The Orchid Society of Great Britain

Transcription

Orchid
Journal
VOLUME 60 No 2 May - June - July 2011
Society of Great Britain
60
years
1951
2011
The Orchid Society of Great Britain
Registered Charity No. 261273
Officers of the Society
#President: Dr Henry Oakeley
77 Copers Cope Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 1NR
Tel: 020 8658 0358
e-mail: [email protected]
Vice Presidents: Mrs B Arnold, Mrs J Kelleher, Mr T
Lewis, Dr E Watson
#*Chairman: Mr Roy White
30 Acorn Grove, Ruislip Gardens, Middlesex, HA4 6LP
Tel: 01895 632689 Mob: 07980 630235
#Secretary: Mrs Val Micklewright
103 North Road, Three Bridges, Crawley,
West Sussex, RH10 1SQ
Tel: 01293 528615
#Treasurer: Mrs Sally Mill
82 Hazelwick Road, Three Bridges,
West Sussex, RH10 1NH
Tel: 01293 547896
#Membership Secretary: Mr Walter Lefley
39 Hainault Road, Romford, Essex, RM5 3AA
Tel: 01708 788389
Programme Secretary: Mrs Iona Macphie
5 Wilbury Avenue, Cheam, Surrey, SM2 7DU
Tel: 020 8661 0787
#Displays Manager: Miss Valerie Pugh
4 Reynard Close, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 4GX
Tel: 01403 251176
Librarian: Mr Derek Belcher
7 Derby Road, Cheam, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 2BL
Tel: 020 8715 3635
Chair Judging: Mrs Dusha Hayes
62 Link Lane, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 9DZ
Tel: 020 8647 8496
Sponsorship Secretary: Miss Mary-Jane Hawkins
Mob: 07905 527089
86 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
www.orchid-society-gb.org.uk
Committee Members
*Mrs Betty Barber
8 Dean Close, Deeds Grove,
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP12 3NS
Tel: 01494 529604
Editor: Lady Samantha Hurley
17 Veronica Road, London, SW17 8QL
Tel: 020 8673 7751 Mob: 07900 250247
Mr Francis J Quesada-Pallares
50 Fir Tree Gardens, Shirley, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 8JQ
Tel: 020 8777 2904
Mr André Roux
58B Shooters Hill Road, Blackheath, London, SE3 7BG
Advertising Secretary: Mrs Kim Solomon
31 Burghley House, Somerset Road, Wimbledon,
London, SW19 5JB
Tel: 020 8946 4410 Mob: 07717 222403
#Trustees of the Society
*Representatives to British Orchid Council
The Journal (ISSN 0306-2996)
Editor: Lady Samantha Hurley
17 Veronica Road, London, SW17 8QL
Tel: 020 8673 7751 Mob: 07900 250247
Layout & typesetting: Smallfish Designs Ltd
Printed by: Impress Print Services Ltd
e-mail:
[email protected]
The Journal is printed on paper
with a certified Chain of Custody
for wood fibre. At least 70% of the
fibre originates from certified
sustainably managed forests.
Editor’s notes
Congratulations to
André Roux and his
team on their
magnificent stand
at the London
Orchid Show,
depicting a diamond
mine to celebrate
our Diamond
Anniversary. André’s first design for the
Society was awarded a Silver-Gilt medal and
the Most Innovative Design award – we
hope to see many more designs from him.
The Annual Supplement for 2011 is included
with this issue of the Journal and contains
information about the AGM in June, at
which we look forward to seeing as many
members as possible. Listed in the Annual
Supplement are the names of those who
have made donations to the Colour Fund,
which enables us to continue to produce so
many wonderful colour pictures within the
Journal, and to whom we are extremely
grateful.
Many thanks to Kim Solomon for compiling
and co-ordinating information in the last
issue about the WOC in Singapore; I hope
that travel plans are progressing for any
members who are considering attending
the Conference, 13–20 November 2011. To
register visit www.20woc.com.sg
We would like to make our Diamond
Anniversary exhibits at Chelsea (23-28 May)
and Peterborough (17-19 June) a real tribute
to the interest and expertise within the
Society and hope that members will lend
their rare and unusual plants to help create
the maximum impact with our displays.
The copy deadline for the next issue is 10
June 2011.
Contents
Officers of the Society ....................................................... 86
Editor’s Notes ....................................................................... 87
Letter from the President, Henry Oakeley ................. 88
Letter from the Editor, Sam Hurley ............................... 99
Obituary – Joyce Stewart .............................................. 102
Tokyo Dome Show report by Mayumi Hashi ......... 104
Spotlight on Species – Stanhopea
by Eileen Watson .............................................................. 108
Weekend at Wisley ........................................................... 114
Vandas for British Growers by Martin Motes .......... 120
The RHS London Orchid Show
report by Henry Oakeley ............................................... 124
Phalaenopsis and Cymbidium – A pictorial
guide to re-potting and dividing ............................... 130
Book Reviews:
Paphiopedilum Species: The Essential Guide
by Henry Oakeley and Guido Braem ......................... 133
Orchids – A Practical Guide to Care and Cultivation
by Michael Tibbs ............................................................... 134
Britain’s Orchids by David Lang .................................... 135
British Orchid Council Judge Training
Programme ........................................................................ 136
The Peterborough International Orchid Show ...... 136
Colour at Kew .................................................................... 137
Notes from the Programme Secretary ..................... 142
Napier Hall Meetings ...................................................... 144
report by Michael McIllmurray ........................... 147
The RHS Orchid Committee Report ........................... 151
Advertisements ................................................................ 158
Services to Members:
Meetings, Cultural Advice, Website, Library,
Travel Club, Displays ............................................... 166
Show Diary ......................................................................... 167
Photos by Henry Oakeley unless otherwise stated
Front Cover: Odontioda Moulin de Louis
'Portelet' AM/RHS; bred by The Eric Young
Foundation and awarded an Award of Merit by
the RHS Orchid Committee in December 2010
Back Cover: Paphiopedilum liemianum, shown
at the London Orchid Show, March 2011
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 87
Letter from the President
Henry Oakeley
Writing Books
I have been busy over the last two months
with a little introductory booklet on Asian
slipper orchids entitled Paphiopedilum
Species: The Essential Guide. I have written
this with Guido Braem who lectured to us on
slipper orchids last year, and was
considerably helped by Phillip Cribb’s
excellent book on Paphiopedilum. So, I have
not much to report except that I now have
another room full of books, and the smell of
the ink is overpowering.
Writing books is simple enough, but the devil
is in the detail. First find out the names of all
the species recognised by the Kew Monocot
Guido Braem, co-author of Paphiopedilum Species: The
Essential Guide
88 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
List, then find out all the names not
recognised (Ed: The Kew Monocot checklist
gives information on the accepted scientific
names and synonyms, www.kew.org/wcsp/).
Travel to Japan, China, Malaysia and the USA
about 20 times and take lots of digital
photographs of them in the shows. Borrow
pictures taken by people who have actually
seen them growing in the wild. Tidy up the
photos with photo-editing software (remove
sticks, string ties, rosettes, people in the
background walking about, etc; correct the
contrast and improve the brightness; trim
the pictures). Read several books from cover
to cover to extract important information,
talk endlessly with one’s co-author, type the
text. Decide the general layout, page size,
page numbers, soft cover or hard cover. Get
quotes from various printers.
Send it all off to Marcel Kral at Smallfish
Designs (he does the OSGB Journal) to have it
laid out in a sensible design. Spend the next
three weeks exchanging proofs, correcting
typos, trimming text to fill spaces, changing
photos that are identified as being incorrect.
When all this is done, Marcel redoes it all to
be suitable for printing – the photos go from
RBG format to CMYK format and I have no
idea what this means – and the printer gets
it. He fiddles again with the picture contrast
and brightness and I go down to watch
thousands of sheets of paper whipping
through the presses. A few days later 54
boxes weighing 17kg each arrive at the door
and all one has to do then is do the
marketing, the selling, the packing, the
posting and pay the bills – and cope with the
smell of printer’s ink.
Beginner’s orchids
Following on the series on different orchids
over the past few years, I thought it was time
to give a plug to the orchid nurseries in the
UK that are serving us by selling orchids
which are easy to grow as well ones for the
specialist. In this issue I am promoting two
long-established growers, Burnham
Nurseries Ltd (you saw the book review
about its history in the last issue) and
McBean’s Orchids. Both have display houses
as well as growing houses, and there are a
large variety of orchids in flower all the year
round. Any other nurseries with interesting
orchids should contact me and I will
endeavour to let you all know about them
and what they have to offer. Please visit your
local nurseries and buy plants from them,
you can find most of them in the ‘Golden
Guide’. Use them or lose them....
in shady trees and enjoy warm conditions,
and if you have them indoors, keep them in a
room where you can walk around
comfortably in shirt sleeves (27°C if you want
to be technical). They can cope with full sun
in the winter but need only indirect sunlight
in the summer; if the leaves get hot they will
burn. Grow in a bark-based compost and
water once a week or once a fortnight. Slugs
and snails love them. These are the source of
the big white Phalaenopsis but the coloured
hybrids are mostly a mixture of it with other
species (OSGBJ 2010, 59(3): 166 for
information on the species). Do not cut off
the flower spikes when they have finished as
they may flower again if you move them to a
cooler place with good light and feed with a
high potash fertiliser. When you get the
knack of it you will get plants like these:
General growing tips
If it has no pseudobulbs, it needs watering all
the year round.
If it has pseudobulbs, water once or twice a
week in the summer and feed well until the
new growth has finished growing then
water less. Do not water if it loses its leaves,
just keep it cooler until flower buds or new
growth restarts.
Phalaenopsis hybrids
Most people today start growing orchids
with a Phalaenopsis bought in a High Street
shop or supermarket, although 30 years ago
even experienced growers were warned off
them as being ‘too difficult’. Most of the
plants on sale are derived, at least in part,
from Phalaenopsis amabilis from Ambon, a
tropical island in the Philippines. They grow
A nicely grown pink hybrid, Phalaenopsis Ming-Hsingle
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 89
This monster hybrid, Phalaenopsis Sogo Yukidian, is just
a well-grown example of the ones seen on our Chelsea
exhibit in 2010
A selection of coloured hybrids from Taiwan
90 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Phalaenopsis Mini Mark
Prosthechea cochleata; the cockleshell orchid
If you would like something smaller, try
Phalaenopsis Mini Mark and the wide range
of colourful hybrids coming out of Taiwan.
very occasionally, eg every three weeks. This
is a perfect beginner’s orchid.
Prosthecheas
Prosthechea radiata is found in Central
America only, but cultivation requirements
are similar to Prosthechea cochleata. It only
flowers for the summer, but it is easy to
grow, with a wonderful fragrance.
Prosthechea cochleata
This is found from the West Indies to Brazil
and flowers continually with a succession of
flowers – often for more than a year. It is
tolerant of almost any conditions, reflecting
the wide range of habitat in which it is
found. Try, however, to keep the temperature
above 12°C and below 30°C and neither full
summer sun nor heavy shade and you can
grow it indoors or in a greenhouse. Use a
bark-based compost, feed and water
regularly when it is growing, and when it is
not actually producing a new growth, water
Prosthechea radiata
Coelogynes
Coelogyne cristata
Everybody with a cool (10°C minimum)
greenhouse or even an intermediate (15°C
minimum) one should grow this. Hang it up
in a basket, water it every few days through
the summer, give it plenty of light and let it
get cooler and drier when it has finished
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 91
Coelogyne cristata
growing in autumn and it will smother itself
with flowers. I use a Sphagnum moss and
perlite compost, but it does not seem fussy. If
you cannot flower this it is because you kept
it too dark. If it gets too large, chop it up
leaving at last three pseudobulbs to each
plant and give them to friends.
Coelogyne ochracea
This is a much smaller plant, with upright
flower scapes. Grow it in a pot, with light
shade – it has much the same requirements
as C. cristata otherwise.
Coelogyne ochracea
compost and in cool conditions (minimum
10°C, but with full sun in the winter). In the
summer put them out under a tree in light
shade, hose them down if the weather is hot,
but water and feed them frequently until the
autumn. Then when the growth is complete,
keep them dry for one to two months and
bring them into a cool room in the house or
the greenhouse in October. The flower spikes
appear during the winter but do not move the
plant into a warm room until all the flowers
are open otherwise the buds will drop off.
Cymbidium devonianum
Cymbidiums
There are small ones, large ones and
intermediate sized ones. Most of the
cymbidiums grown in England are intolerant
of heat, so grow them in a bark-based
Prosthechea radiata
This is a small-growing Cymbidium species
with pendulous flower scapes. It can be
grown in a cool room in the winter, outdoors
in the summer.
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 93
Cymbidium devonianum
Cymbidium Yamanashi Liberty ‘Fresh Mist’
94 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Cymbidium Christmas Joy ‘Rembrandt’ AM/RHS
Cymbidium Castle of May ‘Cooksbridge Jester’ AM/RHS
Cymbidium hybrids – McBean’s make these
their speciality
There are thousands of Cymbidium hybrids,
from the large ‘Standards’ which may have
metre long scapes and make huge plants, to
the petite hybrids of C. devonianum. Not all
of the ones shown here can be obtained in
this country, but if you have cool conditions,
give them a try. If you are growing on a
windowsill, stick to the small ones!
Oncidiums
Oncidium ornithorhynchum
This easy to grow and floriferous orchid from
Central America needs intermediate
temperatures, and high light throughout the
year – although light shade in summer. It is
Cymbidium Sarah Jean ‘Ice Cascade’
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 95
Cymbidium Joan Taylor
Oncidium ornithorhynchum
96 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Oncidium Twinkle
very fragrant – perhaps a bit overpowering. If
you cannot find it, try one of the hybrids like
Oncidium Twinkle or Oncidium Sherry Baby.
Dendrobiums
Dendrobium kingianum
This is one of the easiest of all orchids to
grow. Water it well and grow in bright light
through the summer; keep it cool and dry,
and in full sun in the autumn – spring. If you
grow it too warm it will produce nothing but
keikis (Ed: Keiki is the Hawaiian word for
‘baby’ and refers to a small plant growing on
the cane or stem of a plant. Once roots and a
few leaves have developed, it can be
removed and planted in its own pot). But if
you keep it cool and dry in the winter it will
grow bigger and bigger every year and
produce a host of blooms in the winter.
Dendrobium kingianum
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 97
Dendrobium hybrids
Dendrobium Spring Dream
There are a lot of Dendrobium hybrids in the
shops and at the nurseries. The ones, like the
one in the photo, with these long knobbly
canes are the most popular. Each year the
plant will produce a new cane – in reality a
long, jointed pseudobulb – with a leaf at
each of the nodes. This usually happens in
the summer, and at this point the plant likes
to be warm, in a good light, fed with a high
nitrogen fertiliser every two to three weeks
and watered once or twice a week. When a
leaf appears at the top of the cane, stop
watering, and keep it in a cool place in bright
light. As the plant has been growing, the
previous year’s cane will have lost its leaves,
but now it will start to produce buds at the
nodes on the cane and you can begin to
water occasionally. If you have given the
plant a good dry rest in cool conditions it can
produce flowers all the way down the cane.
When it has finished flowering, do not cut
off the old cane – it is needed to provide
energy for the plant to grow its next cane.
Use a bark-based compost.
Burrageara
Burrageara Stefan Isler
Burrageara hybrids are colourful and will last
a month on a windowsill, and are easy
enough to grow with the simple formula of
watering when it is growing in the summer
and resting when the new growth has
finished. Grow this in a warm bright place,
but not full sun in the summer, and cool, in
full sun, in the winter.
Burnham Nurseries Ltd, Forches Cross,
Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6PZ
Tel: 01626 352233, www.orchids.uk.com
Burrageara Stefan Isler
98 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
McBean’s Orchids, Cooksbridge, Nr Lewes,
Sussex, BN8 4PR Tel: 01273 400228,
www.mcbeansorchids.co.uk
Letter from the Editor
Sam Hurley
We are delighted that our exhibit will again
be sponsored by the Sri Lankan Tourist
Promotion Bureau. Please visit the stand to
see our orchids set amongst the symbols of
Sri Lankan culture provided this year, the
giant lion paws of the ancient rock fortress
Sigirya. They have kindly donated another
holiday as the prize for our Chelsea
competition; simply complete the form with
the name of your favourite orchid on our
stand, along with your name and address
and enter the draw. The most popular orchid
will be awarded the Librarian’s Cup at the
AGM in June – yet another good reason to
lend your plants.
Last year’s winner, Ann Fletcher from Norfolk,
has recently returned from her holiday to Sri
Lanka, which she took with her daughter.
A Sri Lankan lion guarding the OSGB stand, Chelsea
Flower Show 2010
Chelsea Flower Show
Last year was the fiftieth time the OSGB had
exhibited at Chelsea and this year marks the
sixtieth anniversary of our Society. There is
always something to celebrate and wouldn’t
a Gold medal this year be the icing on the
cake? However, under the new RHS judging
rules Gold medals will be harder to come by
than ever. The display should include rare
and unusual plants so the Society is
appealing to all its talented and expert
members to lend their brightest and best
plants for this year’s display. Please contact
the Displays Manager, Valerie Pugh, with the
good news of the delights you have to offer,
[email protected]
Ann writes: ‘It was a trip I would not have
taken if I had not won your wonderful prize. It
is so difficult to put the experience into words
but my lasting impressions are of goodhumoured and friendly people, long sandy
beaches complete with coconut palms and
huge rolling seas and a sense of history which
is strongly linked to everyday life.
My daughter and I stayed at Club Villa,
Bentota, a hotel which I can thoroughly
recommend to your members. We spent the
week alternating culture with relaxation
around the town of Bentota. It is an ideal
area for a holiday but sadly we didn’t see any
orchids. I would like to thank the Society for
giving me the opportunity to visit Sri Lanka. I
wish the winner of this year’s competition
well, touched with envy; it is a wonderful
place for a holiday.'
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 99
Dr Roger Beauchamp
Our thanks and congratulations to Dr Roger
Beauchamp; we believe him to be the
longest-serving member of the OSGB. He
joined two months after the Society was
founded in 1951, when he was aged 19 and
learning how to grow cymbidiums. As an
active member of his local horticultural
society in Ickenham at the time, he met
with a barrier of disbelief that amateurs
could grow orchids. His interest in orchids is
undiminished and he is a founder member
of the Chiltern Orchid Society.
OSGB Librarian
Derek Belcher has been the Society’s
Librarian since 1999 and done sterling work
housing and maintaining the Library,
choosing worthwhile additions and bringing
an interesting selection to the monthly
meetings. In 2010 he and Val Pugh updated a
comprehensive index of the Library which is
now available on our website for all
members to look through. The Society is
extremely grateful for his dedication to the
Library and work on the Committee over the
years. Derek would now like to pass on this
position to someone else and we are looking
for a volunteer to house the Library’s
contents and take on the Librarian’s duties.
The Librarian is often one of the first points of
contact for new members and is a vital role
within the Society. There are perks too; as
Derek says ‘If you are the Librarian you get to
read any book when you want, on any subject
to do with orchids’. There is also a collection
of foreign and domestic orchid journals, a set
of OSGB Journals and boxed sets of slides. If
you are interested, please call Derek on 020
8715 3635 to discuss it with him.
The Library comes complete with shelving
and will require space to accommodate three
bookcases (800mm wide x 280mm deep x
2030mm high, with five shelves each) and
two bookcases (800mm wide x 330mm deep
x 1000mm high, with four shelves each). The
total shelf length provided by these
bookcases is 22.5 metres and the collection
of Journals requires another four metres of
shelving.
Michael McIllmurray
Derek Belcher, our Librarian since 1999 (Photo by Sam
Hurley)
100 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
The Journal is indebted to Michael
McIllmurray for reporting the Napier Hall
talks over the years, since 1998. Michael
always manages to capture the spirit of the
lecture and lecturer in his elegant writing and
enables the wider membership to benefit
from the knowledge and expertise of our
varied speakers. However, he would like to
hand over this role to another member in the
Michael McIllmurray on the OSGB trip to Northern
Cyprus, March 2010 (Photo by Sam Hurley)
near future so please contact me if you would
like to try your hand at reporting on our talks,
or talk to Michael to find out what it involves.
New Press Officer
We are delighted that Trea Martyn has
volunteered to act as Press Officer for the
OSGB. Trea has taught garden history at
Birkbeck College, University of London, and
landscape history at Central St Martin’s
College of Art and Design. She is the author
of Elizabeth in the Garden; a fascinating
insight into the development of two historic
gardens created to gain personal and
political influence in the Elizabethan era. I
thoroughly recommend it if you are
interested in gardens and their history. Trea
joined the Society last year at the Chelsea
Flower Show. Please contact Trea with any
Press related enquiries on 07973 312008 or
[email protected]
Our new Press Officer, Trea Martyn
Calling all White Van Drivers
The time has come for White Van Sam to
hang up her keys and pass on the job of
driving the van to another willing member
who would like to take their turn. It is good
fun and a valuable contribution to the
Society. I have enjoyed my time driving
around the countryside, collecting railway
sleepers, bags of rocks and even the
occasional orchid to deliver to the display
team building our exhibits. I am
particularly grateful to Val Pugh and Terry
Comper for their tireless help and excellent
company during the set-up of the London
Orchid Show. Please contact the Displays
Manager, Val Pugh on 01403 251176 or
[email protected] if you are
available to drive the van for Chelsea 2011
or for the shows next year.
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 101
Obituary – Joyce Stewart MBE, VMH, M. Phil.
Henry Oakeley
Joyce Stewart with Angraecum magdalenae after lecturing to the Society in 2004
Joyce Stewart died on 7 January 2011 after a
short illness. She was well known to the
Society for the lectures she gave us on
African orchids, as President of the British
Orchid Council, and for her numerous books.
Her writing career spanned more than 30
years, from articles in The Orchid Review, and
then (sometimes jointly) Orchids of Tropical
Africa; Orchids of Africa; Wild Orchids of
Southern Africa; Orchids at Kew; Orchids of
Kenya; the RHS Manual of Orchids; The Orchid
Paintings of Franz Bauer and Angraecoid
102 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Orchids, the last published in 2006. She was
recognised as the international authority on
the latter, especially Aerangis. She grew
orchids at home, with the help of her
husband, Don, (for she was often away,
working or travelling) and was an active
member of the Bournemouth Orchid Society
for nearly 30 years.
Her orchid career began in Africa, but she
became better known to us after she
returned to England and joined the RHS
Orchid Committee in 1982, on which she
Obituary – Joyce Stewart
served until her death. In 1985 she became
the Sainsbury Orchid Fellow at Kew, followed
by a distinguished era as Director of Science
and Horticulture for the RHS, based at RHS
Garden Wisley, until her retirement in 2002.
In 1993 she was in charge of organising the
World Orchid Conference in Glasgow, and
then became a Trustee of the World Orchid
Conference Trust, travelling all over the
world. The list of her achievements and the
honours given to her in recognition, from the
Victoria Medal of Honour to the MBE, have
been published in other obituaries, but one
which she particularly liked was having a
Spathoglottis hybrid named after her by the
Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Joyce Stewart at her party on retirement from the RHS,
December 2002
Her obituaries, while remembering her
distinguished career, often omit to mention
the kindness she showed to people
beginning their interest in orchids, both
amateurs and professionals, and this
engendered much affection for her. Her time
at RHS Garden Wisley is remembered with
nostalgia; we all thought she would be a
hard act to follow and her successors found
it so! Her expertise in judging orchids (and
in all matters orchidaceous), her phenomenal
memory and clarity of expression were her
undoubted skills, which she combined with
unstinting hard work. She will be missed.
Spathoglottis Joyce Stewart was named in her honour in
December 2006 by the Singapore Botanic Gardens
when she received the Gold Medal of the Orchid Society
of South East Asia
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 103
Tokyo Dome Show 2011
Mayumi Hashi (Photos by Mayumi Hashi)
nightmare will have calmed down by the
time this article is published.’)
I went back to Japan to see my family and
friends and to attend the Japan Grand Prix
Orchid Festival at the Tokyo Dome Show in
February. This year our President, Henry
Oakeley, did not go but asked me to take
photographs and write a report. What a big
job!
Mayumi Hashi and Hideo Takei
(Ed: The Journal is extremely grateful to
Mayumi Hashi for the report of this show
which took place only a short time before
Japan suffered so terribly from the
earthquake and tsunami on 11 March. We can
only echo Mayumi’s words, especially to our
members, and friends of the OSGB, in Japan:
‘I have been praying for Japan and the
Japanese people and I am sure all of you are
the same. I sincerely hope that this
One exhibitor was Mr Hideo Takei and his
display’s title was In the Dream. After two
years of preparation, it featured a big bonsai
tree covered with numerous Japanese
terrestrial orchids such as Cymbidium
goeringii, Epipactis thunbergii, Goodyera
schlechtendalia, Calanthe sieboldii. He won
the Award of Excellence and the display was
always surrounded by large groups of people
offering congratulations.
Welcoming Oncidium archways
104 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Hideo Takei’s display In the Dream, winner of the
Amateur Orchid Display (Photo by Japan Grand Prix)
This was my second visit to the show and as
before I was greeted by wonderful archways
of beautiful yellow Oncidium. Another
display showed a very Japanese idea – a
beautiful kimono patterned with orchid
flowers – something I am sure many women
wish they could wear.
Lots of people were amazed by the
kaleidoscope display and it took a few
seconds to work out what they had done; a
big kaleidoscope was used so visitors could
see huge numbers of orchid flowers.
Cattleya Melody Fair ‘Sachi’ won the RHS
Trophy for Best Specimen Plant, apart from
the giant Coelogyne cristata which won the
Grand Prix. This has been getting bigger and
bigger each year, had over 2,000 flowers, and
was exhibited by Koichi Ejiri of Suwada
Orchid Nursery.
A beautiful kimono patterned with orchids (Photo by
Japan Grand Prix)
Cattleya Melody Fair ‘Sachi’; winner of the RHS Trophy for Best Specimen Plant other than the Grand Champion (Photo
by Japan Grand Prix)
106 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
A kaleidoscope filled with Phalaenopsis flowers offered visitors even more to look at
Coelogyne cristata forma hololeuca ‘Pure White’; Grand Champion at the Japan Grand Prix 2011
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 107
Eileen Watson (Photos by Eileen Watson)
The genus Stanhopea was described by Sir
William Hooker in 1829 and named after the
4th Earl of Stanhope (1781–1855) who had
just been appointed President of the MedicoBotanical Society of London. The name was
proposed by Dr John Frost, also of that
Society and of Kew, for Stanhopea insignis
which had flowered at Kew Gardens in
October 1829. Frost was later expelled from
the Society for ‘notorious behaviour’!*.
Stanhopeas are found in Central to South
America, from Mexico to Brazil, growing as
epiphytes, as lithophytes on sloping rock
faces, and occasionally on the ground as
terrestrials. They range from lowland forest
to 2,700m, but are mainly to be found
between 1,000–1,500m.
Stanhopea flowers have variously been
described as ‘not beautiful’, ‘strange’, ‘curious’,
‘extraordinary’ and even ‘bizarre’, but to my
mind they are fascinating. They appear to be
made of thick wax – just like some of those
sculptured candles which have become so
popular. The flower structure is complex, the
lip consisting of three parts; the hypochile
(basal part, nearest the ovary), mesochile
(middle part) and epichile (end part); the
structure of these parts varying with
different species. The colours are almost
fluorescent, but vary within the species, so
colour and appearance of spots cannot be
used to identify a particular species.
Although 50 to 60 species have been
described, this could be an overestimate due
to some confusion in the past with
identification. The pseudobulbs are oval and
Stanhopea nigripes
Stanhopea anfracta
Stanhopea embreei
Stanhopea oculata
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 109
Stanhopea grandiflora growing in a wooden slatted
basket (Photo by Henry Oakeley)
Stanhopea graveolens in a plastic mesh basket (Photo by
Henry Oakeley)
furrowed, and are up to 7cm long. They give
rise to one dark green plicate leaf which may
be up to 50cm long and 15cm wide, but as
the rhizomes are short, the pseudobulbs
grow close together so keeping the plant
more compact.
Stanhopea inodora growing in a wire basket lined with
Sphagnum moss (Photo by Henry Oakeley)
110 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
The inflorescence arises from the base of the
pseudobulb and pushes downwards through
the compost to emerge beneath the plant.
Before this was realised, plants were grown
in earthenware pots and failed to show
flowers. However, during a repotting
exercise an unfortunate crock-boy dropped
the precious plant and the pot shattered to
reveal rotting flowers winding around the
Stanhopea bud growing through a hole in an ‘openweave’ plastic pot
bottom of the pot trying desperately to
escape. Growing stanhopeas in pots would
have seemed reasonable at that time as the
plants (excepting the pseudobulbs of course)
resemble aspidistras – the ‘cast iron’ parlour
plant beloved of the Victorians. After
realising that the flower spike was pendent,
the plants were grown in wooden slatted
baskets and they flowered well.
There are several containers in use designed
to contain the compost but allow the flowers
to escape, and I am indebted to Henry
Oakeley for the photos of plants in various
types of baskets. However, I grow my
stanhopeas in plastic ‘open-weave’ pots,
Stanhopea graveolens
having found these to be the best
compromise between letting the buds escape
from the pot but holding the compost in.
Sometimes the growing buds need to be
eased through the holes in the pot.
As compost, I use dampened New Zealand
Sphagnum moss mixed with some large
granule perlite to improve air circulation and
drainage. The pots are hung high in the
shaded greenhouse at intermediate
temperatures (winter night 12°C). There is
always air circulation from fans, and a high
humidity in the greenhouse obtained using
an ultrasonic humidifier. The plants are kept
well watered in the summer (half strength
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 111
fertiliser is added on alternate waterings),
and are not allowed to dry out in winter. This
is particularly important as the pots dry out
quickly when the fan heater is in action.
The plants flower in the summer months
and give great joy. Oh! the wonderment of
being in the greenhouse when one of the
huge buds which has grown fat – to about
7.5cm in diameter – suddenly opens with an
audible ‘pop’ and stretches its wings wide to
reveal the flower in its full glory as a lovely
perfume fills the greenhouse. This whole
movement can be watched over a short
period of time. The flower can measure up
to 15cm in diameter, and there can be up to
eight on a spike depending on the species –
the flowers opening one after the other
during one or two days. The downside is
that the flowers will only last four or five
days at the most. But what delight they give.
Large plants can produce several spikes in
quick succession, so this is an added bonus.
Snails and slugs can be a problem. They
seem to delight in scaling the heights of the
greenhouse and dropping in the pots. Snails
will chew a strip along the length of the leaf;
slugs devour the young buds, so eagerly
awaited flowers can disappear overnight. I
put slug pellets in the pots and on the floor,
hoping to prevent the damage that way.
The accompanying photos are of some of my
stanhopeas. Due to confusion over the
identification of some species, the holder of
the National Collection of Stanhopea, Dick
Hartley of Foxdale Orchids (www.foxdaleorchids.co.uk) has kindly confirmed the
names used here.
112 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
*Henry Oakeley adds: Dr John Frost (1803–
1840) was a lecturer at St Thomas’s Hospital in
London and founded the Medico-Botanical
Society in 1821 whose object was the discovery
of new medicinal plants. Frost was its first
director and cultivated the aristocracy,
accumulating no less than ‘eleven or twelve
kings, and hundreds of nobility’ as members,
and that ‘three of them have conferred on Dr
Frost orders of knighthood, and the Duke of
Cumberland created him surgeonextraordinary’. There were some good titles
about in those days and he was a Knight of
the Polar Star and Knight of the Brazilian
Order of the Southern Star, among others. In
proposing that the genus be named after the
Earl of Stanhope, Frost was currying favour
with the Earl, probably in the hope of
acquiring another exotic-sounding title.
An anonymous, and clearly Republicanleaning, diarist in the Gardener’s Magazine
was exceedingly rude about Frost and the
Medico-Botanical Society and noted that Frost
was involved in a huge row there (a ‘blow up’)
in 1830, so the Society abolished the post of
Director (if this had been a modern
horticultural society he would have been
asked to apply for his own job, subtly altered,
and then not appointed) and dismissed him.
The Duke of Cumberland also sacked him
from the job of surgeon-extraordinary. He ran
into debt, fled to Paris, then to Berlin where he
worked as a doctor, but died young.
Stanhopea nigripes
Stanhopea tigrina var. nigroviolacea
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 113
Weekend at Wisley
Sam Hurley (Photos by Sam Hurley)
Orchid Talk and Tour
I spent a wonderful day at RHS Garden
Wisley in some unexpected spring sunshine,
attending one of their new events, designed
to highlight an individual family of plants.
Orchids were the subject for a weekend in
February and included an Introductory Guide
to Orchids by Jim Durrant of McBean’s
Orchids and a behind-the-scenes tour of the
Wisley greenhouses. As always, Jim Durrant
was on top form; informative, interesting
and entertaining. He told us a little about
orchid history, explained carefully that one
must grow the right plant in the right place
(our President would be proud) and
corrected many fallacies about orchid
cultivation. He showed us a selection of
orchids that he had brought from McBean’s,
discussing their wide variety and the impact
of hybridisation on the range of orchids
available today. I was kindly allowed to talk
Jim Durrant of McBean’s Orchids
114 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
about the OSGB and distribute some
Journals, to spread the word to nonmembers.
It was fascinating to walk through the Wisley
greenhouses and see the orchid collection;
David McLaughlin is the horticulturalist in
charge of the collection and led the tour.
Among the species on show, was a coolgrowing Cymbidium sanderae, its strongly
marked lip being one of the reasons why it
has been so widely used in hybridising. It
was first collected in Vietnam in 1904 and
sent to the nursery of Frederick Sander, for
whom it was named, although Kew’s
taxonomist of the time, Robert Rolfe,
considered it a variety of Cym. parishii.
Another striking pink flower was
Phalaenopsis schilleriana; a shade-loving
epiphyte from the warm forests of Luzon in
the Philippines which also has attractive
long, narrow leaves which are patterned
David McLaughlin of RHS Garden Wisley
Weekend at Wisley
Cymbidium sanderae
with a silver colour. It was named after
Consul Schiller of Hamburg, Germany, one of
the first enthusiasts outside Britiain to grow
orchids as a leisure activity in the nineteenth
century.
A plant of Coelogyne cristata var. lemoniana
raised some interesting history. Coelogyne
cristata var. lemoniana is so named not for
the pale lemon colour on its lip but for Sir
Charles Lemon (1784–1868), a Member of
Parliament with an extensive interest in
botany. It first appeared in his collection at
Carclew in Cornwall, probably in the 1870s
and is mentioned in Veitch’s Manual of
Orchidaceous Plants (1887–1894). Coelogyne
cristata was first described by John Lindley in
1821 but in Dudley Clayton’s book, The Genus
Coelogyne: A Synopsis, he mentions that there
are 13 named varieties of C. cristata, which
has led to much confusion and ambiguity
over synonyms, eg var. citrina, var. albina and
var. intermedia. Coelogyne cristata is an
evergreen epiphyte and originates from India
and Thailand, is cool growing and flowers in
the spring. In nature it experiences monsoon
rains followed by a dry season and in
cultivation this means a completely dry
resting period from late autumn until new
growth begins in early spring.
Phalaenopsis schilleriana
Coelogyne cristata var. lemoniana
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 115
Weekend at Wisley
Paphiopedilum Emerald
Attractive hybrids included Paphiopedilum
Emerald, which at first glance appears
surprisingly pink for its name until its
parentage is considered. It was first
registered in 1920 by Clive Cookson, an
amateur orchid grower from
Northumberland, and is a cross between
P. curtisii var. sanderae and P. Maudiae. The
form of P. curtisii used was non-coloured and
so P. Emerald owes its pink colouring to the
parents of P. Maudiae (callosum and
lawrenceanum). Continuing my pink theme
was Angulocaste Thomas, a cross of
Angulocaste Tudor and Lycaste Bailliae, bred
by our President and registered in 1995.
116 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Angulocaste Thomas
After the tour we were treated to a repotting demonstration by Jim, for
Phalaenopsis and Cymbidium, which led to
predictable gasps as he proceeded to chop
off most of the Phalaenopsis roots and cut
the Cymbidium clean in half.
Orchids and butterflies in The
Glasshouse
This wonderful event was recommended to
me by OSGB members Alan and Linda Seal.
Tropical butterflies slowly fluttered around
the warmest zone of The Glasshouse and
seemed blissfully oblivious of the many
visitors all desperately trying to photograph
them with their cameras and mobile phones.
Dendrobium Sun Sprite against the waterfall in The
Glasshouse, Wisley
Weekend at Wisley
There were many orchids to be seen in The
Glasshouse, the most striking being an
enormous display of Dendrobium Sun Sprite,
a cross between D. gracillimum and
D. delicatum, sited with the waterfall behind
it. Next to it was, appropriately named, a
bright yellow D. gracillimum ‘Wisley’ which
glowed in the sunshine and a group of
Dendrochilum glumaceum, fully open, which
seemed to flow down the rock-face against
which they were positioned. An arching
Laelia anceps appeared to hover overhead
and there were displays of Cymbidium
hybrids, attractively grouped by colour
amongst the foliage. Needless to say the
Plant Centre was full of McBean’s orchids
which, combined with the complimentary
gift voucher from the orchid talk, proved
impossible to resist.
Idea Leuconoe, the Tree Nymph
Morpho peleides, the Blue Morpho; the undersides of its
wings are as startling as the blue on top
118 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
For details of forthcoming events at RHS
Garden Wisley visit
www.rhs.org.uk/gatrdens/wisley/what-s-on
Dendrobium gracillimum ‘Wisley’
Weekend at Wisley
Laelia anceps
Dendrochilum glumaceum
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 119
Vandas for British Growers
Martin Motes
Vandas have long been grown successfully in
England. Many species were described from
plants first flowered in English greenhouses.
They should be more widely cultivated.
Vandas are widely considered difficult to
grow for two reasons; their cultural
requirements are not well known and the
types of vandas mostly commonly available
are from lines of breeding that are not well
suited to temperate orchid culture. This
article seeks to address both problems and
offer an avenue to successful culture to
British orchidists.
Relative to other commonly grown genera
vandas are best thought of as needing to be
as warm as Phalaenopsis and as bright as
cattleyas. Many vandas can be grown at the
warm end of the intermediate range. If a
bright spot where they can receive 4-5000
foot candles of light can be provided, vandas
will thrive if they are kept warm enough. An
ideal environment would provide a
temperature range from 13-20°C (night) to
25-32°C (day). A few days at temperatures
slightly above or below these limits will do
no harm. Care should be taken to avoid
chilling vandas for more than a few hours
below 10°C.
Vandas require abundant water but need to
dry quickly. In the tropics they are typically
grown in open containers such as slatted
baskets. Under temperate conditions, pots
are usually more satisfactory containers.
Terracotta is preferable because, while drying
more quickly, it also raises humidity in the
proximity of the plant. Large chunks of bark
or charcoal are excellent growing media,
holding some water but allowing sharp
drainage and rapid drying. Under every
circumstance, when Vanda roots are white or
Vanda Miss Joaquim ‘Douglas’ 4N growing in full light
Vanda roots in need of watering
Vanda Paki ‘Esther Motes’ HCC/AOS, AM/RHS (tricolor var. suavis x cristata); a coldtolerant hybrid well suited to British growing conditions (Photo by Martin Motes)
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 121
grey, they are dry. Water them with two or
more applications of water to the point of
run-off until they turn an overall dark green
(not mottled half white, half green). When
the roots turn white again wait 12–24 hours
and then water them to dark green again.
This regime should be practiced every season
and without regard to relative humidity,
temperature or air movement. Observation
of the root colour is the key to successful
Vanda culture. Every sixth watering, fluid
fertilizer with low phosphorus content
(15:5:15 etc) should be added to the water
and applied the same way at a rate of 3–4
grams per litre.
Vanda coerulea produces cooler growing hybrids
Vanda sanderiana requires tropical levels of light and
heat
122 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Even with the excellent cultural practices
outlined here, vandas may prove difficult to
grow in Britiain if they have been developed
from the wrong lines of breeding. Vanda
(Euanthe) sanderiana, so beloved of
Vanda Rothschildiana is a cooler growing hybrid for
temperate climes
American Orchid Society judges, is a large,
warm-growing, shy-blooming plant that
requires exceptionally high light relative to
other members of the genus. Unfortunately
for temperate zone growers its influence in
breeding in Thailand and elsewhere in the
tropics has been overwhelming. Nearly all
other Vanda species require less light and
warmth than V. sanderiana. Choosing hybrids
in which other Vanda species predominate is
excellent strategy for temperate zone
growers. Hybrids from the cool growing
V. coerulea are an excellent choice.
Even the primary hybrid of V. coerulea, with
V. sanderiana, V. Rothschildiana receives
sufficient vigor and cold tolerance to succeed
in temperate climes.
Hybrids between V. coerulea and other
standard types which contain slightly less
V. sanderiana genes can be even more
successful. If slightly smaller flowers are
acceptable, hybrids from V. tricolor var. suavis,
a species native to elevations of nearly 3,000
meters in Java, are even more vigorous.
Vanda cristata, a Himalayan species from
quite high altitudes, produces hybrids that
are tolerant of cooler temperatures and also
possess diminished size.
The best example of the success of the right
lines of breeding for British conditions
appeared on the cover of the Orchid Digest
December 2009. Vanda Paki (tricolor var.
suavis x cristata) demonstrates the success
that hybrids from cold-tolerant parents can
have under British conditions (see page 120).
Colourful, long-lasting, fragrant flowers that
appear several times a year can be part of
the British orchid landscape if hybridists can
be encouraged to produce, and hobbyists
encouraged to grow, vandas from coldtolerant parentage.
Vanda tricolor var. suavis produces hybrids with smaller
flowers than V. sanderiana hybrids
Vanda cristata produces cooler-growing hybrids of a
smaller size
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 123
Henry Oakeley
The RHS London Orchid Show has come and
gone, and André Roux and his OSGB team
gained a Silver-Gilt medal and the ‘Most
Innovative Display’ award for his diamond
mine-themed exhibit. Wheeled trolleys, full of
orchids, emerged on a mini-railway line from
the darkness of the railway sleeper reinforced
mine entrance. The mine roof was crowned, if
you will excuse the pun, with a coronet of
white Phalaenopsis and cascading Coelogyne
cristata. Cymbidiums to the left and
paphiopedilums to the right, all recessed into
holes in sheets of builders’ polystyrene to
avoid the artificial look of mossed up pots, and
top dressed with fine bark, completed the
scene. Congratulations and thanks to André,
all those who lent their plants and manned
the OSGB stand, and the team who helped put
up and take down the display including: Mary
Betts, Terry Comper, Diogo Correia, Sylvia and
Ian Chrystie, James Green, Marc Harris, MaryJane Hawkins, Penny Hayes, Walter Lefley, Iona
and Norman Macphie, Caspar MacRae,
Michael McIllmurray, Val and Derek
Micklewright, Pam and Colin Millar, Diana
Neophytou, Valerie Pugh, Ray and Phillip
Shepherd, David Thurtle, Saul Walker and Roy
White.
Oerstedella centradenia (now Epidendrum
centropetalum); winner of Best Specimen Plant for
Roellke Orchideenzucht (their third successive win)
David Stead’s exhibit; discreet planters showing the orchids off to great effect
McBean’s Gold medal winning display matched the
scale of the RHS Lawrence Hall
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 125
The OSGB’s Diamond Anniversary display at
the London Orchid Show 2011, winner of a
Silver-Gilt medal and the Most Innovative
Display award
Ratcliffe’s display of complex Paphiopedilum hybrids
The rarest orchid at the London Orchid Show; Ipsea
thailandica
128 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
McBean’s spectacular central circle of
standard cymbidiums, with dishes of
odontoglossums, gained a Gold medal, as did
Burnham’s massed array of mixed orchids.
Akerne from Belgium, KJ Orchids from
Denmark and Roellke from Germany each
had a range of interesting species; the
exhibit of Paphiopedilum species and hybrids
from Asendorfer Orchideenzucht (Germany)
would have justified coming to the show
even if nothing else was there. Ratcliffe’s
showed a stunning range of complex
Paphiopedilum hybrids and both David Stead
and Lawrence Hobbs demonstrated the use
of planters to great visual effect. Attendance
at the Show was regrettably down on
previous years, both for exhibitor and visitor
numbers. With British orchid growers
disappearing like snow in summer, the
overseas exhibitors – from as far afield as
Taiwan, Colombia and Peru – are the jewels
(albeit with small exhibits) that attract the
true orchidophiles, the RHS core
Barbard Everard’s charming painting of orchid flowers, the logo for the Centenary Exhibition of her work
membership, the plant enthusiasts, plant
growers, the lovers of tiny species as well as
exotic hybrids. At the other end of the scale
was an ‘exhibit’ of small bare-root hybrids,
carelessly potted into Sphagnum moss and
displayed in plastic trays, looking like a poor
sales area – an exhibitor to be discouraged.
I was asked by a visitor ‘Where are the rare
orchids?’ and so I took him to Ipsea
thailandica, a curious little plant about 25cm
high on KJ Orchids’ exhibit. I am not sure if
he was impressed or not. I should have taken
him to see the Millners’ educational exhibit,
with giant colourful posters and tiny, heated,
illuminated, terrarium (from one of those
shops that sell lizards, snakes and iguanas) in
which we could all grow those amazing
miniatures that die promptly on sitting room
windowsills. That was impressive.
The Barbara Everard Trust for Orchid
Conservation, a trust within the OSGB,
helped with a display at the RHS Lindley Hall
of our collection of her orchid paintings (put
together by Henry Oakeley) as part of the
Barbara Everard Centenary Exhibition. Martin
and Anthony Everard, her sons, set it up and
kindly donated the proceeds of a raffle to the
BETOC funds.
The RHS gave permission for OSGB member
Mayumi Hashi to bring collecting boxes for
the Japan Earthquake Appeal to the show.
Mayumi would like to thank Marion Eyles
for collecting in the Lawrence Hall and
everyone who gave so generously; £310.00
was donated and sent to the Japanese Red
Cross.
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 129
Phalaenopsis and Cymbidium –
A pictorial guide to re-potting and dividing
My thanks to Jim Durrant of McBean’s
Orchids for sharing his 40 years of
experience, the plants for re-potting and
allowing me to photograph his hands at
work.
Phalaenopsis
Re-pot when the plant has finished
flowering. Phalaenopsis benefit from underpotting and once their roots are trimmed,
they can be returned to the same size pot.
1. Prepare the compost; an open mix of bark, charcoal
and perlite which allows it to be well aerated and free
draining, is ideal
2. Clear pots make it easy to identify a Phalaenopsis in
need of re-potting
3. The roots have grown to fill the existing pot and the
compost will begin to decompose after a few years
4. Gently tease out the roots and remove all the old
compost
5. Using a sterile, sharp knife, cut away dead, rotten or
weak roots and then trim excessively long roots to leave
only healthy growth about 15cm long
6. Place a little compost in the bottom of the old pot and
return the plant to its pot
130 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Phalaenopsis and Cymbidium
7. Scoop the compost into the pot around the roots,
leaving the plant slightly loose in the compost (it will
firm up with the new growth) and water well
Cymbidium
Re-pot in the spring, after flowering.
Cymbidium benefit from under-potting but
can be potted on every few years into
increasingly larger pots to create specimen
plants. However, this leads to enormous
plants, whereas dividing will create more
8. Phalaenopsis can be returned to an upright position
when re-potting as they tend to lean out of their pots as
they grow
plants of manageable size. The same
compost can be used as for Phalaenopsis; an
open mix of bark, charcoal and perlite which
will allow it to be well aerated and free
draining. Ensure that each division will have
at least 3–4 pseudobulbs to enable flowering
the following year.
1. This Cymbidium is ready for dividing and re-potting
2. Spread the leaves aside to find a suitable line between
the pseudobulbs, along which to divide the plant
3. Using a sharp, sterile knife, cut firmly through the root
mass to separate the two halves
4. Remove a crescent-shaped section from the inner
centre of the root section, mostly consisting of old
compost
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 131
Phalaenopsis and Cymbidium
5. Tease out any severed roots and the remaining old
compost to leave only healthy growth and trim roots to
about 15cm long
6. Test the plant for size in its pot, placing the plant so
that the old growth is against the side of the pot and
allowing room for the new growth towards the centre
of the pot
7. Place a little compost in the bottom of the pot, hold
the plant in place and scoop more compost into the pot
around the roots. Tap to firm and water well
8. The plant should have room for two or three years
growth before re-potting is needed
McBean's Orchids offer Open House
weekends from time to time, which include a
tour of their working nursery and the
opportunity to talk with experienced staff.
Orchids are beautifully displayed in a
naturalistic setting in the exotic Show House
and, of course, the shop offers a wide range
of orchids, composts, pots and sundries for
sale. I would particularly recommend a visit
around Christmas-time to see the
cymbidiums in all their glory. Check their
website for details of Open House weekends
and the shows they will be attending.
McBean's Orchids, Cooksbridge, Lewes, BN8
4PR, or visit www.mcbeansorchids.co.uk
McBean's exotic Show House displays orchids in a
naturalistic setting
132 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Book Reviews
Paphiopedilum
Species: The
Essential Guide
by Henry Oakeley and
Guido Braem
Paperback, 86 pages, A5.
ISBN 978-0-9521461-4-8.
£5.00 + £2.00 p&p, available
from Dr Henry Oakeley, 77
Copers Cope Road,
Beckenham, Kent, BR3 1NR
or [email protected]
Our polymath President has
done it again; nearly 20
years after publishing
Lycaste Species: The Essential
Guide, he and renowned
German botanist Guido
Braem, bring us this
pictorial guide to the slipper
orchids of Asia. The aim of
this publication is to be an
easy-to-use reference guide
to this popular genus with
just enough information to
aid cultivation and
identification, and whet the
appetite. It is simple, accessible and appealing; its size and format designed to be less
intimidating than more detailed, academic tomes.
There is a short introduction with general details of cultural requirements and helpful web
addresses at the back to assist further interest. The rest of the book has 80 pages devoted to
165 beautiful photographs of Paphiopedilum species (mainly by Henry Oakeley) in all their
glory, with the minimum of text detailing distribution and flowering times.
I look forward to my continued perusal of this guide, in a vain attempt to choose my
favourite; this glorious picture book should be on every Paphiopedilum enthusiast’s list of
Desiderata.
Sam Hurley
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 133
Book Reviews
Orchids – A Practical Guide to
Care and Cultivation
by Michael Tibbs
Paperback, 160 pages, A4. ISBN 978-1-84773882-0, published by New Holland Publishers,
www.newhollandpublishers.com. £12.99 rrp
or about £10 inc p&p from
www.abebooks.com
Reviewing books on general orchid cultivation
is a tricky matter – your expectation of such
publications is high but, at the end, often left
wanting. As with many books of this type, the
content is seldom fresh, merely reproduced for
a different audience and taking into account
the author’s perspective and experience. In all
fairness, however, expert Michael Tibbs has
delivered a worthwhile and comprehensive
overview of orchid-growing, with useful hints
and advice for both beginners and more
seasoned hobbyists.
The book’s first 60-odd pages are divided into four sections, beginning with a broad but clear
Introduction to Orchids that focuses on the idiosyncrasies of orchid flowers, their growth habits
and reproduction. Caring for Orchids offers detailed insight into what to consider when starting
an orchid collection, basic culture and pests and diseases. Much of this, and indeed what
developed in my opinion to be a characteristic of the book, is aimed at people with space to
grow orchids outdoors or in a greenhouse – there is not much advice for windowsill-growers.
Cultivation provides functional pictorial guides for re-potting and dividing and information on
flasking and de-flasking, while tips for exhibiting and mounting displays, as well as awards and
the binomial classification system, are covered in Showing Your Orchids.
By this stage you would rightly be keen to find out what orchids you fancy growing, and the
final major section, oddly titled Orchid Hybrids, deals with cool-growing, intermediate and
warm-growing species and hybrids. The main genera are covered, including some of the more
atypical, and for each there is an ample yet clearly defined discussion of cultural requirements.
A straightforward glossary, brief overview of CITES and an index rounds out the book.
Orchids – A Practical Guide to Care and Cultivation is unquestionably that – practical, useful and
full of information. The layout is pleasing, although the contemporary typeface will not be
comfortable for every pair of eyes, and while the quality and size of photographs is generally
good, a few of the images appear slightly ‘tired’. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a good
starting point for your own orchid library, this book will serve you well.
André Roux
134 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Book Reviews
Britain’s Orchids
by David Lang
Hardback, 192 pages, A5. ISBN 1903657-06-7. Published by and
available from WildGuides, PO Box 680,
Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 9ST or
www.wildguides.co.uk
Special Offer Price to OSGB readers:
£12.50 inc p&p (rrp £15.00 + p&p),
discount rate applies to all WildGuides
publications, check website for titles.
When ordering, insert the code OSGB
into the Discount Codes box and click
Apply Voucher.
This is an excellent guide to all of
Britain and Ireland’s orchids. I wish I
had had it with me ‘in the field’ last
year to help identify various species of
Dactylorhiza and Gymnadenia found in
Co Donegal but it proved just as
comprehensive and practical when
used to identify my photographs from
the comfort of an armchair. It has 120
pages devoted to individual orchid
identification including attractive and
clear photographs, showing both close-up and whole views of the plants.
The introduction covers general information about orchids; their structure, reproduction,
hybridisation and habitats. An introduction to the species provides an easy-to-use key to help
begin identification. Each orchid is then carefully described with regard to size, leaves, shape
and colour along with details of its hybrids, pollination and conservation status. The
distribution maps and details of flowering periods and habitats also aid identification, and a
glossary of technical terms adds to its usefulness. I particularly liked the ‘confusing species’
section which details why, and with which species, each orchid is often confused. The
WildGuides series are designed to support and encourage our awareness of the need for
conservation; an interesting section at the back of this book discusses the status of wild
orchids, their legal protection and conservation.
This would be the book to take on any wild orchid walk this summer, perhaps one arranged
by the OSGB.
Sam Hurley
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 135
British Orchid Council (BOC)
Judge Training Programme
Dusha Hayes
The OSGB is allocated two places on the BOC
Judge Training programme and at present
we have one vacancy. To qualify for entering
the training programme you must be a
knowledgeable orchid grower and have
assisted with judging at the Society’s
meetings.
There are usually two training sessions a
year and attendance of at least eight
sessions will be necessary to qualify as a
judge. At each session there are lectures
relating to the training. The sessions usually
take place in conjunction with shows and
congresses but occasionally at one of the
orchid nurseries.
At each training session there are four to five
tables, each with a class of plants to be
judged by the trainees. Points are awarded
for the ability to select correctly the plants
worthy of first, second, third etc place.
To qualify the trainee must have judged at
least 31 classes (ie tables) and gained a 75%
correct scoring record. The trainee should
also attend the Society’s monthly meetings
to shadow and assist the judging team at
the meetings.
If you are interested in starting the training
please send a brief CV to Dusha Hayes, Chair
of the Judging Sub-Committee,
[email protected]. It should
state your experience in orchid growing, any
special interests, judging experience, length
of OSGB membership and any other relevant
information. The BOC judging handbook
with all the details can be found at
www.british-orchidcouncil.info/Docs/JHandbook.doc
The OSGB Management Committee will
decide who fills the vacancy.
Peterborough International Orchid Show
17 - 19 June
Val Micklewright will again be in charge of
the Society's display at Peterborough.
Please contact her if you are able to lend
your plants, [email protected]
An additional 10% discount can be
136 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
obtained by 'orchid people' booking IN
ADVANCE either by telephone or online.
Please quote or enter the code, PIOS1, when
booking (£1.50 booking fee per transaction).
Advance booking is available on 0845 600
5445 or www.showground.org.uk
Colour at Kew
Tropical Extravaganza
A dreary, grey Sunday in February was
brightened by a visit to the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, to see the Tropical
Extravaganza being staged as part of the
International Year of Forests 2011 to highlight
the plight of the rainforests. A visit to the
Shirley Sherwood Gallery and the Marianne
North Gallery offered the chance to trace the
history of botanical art.
A riot of colour cheered the soul in the
Princess of Wales Conservatory with the use
of thousands of tropical flowers and
colourful orchid hybrids to create the exotic
effect of a flooded Amazonian forest. Towers
of Phalaenopsis soared to the roof of the
conservatory and islands of Phalaenopsis
floated on the floodwaters around the
centrepiece of an enormous tree covered in
orchids and ferns. The combination of the
steamy atmosphere and the sounds of the
rainforest made it easy to forget the weather
outside.
The paths through the conservatory were
decorated with colourful arches filled with,
among other things, Aechmea, Anthurium,
Tillandsia and orchids; hybrid colour at its
most striking including dendrobiums,
miltonias, odontoglossums, oncidiums and
vandas. Regrettably, none of the hybrids were
named although some of the more popular
were recognisable, such as Beallara Tahoma
Glacier and Burrageara Nelly Isler.
Centrepiece of the Tropical Extravaganza
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 137
Colour at Kew
Towers and islands of vibrant Phalaenopsis hybrids
Burrageara Nelly Isler
Some of the hybrids used to create the Tropical Extravaganza
138 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Beallara Tahoma Glacier
Colour at Kew
Arches of orchids enabled admiration from every angle
Hanging baskets on a Tropical Extravaganza scale
Hanging baskets on a Tropical Extravaganza scale
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 139
Colour at Kew
Pillars of orchids by the paths enabled closeup photography; hanging baskets of orchids
that measured well over a metre in height
and width were a staggering creation. Teams
of horticulturalists were on hand to answer
questions about the plants on display and
offer advice and leaflets about orchid
cultivation.
Shirley Sherwood Gallery
This is the first gallery in the world dedicated
solely to botanical art and well worth a visit.
A timeline of works selected from the Kew
Art Collection is featured in the exhibition
‘From Eye to Hand’, on display until 1 June.
Contemporary artists’ work is shown
alongside period pieces by the likes of Walter
Hood Fitch and Franz Bauer, both of whom
contributed beautiful images to the orchid
world. Although there are not many orchid
paintings in the exhibition, it gives an insight
into the evolution of botanical art as a
means of accurately depicting new
discoveries and creating a lasting record. For
more information visit www.kew.org/visitkew-gardens/garden-attractions-A-Z/shirleysherwood-gallery.htm
Marianne North Gallery
Next to the Shirley Sherwood Gallery’s
contemporary space is the Marianne North
Gallery, a Victorian extravaganza. Recently
beautifully restored to its full glory, it was
built at the expense of Marianne North (18311890) to house over 800 paintings that she
created on her travels around the world
between 1871 and 1885. She travelled widely
and painted the exotic landscapes and plants
which she found there. Some of them
proved to be new to science, and one genus
and four species were named in her honour.
She painted many pictures of orchids, and it
is fun to hunt for them amongst all the
others in the gallery. For more information
visit www.kew.org/collections/artimages/marianne-north/index.htm
Marianne North Gallery at RBG Kew (Photograph reproduced by kind permission of RBG Kew)
140 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Marianne North's painting: Native Vanilla hanging from
the Wild Orange, Praslin, Seychelles (Photograph
reproduced by kind permission of RBG Kew)
Notes From The Programme Secretary
Iona Macphie
Books from Timber Press
In the early summer, Dr Patricia Harding is
coming to the UK for a lecture tour, and will
be the guest speaker at the OSGB meeting
on Saturday 2 July 2011. She will be talking
about the fan-leaved orchids of South
America, about which she has written a
book, Huntleyas and Related Orchids. This is
published by Timber Press, and because Dr
Harding is one of their authors, she can get
her own book and any other published by
this company for a substantial discount. She
has very kindly agreed to pass on these
savings to OSGB members, so if anyone
would like to purchase a Timber Press title
that is in print (not just their orchid titles but
anything from cats to cacti) for 60% of the
quoted price, please let the Programme
Secretary know by the middle of May 2011.
The list can be viewed at
www.timberpress.co.uk, at any OSGB
meeting, or contact the Programme
Secretary for a list of titles. We hope the
books will be available for collection at the
Peterborough International Orchid Show and
at any OSGB meeting.
Introductory Seminar
The Society’s Annual Introductory Seminar
for members who have joined in the
previous 12 months (or who have missed out
in previous years) will be held on the
morning of Saturday 6 August 2011. It will
consist of talks about orchids and a handson potting session, followed by a light lunch
during which participants will have the
opportunity to meet members of the
Committee. There is no charge for the
142 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
seminar but advance booking with the
Programme Secretary is essential. After
lunch, the day will continue with the usual
monthly meeting of the Society. The guest
speaker in August will be Tom Hart Dyke
talking about his experience of orchid
hunting in Colombia.
Lullingstone Castle
The week after his lecture, Tom Hart Dyke
has offered to take a group of members
around the famous gardens at Lullingstone
Castle in Kent, his family’s home, starting at
10.30 on Saturday 13 August. The cost will be
£8.00 per person. I am afraid he is not
offering any discount on the normal
admission price, but the visit will be
exclusive to OSGB members and their guests
in that it will start one and a half hours
before the opening time for the general
public and the tour will be conducted by Tom
himself. Please book in advance with the
Programme Secretary and pay on the day.
Orchid walks
We hope to offer three orchid walks to
members and their guests this year.
Numbers are limited so please book in
advance.
Peterborough International
Orchid Show
Visitors to the Peterborough International
Orchid Show, 17–19 June, can also enjoy the
opportunity to see some wild orchids in the
area. OSGB member Jean Stowe, who lives
locally, will lead a walk on Sunday 19 June,
Notes from the Programme Secretary
Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) at
Swaddywell Pit nature reserve, Cambridgeshire (Photo
by Iain Stowe)
starting from the showground at 9.30. The
itinerary will be finalized nearer the time
once Jean has checked the four possible sites
to be visited and established where the best
orchids are to be found. For more
information about the sites and selection of
orchids likely to be seen on the walk, contact
Jean Stowe, [email protected]
Dawcombe Reserve
Visit Dawcombe Reserve to see wild orchids
with Simon Humphries of Surrey Wildlife
Trust. This will be on Sunday 12 June at 14.00
and visitors should see about nine species of
orchids and other interesting wildlife. Please
give a donation of £3.00 towards the work of
the Trust if you go on this visit.
Contributions will be collected on the day.
Dactylorhiza species at Castor Hanglands nature reserve,
Cambridgeshire (Photo by Jean Stowe)
We are also trying to organise a guided visit
to one of the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife
Trust reserves, but details are not available at
the time of going to press.
There were no takers for the walks in
Cumbria and Glasgow last year but if
members in any other part of the UK are
interested in a guided tour to see native
orchids please get in touch with the
Programme Secretary who will see if
anything can be arranged.
Please book all offers and trips with the
Programme Secretary, Iona Macphie, 020
8661 0787 or [email protected]
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 143
Napier Hall Meetings
Jo Kelleher and her Paphiopedilum insigne in the snow,
December 2010 (Photo by Pat Kelleher)
4 December 2010
A belated thank you to Programme Secretary,
Iona Macphie, and all the Committee for
organising the hugely enjoyable Christmas
lunch last December; and to Norman
Macphie for compiling the dastardly quiz. A
reminder of that chilly day came in the form
of a photograph taken by Pat Kelleher of his
wife Jo, as she prepared to transport some
plants to the December meeting.
Paphiopedilum insigne is indeed a coolgrowing orchid, from northeast India, but it
is a striking image to see it surrounded by
snow.
8 January 2011 – Gatton Park Meeting
Members received a warm welcome at
Gatton Park, one of Surrey’s hidden treasures,
on a chilly day in January. Having had
various illustrious owners, the estate is now
owned by the Royal Alexandra and Albert
School and is being reinvigorated with help
from the Gatton Trust. The estate boasts
grounds landscaped by Lancelot ‘Capability’
Brown during the 1760s, one of his more
extensive and costly commissions, and
Victorian pleasure gardens created in the 19th
century.
Dendrobium Gatton Sunray; created by Sir Jeremiah
Colman at Gatton Park
Gatton Park’s naturalistic landscape created by Lancelot
‘Capability’ Brown
The meeting was held at Gatton Park to
celebrate the house’s connection with Sir
Jeremiah Colman (1859–1942), one of the
great orchid enthusiasts of his generation.
His interest in orchids flourished after he
purchased Gatton Park in 1888 and led him
to become deeply involved in their
hybridization, investing in multiple
glasshouses and the manpower to run them.
Sir Jeremiah’s passion for orchids drove him
to create over 300 new hybrids, details of
which he published in his book, Hybridisation
of Orchids. He exhibited his orchids at shows
worldwide and won many prizes and awards.
Some of the hybrids created by him are still
seen today, their names giving clues to their
origins, such as Dendrobium Gatton Sunray.
In the main house, Louise Miller, the
Education Manager of the Gatton Trust, gave
an interesting talk about the estate and its
orchid history. Jo Kelleher produced one of
her enviable table displays which included,
appropriately, Cattlianthe Sir Jeremiah
Colman. Laurence Hobbs set out his stall
with orchids and sundries for members to
buy and refreshments were available for
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 145
exhausted garden viewers. There were
guided walks around the grounds with Trust
volunteers, which added to visitors’
enjoyment of the garden’s history.
A brisk walk to the last remaining Foster and
Pearson glasshouse, sadly in need of
restoration, warmed everyone up so that
they could enjoy the table show staged
within. Amidst the many paphiopedilums on
show, Sally Mill’s superb Paphiopedilum
wardii excelled and was awarded a Bronze
Certificate along with a Cultural Certificate.
In the tradition of Sir Jeremiah, prizes
abounded and special OSGB Gatton Park
rosettes were awarded to all first place
winners.
For information about Gatton Park visit
www.gattonpark.com
Colmanara Wildcat (now Odyncidium Wildcat): the
nothogenus Colmanara (Miltonia x Odontoglossum x
Oncidium) was named in honour of Sir Jeremiah Colman
Sally Mill’s Paphiopedilum wardii; awarded both Bronze and Cultural Certificates
146 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Report of Proceedings
5 March 2011 – Dave Parkinson: Disas
Michael McIllmurray (Photos by Dave
Parkinson)
A large audience gathered on a cold Saturday
in March to hear Dave Parkinson, who
travelled down from Yorkshire, erstwhile land
of steel works, coal mines and dark satanic
mills, to tell us about his passion for disas.
Dave’s background is agricultural, in the
commercial production of vegetables,
particularly lettuces, for supermarkets and,
more recently, production of vegetable seeds
for sale to Dutch growers. In his spare time,
and who can blame him, he has enjoyed
walking over the beautiful North York Moors
and other northern areas of interest glorying
in the delights of nature. A powerful affinity
for native orchids developed. A wide variety
of these were observed, some unexpected,
like the Wasp Orchid (Ophrys apifera var.
trollii) that is supposed to be located in Kent.
The Wasp Orchid, Ophrys apifera var. trollii; an
unexpected find in Yorkshire
It is hard to understand how some
individuals continue to break the law by
digging up wild orchids, but evidence of this
with Early Purple Orchids (Orchis mascula)
and Burnt Orchids (Neotinea ustulata) was
observed. Some species were thriving in spite
of man’s efforts to eliminate them, like the
Common Spotted Orchids (Dactylorhiza
fuchsii) growing through the logs piled on
top of them by foresters – some with stems
four or five feet long!
The fate of a colony of Greater Butterfly
Orchids (Platanthera chlorantha) covered by
dumped rubbish is more uncertain. A group
of Broad-leaved Helleborines (Epipactis
helleborine) near the car park at the end of
the North York Moors Railway was regularly
mowed until Dave intervened to persuade
The Bee Orchid, Ophrys apifera
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 147
The Common Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii; undaunted by having to grow from under piles of logs
the locals to leave them alone. Pictures of
these and other species were delightful,
especially that of a Bee Orchid (Ophrys
apifera) pollinating itself. Orchid spotting on
a nudist beach sporting a camera and
binoculars is perhaps not the wisest hobby!
A more general interest in orchids was
stimulated by this love of nature and Dave
started to grow a wide range of orchid
species from around the world. A mixed
collection ensued covering cypripediums,
calanthes, epipactis, pleiones, lycastes,
masdevallias, draculas, cymbidiums,
coelogynes, selected dendrobiums and even
Mystacidium capense. What these have in
common is that they are cool growers and
Dave cultivated them successfully in an
unheated greenhouse – being a thrifty
Yorkshireman he did not wish to waste
money on heating. This winter was so cold
148 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
that a few of the species suffered, but this
was unusual. Few of us would risk growing
our plants without any heat, but it is clear
that with the right selection of species it can
work.
Eventually he became smitten with disas.
The first three plants succumbed fairly
rapidly but lessons were learned and within
some four years there was a greenhouse full
of them, building up to about 40,000 plants
in an old lettuce greenhouse. The
greenhouse is shaded permanently. It has no
air circulation fans and is fitted with
extraction fans that activate at 20°C to
remove warm air. There is no heating. If the
temperature gets too low below zero plants
can be covered with up to three layers of
horticultural fleece. This year it was so cold
that some top growth was lost but most of
the plants survived.
Disa uniflora; much used in hybridising
The plants sit in black plastic trays on the
floor, filled with rain water. There is no
mechanism for circulating the water. When
the trays are nearly empty the rain water is
topped up. A very weak nitrogenous feed is
added to the water after flowering and when
the plants are starting into growth, but not
at other times. The favourite compost is
coarse Irish peat mixed 60:40 with perlite
and no other compost has been found to
match this satisfactorily. Problems are on the
horizon because the use of peat is scheduled
to be illegal in this country from 2015 unless
the powers that be can be persuaded to see
sense. The plants do grow, although not so
well, if the peat is replaced with Sphagnum
moss but this does require frequent repotting as the moss rots. Re-potting is
normally undertaken in spring when the
plants are starting into growth. The new
plantlets are kept and old flowered growths
Disas growing in an unheated greenhouse
Disas covered with horticultural fleece to protect
against sub-zero temperatures
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 149
are discarded. Alternatively plants will
develop into specimens if they are simply
potted on. Plants will grow from seed sowed
onto peat and should flower in five years –
flasks are faster but the plants tend to be
weaker.
Dave’s displays of his disas are showstoppers
because of the sheer fluorescent
flamboyance of the flowers that beats the
neon brightness of Piccadilly Circus. He has
an enviable record of 11 Gold medals and
three Best in Shows in only 11 RHS displays;
well deserved. He closed his presentation
with an atmospheric picture of the replica of
Captain Cook’s sailing ship, Endeavour,
returning to Whitby harbour from Australia.
As he listened to ‘Land of Hope and Glory’
being played on the ship, Dave admitted to
having a tear in his eye – he had just been
charged £7.00 for his take-away fish and
chips!
Disa seedlings, like the larger plants, sit in trays of rain
water
Coarse peat and perlite are the preferred compost for disas
Dave Parkinson’s Disa display at Hampton Court Flower Show in 2009 (Photo by Henry Oakeley)
150 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
The Royal Horticultural Society
Orchid Committee
Full descriptions and illustrations of the
plants awarded by the Committee are
published in The Orchid Review. Subscription
details are available from the RHS on 020
7821 3401 or www.rhs.org.uk/orchidreview,
[email protected]
The Committee met on Tuesday 7 December
2010 at Vincent Square and agreed the
following awards to plants:
Award of Merit
Brassocattleya Gulfshore’s Beauty ‘Green
Gem’ (Brassia nodosa x Cattleya dormaniana)
Cattleya Mari’s Beat ‘Humming’ (Mari’s Song
x Beaufort)
The above two plants exhibited by Mr M Ejiri,
Suwada Orchid Nursery, Japan.
Calanthe Mont Pretre ‘Saint Brelade’ (Portelet
x Augres)
Calanthe Mont Perrine ‘Saint Saviour’
(Brandywine x Beresford)
Calanthe Mont Mado ‘Saint Mary’ (Baron
Schröder x Beresford)
Odontioda Moulin de Louis ‘Portelet’
(Aviewood x Ingmar) - see front cover
The above four plants exhibited by the Eric
Young Orchid Foundation, Jersey.
Botanical Certificate
Angraecum platycornu ‘Tideswell’ exhibited
by Mr J Hermans, UK.
Phragmipedium kovachii ‘Gaytarn’ exhibited
by Mr J Gay, UK.
Brassocattleya Gulfshore’s Beauty ‘Green Gem’ AM/RHS
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 151
The Royal Horticultural Society Orchid Committee
Calanthe Mont Mado ‘Saint Mary’ AM/RHS
Calanthe Mont Perrine 'Saint Saviour' AM/RHS
152 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Angraecum platycornu ‘Tideswell’ BC/RHS
Phragmipedium kovachii ‘Gaytarn’ BC/RHS
The Committee met on Monday 17 January
2011 at The Eric Young Orchid Foundation,
Jersey and agreed the following awards to
plants:
Awards of Merit
Calanthe Mont Cochon (registration
pending) ‘Saint Mary’ (Five Oaks x Beresford)
Cymbidium Mont Isaac (registration
pending) ‘Saint Clement’ (Paradise Wonder x
La Rosiere)
Cymbidium Mont Pretre ‘Saint Helier’
(Paternoster x Victor Hugo)
Cymbidium Early Style ‘Saint Martin’ (elegans
x erythrostylum)
Lycaste Shoalhaven ‘Saint Lawrence’ (skinneri
x Koolena)
Phragmipedium La Vingtaine ‘Victoria Village’
(Memoria Dick Clements x kovachii)
Calanthe Mont Cochon ‘Saint Mary’ AM/RHS
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 153
Cymbidium Mont Isaac ‘Saint Clement’ AM/RHS
Lycaste Shoalhaven ‘Saint Lawrence’ AM/RHS
Cymbidium Mont Pretre ‘Saint Helier’ AM/RHS
Phragmipedium La Vingtaine ‘Victoria Village’ AM/RHS
Cymbidium Early Style ‘Saint Martin’ AM/RHS
154 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Vuylstekeara Mont de la Rocque ‘Gorey
Village’ (Vuyl. Saint Aubin x Odont. Faldouet)
Preliminary Certificate
Cymbidium Mont Pellier (registration
pending) ‘Saint Lawrence’ (Cotil Point x
Paternoster)
Vuylstekeara La Marquanderie ‘Victoria
Village’ (Vuyl. Saint Aubin x Oda. Moulin de
Louis)
Vuylstekeara La Marquanderie ‘Saint Ouen’s
Village’ (Vuyl. Saint Aubin x Oda. Moulin de
Louis)
Vuylstekeara Mont des Louannes ‘Grouville
Village’ (Vuyl. Saint Aubin x Oda. Mont
Cambrai)
All plants exhibited by the Eric Young Orchid
Foundation, Jersey.
Cymbidium Mont Pellier (registration pending) ‘Saint
Lawrence’ PC/RHS
Vuylstekeara La Marquanderie ‘Saint Ouen’s Village’ PC/RHS
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 155
Vuylstekeara La Marquanderie ‘Victoria Village’ PC/RHS
Vuylstekeara Mont des Louannes ‘Grouville Village’ PC/RHS
Vuylstekeara Mont de la Rocque ‘Gorey Village’ AM/RHS
The Committee met on Tuesday 15 February
2011 at Vincent Square and agreed the
following awards to plants:
Award of Merit
Gastrorchis pulchra ‘Trinity’ Cymbidium Rocco Tower ‘Ouaisne Bay’
(Plemont x Christmas Joy)
Cymbidium Saie Harbour ‘Saint Brelade’s Bay’
(Beauport x Icho Tower)
All plants registered and exhibited by the Eric
Young Orchid Foundation, Jersey.
Preliminary Certificate
Phragmipedium Plemont ‘Blushing Beauty’
(Hanna Popow x dalessandroi) registered by
the Eric Young Orchid Foundation and
exhibited by Ratcliffe Orchids Ltd, UK.
Gastrorchis pulchra ‘Trinity’ AM/RHS
156 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Cymbidium Rocco Tower ‘Ouaisne Bay’ AM/RHS
Cymbidium Saie Harbour ‘Saint Brelade’s Bay’ AM/RHS
Phragmipedium Plemont ‘Blushing Beauty’ PC/RHS
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 157
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and put onto Canvas, or printed and framed
to display in your home or as a gift
Email your requests to [email protected]
Or Choose from my selection of signed Orchid canvases,
prints and framed prints-see www.ruthbatten.co.uk
Mobile 07936 909 507
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Innovative Design
ŚĞĐŬ ŽƵƚ ƚŚĞ ͞Zip-up͟ and be
creative with the shape and
support of your orchids using
natural canes with our TW2
flexible cane & fittings
Enquiries & orders: www.touchwoodtoo.co.uk or
call 01702 216940. See them on the web site or
call us for details
And the ͞Pots-up͟that fits
almost anywhere with
screws or securing ties to
hang 4 to 6 inch plastic
pots from their rim and
also allowing light into
clear pots from all angles.
Elegant plant supports for the home and garden
Asendorfer Orchids
Europe´s leading nursery
in breeding Paphiopedilum species
Please visit our homepage
www.Asendorfer-Orchideenzucht.com
www.paphiopedilumworld.com
but we also breed the species in Cattleya, Laelia,
Phalaenopsis and other genera,
you will find about 300 different species, mostly
pictured, at our shop
we are the European agent for
Orquidário Purpurata Ltda. ,
Brazil, Brazilian native species
We will be at the Peterborough International Orchid
Show. In august at the BOGA Orchid Show /Dinton
Pastures and in October at the Devon Orchid Society
weekend
Preorders from us and Orquidário Purpurata will be
taken to the shows,
Mail-order is also possible
Asendorfer Orchideenzucht, Dipl.Ing.agr. Hilmar Bauch
Mühlenstr. Nr. 9 27330 Asendorf / Germany
phone and fax 0049 4253 8343
160 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
When only the best will do !
Sterile, inert, an ideal long-term growing
medium for your orchids.
Easy to handle in re-potting making this a
superb alternative to bark.
Supplied exclusively by award-winning
Densyl Orchids.
A free guide to 'Growing Orchids in
Epiphoam' with every new order.
Plus a wide range of books available at
discount prices.
Visit us at www.densylorchids.co.uk or
www.epiphoam.co.uk
or phone
01328 820272
Focus on Plants
Our new website www.focus-on-plants.com offers a wealth of information about
the care of orchids and much more.
You will also find information about products from Growth Technology and where to
find your nearest stockist. We manufacture the award-winning Orchid Myst, as well as
Orchid Focus specialist nutrients. Another well-known Growth Technology product
for orchids is Orchid Focus Repotting Mix – the most popular orchid medium in the
UK*.
The Focus on Plants web site is also your source of information about Orchid Events,
which we help to organise throughout UK.
* Source: Garden Trade News
Advertisements
Laneside Hardy
Orchid Nursery
www.lanesidehardyorchids.com
Nursery: Bells Bridge Lanes, off Cockerham Road, Garstang, Preston
Tel: 01995 605537 : email: [email protected]
VISIT the WEB site for details of special SPRING offers
Newly available a range of cypripedium hybrids not previously available in the UK.
See us at numerous shows throughout the country this summer. The new mail order
list will be on line in May with the list of summer dormant tubers. This will include
an large number of Mediterranean Ophrys species.
In May the Laneside Hardy Orchid Enthusiasts first annual event will be held in the
Midlands; including a competitive show open to all hardy orchid enthusiasts, talks and
plant sales.
For full details of this and all the other activities this summer please visit the web site.
The Orchid Study Group – Wales
is proud to present its
4th ORCHID FESTIVAL
to be held on the weekend
3rd- 4th September 2011
at the
National Botanic Garden of Wales,
Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire SA32 8HG
(normal entry fees apply)
Featuring Specialist Nurseries from the
UK and Europe
Talks & Demonstrations from
award-winning orchid growers
Artwork on display and for sale by Botanical Artists
For further information contact:
[email protected]
or telephone: 01558 668492
www.orchidstudygroup.org
For directions to the Festival visit:
www.gardenofwales.org or telephone 01558 668768
162 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Rosemann
Greenhouses
British made greenhouses built to a
standard not a price.
Our Bernhard range is 8’6” high
and 8’3” wide.
Available from 6’ to 12’ long.
Including 6’ high doors, 2 roof
vents, a full width rear shelf and
downpipes.
Easy access - opening 4’ wide.
If you need a more compact
greenhouse then our Sprite 6’ wide
range is built to the same high
standards
19, Eastern Green Road
Coventry. CV5 7LG
Tel: 024 7647 1228
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THE UK’S LEADING MANUFACTURER OF
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Est 1982
FREE explanatory catalogue for professional
and amateur growers alike.
Includes: Automated Watering Systems Hydrofoggers Shading
Propagation Ventilation etc
CALL NOW! 01796
482 128 (24 HOURS)
OR FAX 01796 482111
PLEASE QUOTE 101SC WHEN PHONING
OR SHOP ONLINE @
www.simplycontrol.co.uk
5, Sawmill Yard, Blair Atholl, PH18 5TL
164 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Advertisements
Laurence Hobbs Orchids Ltd
Bailiffs Cottage Nursery, Hophurst Lane,
Crawley Down, W.Sussex RH10 4LN
Tel: 01342 715142 or Mobile 07961 350053
Near M25/M23/Gatwick Airport
• For quality Cattleyas, Paphiopedilums, Phalaenopsis, Dendrobiums, Cymbidiums
• Also a range of nursery raised and imported species and hybrids
• Many Cattleya hybrids, seedlings and merclones from Carter & Holmes Inc. (USA) for
whom we are the sole UK Agents
Extensive choice, no order too small
Please send sae and £1 (redeemable) for black/white stock lists and
Carter & Holmes colour brochures
Plants supplied by Mail Order. Visitors welcome
Society/Group visits catered for, please ring in advance to arrange
Opening Times: Saturday & Sunday: 10am – 1pm and 2pm – 5pm
Please phone first to avoid disappointment
Monday to Thursday: open by appointment only
Closed Fridays and Bank Holidays
Open weekend 21st & 22nd May and 2nd & 3rd July
Complimentary refreshments, 10% Discount
JUST IN GLASS
Ray Creek (Orchids)
Your favourite orchid
captured in glass.
7 Jacklin Lane : Luddington :
Scunthorpe : DN17 4RB
Decanters, Mirrors, Plates, Society Trophies,Vases,
Wine Glasses (anything in glass!).
A wide range of coloured glass and designs are
available. The ideal gift for any occasion
from a simple thank you to a glorious Wedding or
Anniversary. Other images may be requested
or supplied (non-orchid).
For further information on the range of
designs available, please contact:Andy Phillips, Just In Glass
Unit G2, Bunkers Hill Farm,
Rotherwick, Hants RG27 9DA
Tel: 01256 474911 and Mobile 07910 245690
E-mail: [email protected]
Commissions welcomed for individual
beaten polished-copper Orchids
Exciting list of species
& hybrids available.
2 X 1st class stamps appreciated.
Gift orchids from£20,
incl. p & p
Quality washed and heat-treated
coconut husk chips & top
specifications orchid feed in
stock. Try them, they work !!
Telephone: 01724 798445
www.raycreekorchids.com
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 165
Services to members
The Journal
Cultural Advice
Published quarterly
Available at all meetings, or by post from Val
Micklewright, 103 North Road, Three Bridges,
Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1SQ (please enclose an
SAE for reply) or email: [email protected]
Meetings
Held most months at Napier Hall, 1 Hide Place, off
Vincent Street (east of Vincent Square), Westminster,
SW1P 4NJ. Doors open at 13.30, and unless otherwise stated ‘Introduction to Orchids’ and cultural
queries at 13.45−14.15 with guest speaker at 14.30.
Competitive show tables at all meetings. Plants for
judging must be in place by 14.00. Non-competitive
plants are always welcome. Parking is free on single
yellow lines and in Pay & Display parking bays (which
are not currently enforced on Saturdays) but DO NOT
PARK on ‘Residents Only’ spaces. Meetings at which
members may bring plants to sell (with 10% to the
Society please) are marked with an asterisk (*).
13.45 Introductory session: Cattleyas
and cultural queries
14.30 Speaker: Kenneth Bruyninckx –
Chinese cymbidiums
4 Jun* 14.30 AGM followed by a cultural forum
2 Jul
13.45 Introductory session: Vandas and
cultural queries
14.30 Speaker: Dr Patricia Harding –
Huntleyas and related orchids
6 Aug
10.00 Introductory seminar and lunch
for new members
14.30 Speaker: Tom Hart-Dyke – Orchid
hunting in Colombia
3 Sept 13.45 Introductory session:
Paphiopedilums
14.30 Speaker: Chris Purver – title TBC
1 Oct
The website has been designed by Ian Parsons. The
Society’s internet web controller, Val Micklewright,
will be pleased to receive material for the website,
[email protected]
Library
Books are available by post from the Librarian
(address inside front cover of Journal) or can be
collected at the monthly meetings. They may be
borrowed for up to four weeks. The borrower is
asked to pay the outward and return postage. A full
list of books may be obtained from the Librarian or
found on our website.
Travel Club
2011
7 May
Website www.orchid-society-gb.org.uk
13.45 Introductory session:
Dendrobiums
14.30 Speaker: Malcolm Moodie –
Orchid nutrition: Considerations
for success
166 • OSGBJ 2011, 60(2)
Numerous trips are being organised for members to
see orchids in their native environment and to visit
foreign nurseries. Contact Val Micklewright,
[email protected] or see website for details.
Displays
Members are invited to bring their plants to
contribute to official displays by the Society at those
shows shown in bold in the Show Diary, but please
liaise beforehand with Displays Manager Val Pugh,
[email protected]
All articles and photographs in the Journal are the copyright
of the OSGB and the authors, and may not be reproduced in
any form without permission.
Opinions expressed in the Journal are those of the authors and
they, together with services and products offered by advertisers,
are not necessarily endorsed by the Society.
The Journal is produced quarterly and is available to members by
subscription only. The annual subscription is £16.00 with £4.00
extra for each additional family member at the same address.
There is an overseas members’ postage supplement of £4.00 for
Europe and £5.00 for rest of world. Junior (under 21)
membership UK only is £12.00.
All subscriptions are due on 1 January unless new members have
a special arrangement to cover two years.
Membership application forms may be obtained from the
Membership Secretary.
OSGB Show Diary
including Affiliated Societies and International Shows
2011
May
15
Cambridge OS Orchid Show, Great Shelford
Memorial Hall, Woollards Lane, Great
Shelford, Cambridgeshire, CB22 5JZ.
10.30–16.30
Contact: Peter Johnson 01279 812704 or
[email protected]
23 - 28 Chelsea Flower Show
June
17 - 19 Peterborough International Orchid
Show, East of England Show Ground,
Peterborough www.peterboroughinter
nationalorchidshow.org.uk
2012
February
18
North Bucks OS Spring Show, Flitwick Village
Hall, Flitwick, Bedfordshire, MK45 1HP.
11.00 –16.00
Contact: Kate Bellingham 01234 824882
April
12–15
15th European Orchid Congress, Budapest,
Hungary
September
11-16
19th AOC Conference & Show, Perth,
Western Australia. ‘Wild About Orchids’.
www.waorchids.iinet.net.au/19th_AOC_Co
nference.htm
September
3–4
Orchid Study Group–Wales, 4th Orchid
Festival, National Botanic Garden of Wales,
Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire, SA32 8HG.
Contact: Lynne Harrendence 01558 668492,
[email protected] or
www.orchidstudygroup.org
24
Bournemouth OS Autumn Show, The
Barrington Centre, Penny’s Walk Precinct,
Ferndown, Dorset, BH22 9TH. 12.00–16.30
Contact: Ken Griffiths 01425 672492,
[email protected] or
www.erythos.com/BOS/
October
15 - 16 Devon OS Orchid Weekend dedicated to
the memory of Brian Rittershausen,
Langstone Cliff Hotel, Mount Pleasant
Road, Dawlish Warren, Devon, EX7 0NA
Contact: Sue Lane 01884 32430
16
OS of East Anglia Autumn Show, Eaton
Parish Hall, Colman Road, Norwich,
NR4 7HA. 10.00−16.30
Contact: Colin Thorburn 01842 810520 or
[email protected]
30
South East OS Show, The Ashford Rail Staff
Hall, Beaver Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 7RR.
14.00–17.00
Contact: Janet Hooker 01303 256637,
[email protected] or visit
www.seos.care4free.com
November
13 - 20 20th World Orchid Conference,
Singapore. www.20woc.com.sg
Singapore Botanic Gardens Orchid Festival 2010
Further Diary Dates can be found via the OSGB
website and the British Orchid Council website
www.british-orchid-council.info/
OSGBJ 2011, 60(2) • 167

The Orchid Society of Great Britain

Transcription

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