant originates from one of the SF bay area orchid legends,
Lil Severin, a colorful lady, and orchid judge who was at the
forefront of introducing new orchid species to the Bay area.
This plant is a great addition to any collection.
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Newsletter for the Santa Cruz Orchid Society
June 2016
AOS corner
Quick Links: There are prerecorded webinars available to everyone (including nonmembers) at
WWW.AOS.ORG (Click on “Orchid Webinars” in the “Featured Content” area.)
American Orchid Society: Greenhouse Chat with Ron McHatton
Tue, Jun 14, 2016 @ 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM EDT. Everyone is invited.
Please join Ron McHatton, American Orchid Society Director of Education, for a Q&A session on
how to grow and care for your orchids. If you have a question, please submit your questions by
June 12th to [email protected].
Register now using this link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6688975018868678915.
See the latest orchid awards and photos here - http://secure.aos.org/orchid-awards.aspx
Learn more about Orchids Plus here - http://secure.aos.org/Products/142-orchids-plus-onlineand-software.aspx
Greenhouse Tour (Photos by Lucy Ferneyhough)
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Newsletter for the Santa Cruz Orchid Society
June 2016
Show & Tell (Photos by Lois Robins)
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Newsletter for the Santa Cruz Orchid Society
June 2016
Upcoming Events in 2016
June
June 17 – 30: June in Southwest China – A Botanical Study Tour to North Sichuan with the Orchid
Conservation Alliance. The highlight of this tour will be the richest temperate flora in Asia. Southwest
China is the global epicenter of several plant genera of great horticultural value; Primula, Rhododendron,
and Cypripedium. The tour takes place in the mountains of Aba Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture
where we will visit some of the most spectacular nature reserves in the northern hemisphere. In addition to
the orchids, which are, of course, the focus of the trip, the area has spectacular scenery, huge travertine
formations, and is home to Tibetan and Qiang ethnic groups with their colorful cultures. Holger and
Wenqing Perner have led many successful trips to this and other areas of China. They also operate the only
orchid nursery in China which can legally export native orchids. The trip will be led by the Perners and
Mary Gerritsen, co-author with Ron Parsons of “A Compendium of Miniature Orchids.” The price of this 14
day trip is $3600 per person double occupancy with a $460 per person single supplement. For details please
see the full prospectus here:
http://orchidconservationalliance.org/index.php/download_file/view/32/173
July
NO SCOS regular meeting in July.
July 8-10, 2016: 36th Annual Santa Barbara Orchid Estate Summer Open House. Friday & Saturday 8 AM
to 5PM. Sunday 9 AM to 4 PM Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, 1250 Orchid Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93111
Celebrating the Exotic and Fragrant Beauties of Summer: The large flowered Cattleyas (Laelias) of Brazil, the
Stanhopeas and Encyclias of Central and South America, and many other genera. Frequent potting and
mounting demonstrations. And of course, we will have the $7.50 specials of seedlings, bare-roots, and
Wayne's special annual pick of sprouted Cymbidium back bulbs: select and awarded, species and hybrids,
standard and miniatures.
Questions? Call us at (800) 553-3387, e-mail us at [email protected] or visit http://www.sborchid.com/
Please note: in 2016 there will again be no Santa Barbara Orchid Fair at Earl Warren Show Grounds.
July 23 - 24, 2016: Orchids in the Park Show and Sale. 10 AM – 5 PM at the Hall of Flowers, County Fair
Building (9th Ave. & Lincoln Way) in Golden Gate Park Local & International Vendors, Demos, Raffle.
Admission:
$5, Seniors $4, under 16 free. http://www.orchidsanfrancisco.org/orchid-events/orchids-in-the-park/
July 30, 2016: California Sierra Nevada Speaker’s Day. Saturday 9 AM – 5 PM Odd Fellows Hall 1831 Howe
Ave (at Alta Arden) Sacramento, CA 95825 Tickets in advance are available from Susan Wedegaertner
[email protected]) for $10 for affiliated societies or AOS members, at the door it's $30.
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Newsletter for the Santa Cruz Orchid Society
June 2016
Orchid Education (reprinted by permission from the AOS)
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June 2016
Orchid Education (page 2)
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Orchid Education (page 3)
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