August Newsletter
The next regular society monthly meeting will be Thursday August
3rd , 2000, at the Valley Garden Center, 1809 N. 15th Avenue, Phoenix,
Arizona. Phone: (602) 252-2120. The meeting, open to all plant
enthusiasts, will start at 7:00 PM.
August Program
Orchids in Baskets!
There will be a demonstration of the “how-tos” of planting and maintaining
orchids in hanging baskets. We may possibly even have a demostration
on how to make baskets.
Also anybody who is growing orchids in unusual containers, Please
bring them in so we could see them.
The rules are:
1)the container can’t be a conventional plastic or clay pot
2)the container can’t be a prefabricated wire basket
3)the container can’t be a teak or cedar prefabricated wood basket.
.
From the President’s Desk
by Lou Ann Remeikis
I want to send a big thank you to Bob MacLeod for bringing in the video
of his growing area! It was very interesting to see how he manages
to successfully grow orchids outdoors without a traditional greenhouse.
Bob, your narrative of the video explained your set-up very well, and we
know it works because the membership has seen the blooming plants you have
brought into the Show & Tell segment of our meetings. I also
know of a few people who have bought extra raffle tickets trying to get
the opportunity to win plants you have put on the raffle table (right Peggy?)
Thank you for sharing it with us!
As I advised at the meeting, the video which was shown at the July meeting,
“An Introduction to Orchids” is available to our members by checking it
out through the library. If you would like to borrow the tape, please
call me (602-803-6889 or 480-892-0263) and I will bring it to the next
meeting for you. Due to the fact the Valley Garden Center does
not maintain a constant temperature when the facility is not in use, I
hesitate to leave the tape in the heat of the library.
I really wish more members could have made the trip to Santa Barbara!
I feel awful that Shirley couldn’t make the trip at the last minute, due
to her doctor’s advice. I’m sure next year she’ll make up for it!
I believe everyone who participated in this year’s field trip had a sensational
time. There were more vendors at this event than ever before, and
we had the opportunity to attend the Cal Orchid Festival across the street
from the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. Cal Orchid had a few extra
vendors there, too. They even had a cute little band that was playing
when I was there!
It is quite fun to walk up to some of the vendors and have them know
us. Several of the vendors have been speakers at our
meetings, or recognize our individual names from placing orders with them
over the years, and we were greeted with special smiles and deals.
We found out that this is probably the last time we’ll be able to visit
Stewart’s Orchids as they are moving their whole operation to Nache, Mississippi!
That’s too far for us to go for a field trip, but they treated our group
to some munchies and great deals while we were there. Did everyone
notice the “miles” of blooming vanilla climbing up the walls and across
the ceiling beams? It was pretty amazing! If you have a chance,
ask David Wehrli about the fabulous paphs that were waiting for him when
he got there!
I must commend the members who went on the trip. You made it all
worth while for me. This was the first time I did any more than just
go and spend my money. Willie and I put the whole thing together,
after the Board and members voted on going to San Diego. I really
appreciate everyone being on time for everything! It is amazing
that all of us were at the airport with plenty of time to spare, and the
schedule was adhered to all day by all participants - thank you!
For those members who participated in the field trip, I would like
to solicit from you any suggestions and/or criticisms of this year’s trip.
With each field trip the Board has learned what we should do, or what we
shouldn’t do on future trips. I would like feedback on what you thought
about the trip and how we could make it even better!
I hope everyone has had an opportunity to read the hand-out that was
available at July’s meeting on the proposed changes to the CITES regulations.
Please, if you feel strongly enough about the proposed changes, please
send your comments by e-mail (r9oma_cites@fws.gov) or by fax to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Arlington, VA. The deadline for
comments to be received is August 7, 2000!
Please remember to clean out those closets and donate anything you can
to the Northern Arizona Veteran’s Administration Health Care residents.
OSA’s Board of Directors will be taking all donated items to the residents
on August 27th where we will be assisting in the greenhouse, touring the
greenhouse, and conducting a short business meeting before returning to
Phoenix. They are in need of so many things, and every item taken
to them is so very appreciated! Many of these individuals do
not have family and live only by what the government provides them or through
donations - and they deserve so much more for what they have done for our
country!
I’ll get off my soapbox for now. I hope to see you all at the
August meeting and until then I wish you…
Happy Growing!
Lou Ann
Selby Vignettes
An orchid for Mid summer
John T. Atwood, Director
Orchid Identification Center
Mid summer rings in the flowering doldrums for orchid collections
along the Heat Belt. At Selby, stanhopeas and gongoras help fill summer's
void, but we constantly seek to broaden diversity of our late summer flowering
cattleyas. Part of the answer may have been accidentally developed right
here.
We have frequently promoted our Cattleya *hardyana, a 1984 remake
of the natural hybrid once encountered in Colombia among C. dowiana var.
Aurea and C. warscewiczii. The Victorians loved it, but it was lost to
horticulture for decades. We enjoyed a spectacular flowering of at least
15 clones this year, but none as promising as a late flowering clone with
garnet red lip and large well defined yellow eyes. The growths are larger
than those of other clones producing up to five flowers each while the
others produced two to very rarely four flowers. But more importantly,
this clone flowers later in the summer with several sheaths showing buds
promising an August display. I estimate this plant will be in flower again
about the second week of August and when it should again be on display.
If you wish to see it, come to the Tropical Display House about 12 August,
or look for an image of it on Selby's Webb site at www.selby.org
<http://www.selby.org>.
OSA COMMUNITY SERVICE REPORT
by Wilella Stimmell, CSP Coordinator
On Monday, June 19, SANDY ALLEN, LOU REMEIKIS, KELLY THOMAS, and I
met at 9:30 AM at the Encanto Park Clubhouse, 2121 N. 15th Ave., Phoenix,
and presented our "Orchid 101" program for the children who are enrolled
in Camp Sunrise, a summer camp for children ages 3-7 who have cancer. The
camp is co-sponsored by the City of Phoenix and the American Cancer
Society.
The children were curious as they watched our program team members spread
newspapers on the long tables in front of them, fill basins with water,
place large piles of fir bark on each table, and begin cutting large pieces
of plastic from the empty water jugs that OSA member, ANNETTE HURST, had
delivered to the Clubhouse. Thanks Annette!
During our brief discussion that always precedes the hands-on portion
of our programs, the children admired our blooming plants. Matthew, age
7, could correctly answer all the questions we asked. According to Camp
Director, Judy Poel, Matthew is a frequent viewer of nature and science
programs on the Discovery Channel. Following the program, the
children sent us notes of thanks which we will put on display at our November
orchid show.
Thanks also to NELDA CALDWELL for donating a scoop with serrated edges
for use in our programs. By using the scoop to remove lava rocks from buckets,
we no longer suffer "rock scrapes" on our hands.
SPECIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
by Wilella Stimmell
Rarely do we have the privilege of participating in a 96th birthday
celebration, but on July 9th, 4 OSA members were honored to help OSA life
member, Deacon Bell, celebrate his 96th birthday. Keith Mead came
to Santa Fe from Albuquerque, and Norma Kafer and Jim Gordon came from
Taos to join in the festivities.
Several days before I arrived in Santa Fe, I had ordered a birthday
cake from a Santa Fe bakery. Although Deacon suffers from macular degeneration,
he sees more than many people with normal vision, see! Using one of his
favorite foods which requires refrigeration, as a diversion, I was able
to get the cake safely hidden without his knowledge that a cake was in
his house.
We took Deacon to lunch at Bishop's Lodge, a historic inn about 3 miles
outside of Santa Fe. The other diners on the patio applauded after our
waiter announced to everyone that Deacon was celebrating his 96th birthday.
After lunch, our "party of 5" returned to Deacon's home where we presented
him with his cake. He was truly surprised, which was fun for the rest of
us.
For benefit of our newer members who have no knowledge of the
"Dean" of our society, you might be interested to know that Deacon donated
all of his orchids to us last year. During the past 60 years, he had grown
orchids in Dallas, New Orleans, Phoenix, and Santa Fe. (He was first introduced
to orchids when he was stationed in Hawaii in 1941, immediately after the
bombing of Pearl Harbor.) In July, 1999, Deacon declared that
he no longer wanted the responsibility of caring for orchids. His decision
was most likely predicated on the fact that a very serious blood infection
had left him in a weakened condition, more than on a loss of enthusiasm
for orchids. But a year later, he is much stronger and definitely "on the
mend". The good news is that as his health returned, his interest in orchids
also returned! He intends to grow a few orchids in "bell jars", and the
plastic domes he will use for a growing environment have already been ordered
from a catalog company. Deacon is proof positive that orchid "addiction"
is a lifelong joy that is sorely missed if a grower attempts to "exorcise"
orchids from his life!
For those who knew that Deacon had been growing his orchids in an indoor
greenhouse of his own design and manufacture, you might be interested to
know that he placed the framework in his small garden, and it is being
used to support bean vines. (Deacon practiced recycling LONG before
recycling became fashionable.)
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