December 2011 - Central Vancouver Island Orchid Society

Central Vancouver Island Orchid
Society Newsletter
December2011
President: Bryan Emery 250-294-6478
Secretary: Laurie Forbes 250- 722-3836
Membership: Bev Morrison 250-758-5361
Treasurer: Shelley Rattink 250-245-1370
Editor: Mike Miller 250-248-3478
Mailing address: P.O. Box 1061,
Nanaimo, B.C.
V9R 5Z2
email: [email protected]
web site: www.cvios.com
Meetings are held September through June on the Saturday
before the 4th Wednesday of each month at the Harewood
Activity Centre, 195 Fourth Street, Nanaimo, in the hall on
the second floor, doors open at 11:30, with the business
meeting starting at 12:00 noon.
Masdevallia ivanii ‘Mem. Barbara Ann Kine’
CHM/AOS 86pts Note: award is provisional
pending species identification Exhibitor: Bryan Emery
Photo by Judith Higham
Coming Meeting Dates:
Dec 10, 2011,
Jan 21, 2012, Feb 18, 2012, March 17, 2012, April 21, 2012, May 26, 2012,
June 16, 2012, Sept 22, 2012, Oct 20, 2012, Nov 17, 2012, Dec 8, 2012
Program for December 10th
The Christmas Party
By All of You
Coming Events:
Vic OS Show and Sale, UVic Student Union Building, March 1st – 4th, 2012
Van OS Show and Sale, VanDusen Gardens new building, Vancouver, March 23rd – 25th, 2012
CVIOS Show and Sale, Country Club Center, April 13th – 15th 2012
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Editorial:
Well Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year. The Christmas Party is upon us and
good cheer and great food will be the order of business for the day. The different auctions and draws
should prove entertaining and our fearless leader will have us all emptying our wallets I am sure.
Please not the dates of our meetings are all listed above. The may meeting is not on our regular
date to separate it from the holiday weekend. Please mark these on your new calendars or in your
Blackberry etc.
On note on Hardy Orchids in your garden. Please remember they can all take our temperatures
but no our rain. For those now underground a raised cover of wood or glass is needed to keep them
moist not soggy. Cypripediums are especially prone to rotting out in our heavy winter rains. The
covers should be raised 4 to 6 inches to let the cold winds and drifting snow [Yes we are supposed to
get some this year again] keep them chilled down well.
I hope to see all of you at the Christmas party Remember to bring the items Laurie has listed in
the minutes. One thing she missed was money to buy the items in the auction and the bag draw.
A note on the pictures from the judging center. I try to use them all in the next Newsletter and
usually do as you can see from Bryan’s winner at the top of the Newsletter so have not been sending
out their reports. I have no use all this month so you will get the report this month.
Best to you all Mike
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CVIOS General Meeting - November 19, 2011
President Bryan Emery called the meeting to order at 12:00 noon with 34 members, one guest (Sandra)
and one new member (Brian) present.
1. Laurie Forbes moved and Don McDermid 2nd acceptance of the minutes of the October 22 meeting.
Motion Carried.
2. Correspondence included the ‘Orchid Digest’ featuring Oncidiums and the ‘AOS Bulletin with articles on Bulbophyllums, Dendrobiums and Draculas.
3. Treasurer Shelley Rattink suggested that we pay for two year subscriptions for both the Orchid Digest and Bulletin. Dora Glover moved that we pay for two year subscriptions, Bev Morrison 2nd and
motion carried.
Shelley reported on account balances to the end of October. She moved acceptance of her report and
Vickie 2nd. Motion carried.
4. Bev Morrison indicated that we have a good healthy membership this year. Shelley suggested that
having a membership deadline of the October meeting rather than November would make accurate reporting and fee payment easier. Mike indicated that this issue was discussed at the recent COC meeting and because memberships are fluid the expectation is that all memberships will not be accounted
for in the payment that is made for insurance at the end of October and adjustments can be made later.
5. Bryan highlighted two books from our library including Whittner’s book on Cattleyas
and Hillerman’s book on Angraecums.
6. Mike thanked everyone who sent plants for the Fraser Valley show. He noted that there was some
confusion registering paphs as per category of sequential or multifloral. There was also a class change
added in cattleyas to cats predominately white. The computer system used for registration also had
some problems; creating more work and the exclusion of some plants from the folders for ribbon judging. Bryan pointed out that comment cards for feedback will be developed for future judging at shows.
Mike indicated that a new scanner had been purchased to aide in production of the Newsletter.
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Plant orders from Clackamas are in the works. It appears that export permits for hybrid paphs and
phrags may be okay, but species may be a problem. Funds will not be sent until permits are in place.
7. Nancy indicated that so far there are no programs lined up for May and June. She asked members to
let her know what topics they are interested in. Phals and Cats were suggested.
8. There were many plants on the sale tables including some free plants brought by Jerry, several large
plants from Bob who is moving to Alberta and some outdoor orchids from Mike.
9. Some light stands that we have been storing for years and not using are available if anyone thinks
they can make use of them.
10. Please see Don Miklik regarding suggestion of articles for our website.
11. Our Christmas Potluck will be held December 10 with lunch scheduled for noon. Punch, coffee
and tea will be provided, but we all need to bring a dish to share, and a plate and utensils for eating.
This year we are planning a small live auction of quality items, a silent auction and a new feature this
year; a ‘Bag Draw’ where we can purchase tickets, place them in bags for each of the items we just
have to have and hope we win the draw. Please bring plants, seasonal items or anything else you feel
others may like to add to their collections in their homes, pantries, gardens or greenhouses.
We will also have the opportunity to share our blooming orchids by doing small card table displays of
our plants. It could be one plant or as many as you can fit on the table. We will vote on our favourite
display and there will be a PRIZE for the display that gets the most votes.
We will have a box or bags available for those who wish to bring a donation for the food bank.
Come early (around 11:00) if you would like to help get things organized.
The meeting adjourned at 12:42 pm. Bryan talked about the plants on our show tables, followed by refreshments and a program on the Laelias of Brazil presented by Bryan.
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Cypripediums in the Garden
By Anthony Darby
Cypripedium calceolus, Photo: Fiona Hutt
The lady’s slipper Orchid Cypripedium calceolus has been a special favourite of mine since I saw
its picture nearly forty years ago in the Brooke Bond Picture Card book 'Wild Flowers'. The card read:
"This large, rare and beautiful orchid may still grow wild in a few places in limestone areas in the
north of England. But, because of the covetousness of collectors, it is now almost extinct. The flower
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is more than twice as large as any of our other native orchids and has a large curious slipper-like lip.
This plant requires sixteen years from the time the seed germinates to produce its first flower." C F
Tunnicliffe's words painted a picture of a fabled flower that may still grow undetected in some part of
Yorkshire, my home county. Many years were to pass before I was to come across reference to the
plant again, and by then I was settled in Dunblane and trying to establish a garden which was to include
alpine plants.
I have always been interested in gardening and in growing orchids. In 1994, I bought a copy of
Will Ingwersen's Manual of Alpine Plants to give me an idea of what was available. I was very pleasantly surprised to see a section on cypripedium species. Unfortunately, the introductory paragraph
was rather off-putting: "these beautiful hardy terrestrial orchids are lamentably scarce in cultivation
until someone discovers the secret of propagating them from seed or by some modern method of vegetative increase." Since the book was first publish 1978, much has been done to grow orchids, and propagation y seed is now well established, so much so, that one only needs to follow 'sterile procedure' and
seeds can be germinated and plants grown on agar jelly in petri dishes, or even jam jars, until they are
ready for potting up in the home laboratory (kitchen).
It is important that plants are obtained from legitimate sources. Conservation of wild plants
should be high on our agenda. It is the demands of plant-lovers which have led to wholesale collection
in the wild and which has in turn led to the CITES legislation. If we don't behave well then a lot of
other populations will follow the fate of the British native Cypripedium calceolus. There is one original plant left, closely guarded, and now seeds from this plant have been germinated and propagated at
Kew and planted out in the original habitat. It took ten years for them to flower, but they can now be
seen in June. Orchid enthusiasts can now obtain plants grown from seed just 'deflasked', or grown on
soil for one or more years. I have not yet tried to grow orchids from seed in sterile conditions, but they
can be pollinated easily and I intend to try this year.
Left: Cypripedium x ventricosum
Right: Cypripedium parviflorum
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Growing cypripediums is, however, not easy and you will lose plants before finding the way that
suits plants in your garden. My first attempts failed miserably. The first, C. acaule bought at Lyle's
Nursery in Leslie, Fife, just rotted away. The second, a hybrid seedling bought at the Stirling Show,
never actually appeared, so must have suffered the same fate. A few years were to pass before I was to
have another opportunity to buy plants. A colleague passed a Paul Christian catalogue on to me and I
sent off an order. I received my first plant, C. calceolus, and planted it in a sheltered spot under an
overhanging cypress hedge. In anticipation, I waited the following spring, and - nothing. This was
disappointing. Another chance to throw money away came at the 1997 Garden Festival in Strathclyde
Park near Glasgow. John Amand had C. pubescens, a North American version of C. calceolus, in
flower and sold me a plant. This time I prepared a large hole and filled it with a mixture based on Paul
Christian's recipe: 1 part sieved loam; 1 part old leaf mould; 1 part perlite; 2 parts silica sand and "a
good admix of crushed oyster shell". The plant was carefully placed in a hole without disturbing its
roots. The following June, a beautiful single bloom appeared - success! In the next year, I bought
three more plants: C. calceolus in the autumn of 1998 at Christie's Nursery, C. x ventricosum x C. x
ventricosum'Album' at the 1999 Early Bulb Show, and in Maya C. parviflorum (a small species also
related to C. calceolus from eastern North America) with two 'noses' - all from Ian Christie, who grows
cypripediums extremely successfully in his garden near Kirriemuir. Unfortunately a piece of grit,
which lodged in the top of the plant, caused the flower of the C. calceolus to rot, but the other plants in
the garden flowered. The C. x ventricosum cross had one stem with two flowers, the C. parviflorum
two stems with one flower each and the C. pubescens also had two singled-flowered stems. I had
"cracked it", or so I thought. The following year, 2000, the C. parviflorum had four flowers and the C.
calceolus had one, but the C. pubescens produced only leaves and these died early. Time to dig the
plant up. Black around the crown and missing buds indicated rot and therefore the planting medium
was too wet. Time to change the recipe.
Left: Cypripedium pubescens
Right: Cypripedium parviflorum
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By now I had found another supplier - Hardy Orchids Ltd - and they had a different planting medium: 1 part sterilized loam, 1 part fine bark, 4 parts Seramis", 4 parts super-coarse perlite. I had also
taken to planting my orchids in large water-lily baskets before sinking them into the ground.
I carefully washed the muck off the remains of the C. pubescens plant and carefully placed it into
a lily basket and poured the new mix over, carefully positioning the top of the plant just less than an
inch below the surface. I also watered in some fungicide (Paul Christian reckons mature plants in a
garden setting do better without the associated fungus). 2001 and the plant produced three healthy, if
none flowering, leafy stems. Other successes in 2001 were four flowers on the C. parviflorum, three
flowers on a large clump of C. reginae (aka "The Big Pink and White") and two C. calceolus plants in
bloom - one from a small plant bought in 1999. I also had two flowers on a double-stemmed C. tibeticum, two on a single-stemmed C. montanum and two on another double-stemmed C. pubescens plant.
My C. x ventricosum cross produced only leaves, but I suspect it was due to being left in the more water retentive compost.
Lily basket for sinking
in soil
Left: Cypripedium tibeticum. Photo: Fiona Hunt
Left: Cypripedium montanum
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As I said before, growing cypripediums is not easy, and it is certainly not cheap, but the rewards
are great. Now one can obtain vernalized (cold stored to break dormancy) seedlings for as little as £5
and hybrids, such as C. 'Gisela', flowering size for £15. These hybrids are much more vigorous and
make good garden plants. Seedlings are more difficult, and may take four or more years to flower.
The secret is in the medium and the care they receive. Plants need to be in free-draining compost so
that when water is poured into the pot it comes straight out through the bottom, but the plants must
never dry out. In cold, wet Dunblane drying out is rarely a problem, especially if using lily baskets
sunk into the ground. It is important that the top inch or so, where the bud or 'nose' is, remains open so
as not to encourage rot. I use pea gravel or coarse grit, which does not compact. The orchids are totally hardy, and only need protection from pests and late frosts. An upturned, wire, hanging basket is also
useful in preventing cats and birds from disturbing the surface of the medium. Feeding should be done
with quarter strength fertilizer, as they will not tolerate normal strength. The organic component can
be varied, and success has been achieved with loam, beech leaf-mould, pine duff and Cambark. Peat is
best avoided as being too acidic. Only C. acaule and C. reginae like acidic conditions. The rest like a
pH on the alkaline side of neutral and can be accommodated by adding crushed oyster shell (from pet
shops supplying pigeon feed) or dolomite grit. If obtaining Seramis is a problem, then replace with
pumice or clay granules. You could also use entirely perlite as the inorganic part, especially in wet
areas of the country. Ideally, grow your plants in a north-facing site, or in semi-shade. A situation that
suits trilliums would suit these orchids, and as trilliums grow in full sun north of Yorkshire, there
should be no problems growing in full sun in Scotland. If growing in pots, the pots themselves should
be shaded. For more advice, see the Hardy Orchid Society web site: www.drover.demon.co.uk/HOS.
The Journal of the Scottish Rock Garden Club, Vol.27 No.4 (108), June 2002
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Mineral Buildup in Media
From www.firstrays.com
We often hear the recommendation to ''flush the pot" periodically in order to remove mineral
salt buildup that occurs in the potting medium as your fertilizer solution evaporates. We are told to
irrigate with fresh water only to accomplish that, so we merely suspend our feeding regimen once a
month, every other watering, or however we feel comfortable.
Unfortunately, that may not be particularly effective. In the September 2006 Orchids magazine,
Dr. Yin-Tung Wang of Texas A&M University published an article about the retention of mineral salts,
and the difficulty in flushing them from diatomite. Let's look at the mechanics of why that might be:
Start with a "virgin" particle that is saturated with a fertilizer solution - the mineral ion
distribution is uniform throughout. As the water evaporates from the surface, in order to stay in
solution - the natural drive to stay less concentrated, as becoming a solid is as concentrated as it gets those ions migrate toward the center of the particle, increasing their concentration in the remaining
liquid. Eventually the driving force to stay in solution loses out, and those ions will precipitate as the
mineral salts in a highly concentrated "core".
Now you flush the dry pot, watering with clear water only. The particle absorbs from the
outside, in, and once the water reaches that "core", it starts to dissolve that outermost part of the
concentrated minerals. Some of those minerals will be moved to the surface for extraction, but unless
you continue to flush heavily, evaporation will "push" it right back to the middle. To truly ''flush'' the
medium, long-term soaking is needed, which allows the minerals to migrate into a large volume of
liquid.
That scenario is true for both organic- and inorganic media particles, but with organics, if you
repot appropriately, you throw the problem away! With inorganic media, because of their long
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(essentially unlimited) life-spans, the tendency is to go longer periods of time without repotting, which
exacerbates the problem.
So how do we avoid, or at least minimize the problem, as in traditional culture, it is inevitable?
We know that we must feed our plants adequately in order to get them to grow and bloom well.
Infrequent watering and the use of concentrated fertilizer solutions favor buildup, and as we can see,
clear-water flushing is not particularly effective in reversing it. If, on the other hand, we tend to water
more frequently and use lower levels of fertilizer additions when we do, we reduce the evaporative
"driving force" and keep the mineral concentration low to begin with.
None of that applies to semi-hydro culture, by the way, as you're essentially keeping the
medium mass at a constant level of moisture and mineral content, precluding buildup.
Previously seen in SOOS Summer newsletter. Copied from www.Firstravs.com.
Foothills Orchid Society, November 2007
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The culture of jewel orchids on the windowsill
By William Cavestro
William Cavestro has been raising orchids in France for over 25 years, specializing
in African and Jewel Orchids. He has published several papers and is a member of a regional orchidist association, Rhone-Alpes Orchidees, in France.
Macodes petola, Photo by author
This article is an attempt to take the mystery out of the culture of Jewel Orchids, but I
would stress that they are not to be recommended for the novice. It is necessary to have experimented with the cultivation of various other types before devoting oneself to these wonderful
orchids.
The Jewel Orchids are well known for their magnificent foliage which is incomparable to
that of any other orchid. In most of the species the leaves are of a velvety texture with an iri8
descent lustre, more or less dark green. But the greatest attraction is the fine golden, silvery or
coppery veins and cross-veins that run through the leaves. When a plant is placed in the sun
this reticulation is truly enchanting. The flowers are quite plain. It is advised to discard them
for the benefit of the foliage.
I have already published an article in the AOS Bulletin on the culture of these orchids
(AOS Bulletin, vol. 43, pp. 793-797). However I should like to return to the subject because
that article only concerned the genera Haemaria and Goodyera which are on the whole robust
plants with fleshy rhizomes. On the other hand species of Anoectochilus (A. regalis, reintoardtii, sikkimensis), Macodes (M. petola, pulcberrima, sanderiana) and Erythrodes (E. nobilis, picta) are much more difficult to cultivate.
This is why particular attention must be paid to the compost and watering of these orchids. There are three essential points in growing Jewel Orchids, which are compost, watering
and temperature, and vegetative propagation.
Compost
It is necessary to plant these orchids in a well-drained compost. I advise a sphagnumbased mixture with added fern-roots and leaf mould for the least fragile species of Haemaria and
Goodyera. However, this medium is not suitable for Anoectochilus, Macodes and Erythrodes
because it is too compact and retains too much moisture. For Anoectochilus and Macodes I have
obtained quite remarkable results using the following mixture:
- 1/3 pine bark
- 1/3 sequoia bark
- 1/3 crushed brick
The sequoia bark is excellent for moisture retention. I use 1 or 2cm (under l in.) pieces.
The mixture is extremely porous, and avoids rotting of the rhizomes.
I strongly advise against repotting Jewel Orchids annually. Repotting every five years is
enough. However, I do carry out a surface dressing once or twice a year with the mixture described above. In order to encourage the growth of young roots, the rhizomes, which tend to
rise, should be held down. For this purpose, small U-shaped metal bridles can be used.
The rhizomes should never be covered with compost; they should simply rest on the soil.
Watering and temperature
Anoectochilus and Macodes should be watered regularly for neither of them can stand up to
long periods of drought.
During the period of vegetative growth, from March to October, two or three waterings a
week and a daily spray are enough, using rain water only. During the rest period, the number of
waterings should be reduced to once or twice a week, depending upon the temperature on the
windowsill. For Anoectochilus, Macodes and Erythrodes, the watering should never be interrupted during the winter. Thus a state of semi-vegetation is maintained from November until
February, until vegetative growth starts again in the spring.
The average cultivation temperature varies from one species to another. In summer a temperature of 22-25°C (71-77°F) is fine for daytime, and 18-22°C (64-71°F) at night. Certain species (Anoectochilus sikkimensis and roxburghii) can take lower temperatures (15-20°C (59°9
68°F) during daytime). In winter, most species should be given lower temperatures (18-20°C
(64-68°F) in order to encourage rest.
Propagation
I will only discuss here the vegetative multiplication of Jewel Orchids. When and how is
this carried out?
The best period is during the summer when the roots have grown. A plant can survive
with only two roots. Thus one can select rooted rhizomes even if they have no leaves. Rhizomes should never be cut without roots. On the cut rhizomes new shoots will grow within a
month. These will provide so many new plants. Thus quite magnificent pots can be obtained
rapidly.
Lastly, a couple of practical tips.
Jewel Orchids should be treated monthly with a fungicide to prevent rotting of the rhizomes. During the period of vegetative growth, I use a natural fertilizer, crushed horn, once a
month. This fertilizer does not burn the roots.
I hope that this article will be followed by contacts with professional or amateur orchidists
who might like to share their experience or exchange orchids.
References:
Cavestro, W. 1974 The culture of Jewel Orchids, AOS Bulletin, Vol. 43, pp.793-797
Hawkes, A. D. 1965 Encyclopaedia of Cultivated Orchids, Faber and Faber, London and
Boston
Pradhan, G. M. 1972 Anoectochilus sikkimensis, AOS Bulletin, Vol. 41, p.684-685
Teuscher, H. 1978 Erythrodes, Goodyera, Haemaria and Macodes with Anoectocbilus,
AOS Bulletin, Vol. 47, pp.121-129
Acknowledgements:
The author would like to thank Tineke Mulder and Keith Dixon for the translation of this paper.
The Orchid Review, Vol.1023 No. 1197, May/June 1994
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