Page 1 of 8 November 2010 UPCOMING EVENTS NEXT MEETING: CHRISTMAS DINNER Date, time, and location to be announced Watch your email for further information Volume 2 Number1 Lc. Mary Ellen Carter 'Dixie Hummingbird' x C. forbesii Plachy welcomed everyone to the meeting, and recognized member Bob Lindquist, our program presenter for the evening. Reservations have already been made for our upcoming meetings. Charlie posted the dates for our first three meetings in 2011; the dates are January 13, February 10, and March 10. They are all the second Thursday of the month. Charlie also reminded everyone of the upcoming Christmas dinner to be held once again at the beautiful home of Jeff Ard. If you missed last year s party, be sure to try to make this one, not only to see his lovely Victorian-style home, but also to visit his immaculate greenhouse filled with an amazing array of vandas and other orchids. Miltonidium Bartley Schwartz Highland grown by Charlie Plachy and Jo Ann Cleveland. It was an evening of both indecision and stunning generosity when the Tallahassee Orchid Society held their November meeting. President Charlie The annual election of officers is traditionally held at the November meeting, and Charlie opened the floor for nominations. You could have heard a pin drop; no one volunteered to serve or offered to nominate anyone else. Those members present hoped that
Page 2 of 8 Charlie and his mother, Jo Ann Cleveland, would continue to serve. Both Charlie and Jo Ann made it clear that they will not, and cannot, serve another term. Charlie s position at the Florida Department of Revenue is becoming increasingly demanding, and Jo Ann is hoping to rejoin the workforce in the near future. Jo Ann has essentially shouldered the entire responsibility this year, from program planning, to key pick-up, to meeting place reservations, agenda creation, newsletter writing and layout, and everything else in between. Charlie and Jo Ann both explained that they are worn out, and ready for someone else to take the reins. Society cannot continue to function without officers, and if we do not want to see the Society disbanded, our members need to step up to the plate. Unknown dendrobium grown by Charlie Plachy and Jo Ann Cleveland. Cirrhopetalum Medusae grown by Pam Stevens. Following a lengthy discussion, it was decided to table the matter until the January meeting. There was a small turnout for this meeting; some members suggested that those who were absent feared being asked to serve in an office. With her usual grace, Pam Stevens volunteered to once again serve as treasurer and show chairman, and Jo Ann said that she would be willing to continue to produce the newsletter if the members so desire. Offices still vacant are president, vice-president, and publicity chairman, if the membership decides to create that office. The It was suggested that the Society may want to consider an executive committee of people who would take turns being responsible for the next meeting, including the program, the key pick-up, refreshments arrangements, etc. That way, no one would have to be responsible for everything all the time. Pam Stevens volunteered to chair the meeting for January. It has been reported several times that there are bylaws for our Society that dictate our structure. If that is true, no one has yet been able to produce a copy of them. Each and every member needs to give serious consideration to the future of our Society. Jo Ann Cleveland presented the November Quiz Corner. Although
Page 3 of 8 David Horton was present (and looking good!), alas, he didn t have the answer. Neither did anyone else, but everyone had great fun trying to guess how many new species of orchids are discovered every year. For that answer, and the new Quiz Corner for January, check it out later in this newsletter. If our Society was weak in the election of officers, we certainly made up for it with the bloom table this month. Our table not only groaned with magnificent orchids, we had to go to a second table! It was ladies night for blooms, and the lovely Carol Fisher presented the orchids, assisted by Jo Ann Cleveland. It is really wonderful to see a newcomer willing to jump in and learn the ropes. Not only that, she did a great job! Don t miss the "What s Blooming" at the end of the newsletter to see some really choice orchids. Following the bloom table, the membership adjourned for refreshments. Glenn and Martha Sponholtz had signed up to do the refreshments, but Martha is not feeling well, so Pam Stevens and Jo Ann Cleveland filled in. We hope you re feeling much better Martha, and we miss you! Those of you who really enjoyed Pam s cranberry bread (Yum!!!), can find the recipe on the back of the Ocean Spray cranberry bag. Prior to Bob Lindquist and his outstanding program, Charlie presented several very nice plants donated by our friends Ed and Lyn Bugbee from Featherstone Orchids. Bidding was spirited, to say the least, and everyone enjoyed the friendly competition. Several members wound up with really nice orchids to add to their collections, while benefitting the Society treasury. Cattleya Tropical Chip Fuji (David and John)
Page 4 of 8 Following the auction, the real highlight of the evening was the program presented by Bob Lindquist on cymbidium culture. Bob has been growing cymbidiums here for a number of years, and we were all eager to learn everything he could teach us about how to get them to flourish and bloom in our climate. Bob had two tables full of plants that he used to illustrate the points in his talk, including several varieties of standard cymbidiums and at least a couple of kinds of miniature ones. He taught us how to recognize and differentiate a bloom bud from a growth bud, how to chill cymbidiums to get them to bloom, and the best growing medium to use. Bob also passed around an excellent handout. The stunning generosity came when Bob said he was not taking any of the plants home. Every member present went home with at least one cymbidium, and most had several. Thank you, Bob; we expect to see lots of gorgeous cymbidiums on the bloom table in the near future! FROM THE OVAL GREENHOUSE As you can see from the report in this newsletter, our Society is at a crossroads. The members must now decide what they want the future of their Society to be. Not only is it unfair to expect one or two people to carry the entire load for any organization, it is also not good for the organization. Any organization is made more effective, more viable, and more interesting by the input of many people. It is always easy to stand on the sidelines and throw stones, but much more difficult to become involved, shoulder some responsibility, and make a genuine contribution. I urge each of you to take some time during this holiday period to consider what contribution you can make to the successful continuation of our Society, and how much time you are willing and able to dedicate. Each and every one of you has talents and abilities, and I urge you to share them. That said, I wish each of you peace and joy during this special time of year, warm orchid houses, and lots of spectacular blooms! Charlie Cattleytonia Rosy Jewel New River from the collection of David Horton and John McKinnon. THE TIP OF THE LIP We have just very recently finished winterizing our shade house so that the orchids will be snug and warm enough during the winter. I have spent considerable time in the last couple of weeks rearranging plants and trying to get my orchids settled for the winter. I
Page 5 of 8 was struck during this exercise by how difficult it is to know which plants need a "dry" winter. I researched the matter on the internet, and it was easy enough to identify the chysis, cycnoches, calanthe, catasetum, and eulophia as all wanting a drier winter. Oddly enough, the stanhopeas and gorgoras, although they are usually deciduous, do not require a dry winter. Unknown dendrobium grown by Becky Lyons. Q U I Z October Question- Approximately how many, if any, new species of orchids are discovered each year? The number varies from 200 to 300 per year. Experts believe that there may be 5,000 species of orchids still undiscovered. In 2002, the discovery of the bright purple Phragmepedium kovachi caused a huge stir among orchidologists, making the headlines of the New York Times. November Question- How old are orchids, and how do we know? C O R N E R As I think most of you know, the idea of a "dry" winter is really a misnomer. Those orchids that originate from areas where they experience a dry period during the winter do not actually have a dry winter per se. During this period, dense fogs roll in, and there are usually heavy dews in the early mornings. For this reason, I believe that those orchids that need a drier winter should be misted once a week to keep their pseudobulbs nice and plump. The one exception would be the dendrobium aggregatums, which should receive only the tiniest bit of misting during the winter. The problem lies with the other dendrobiums, because many of them now have been cross-bred to such an extent that it is impossible to know which needs a dry winter and which doesn t. I really wrestled with this question, because my collection includes many different dendrobiums, including species and highly hybridized nobiletype dendrobiums. I finally decided that the only practical thing was to lump them together. For that reason, I have gathered all the dry winter orchids together on one end of one of the benches. They will all be misted once a week, but I brought the aggregatums inside so that I wouldn t accidentally water them. I am totally open to suggestions if some of you experienced growers have a better method to determine who s wet and who s dry. Unless I get a better approach from someone, I ll let you know in the spring how it worked out.
Page 6 of 8 What s Blooming Slc. India Rose Sherwood Ki ilani grown by Jo Ann Cleveland and Charlie Plachy (right) Laelia anceps grown by Pam Stevens (above) Howeara Lava Burst Puanani grown by Judy Shapiro (above) Ascocenda Grazaffis Marlin Marie (left) grown by Jo Ann Cleveland and Charlie Plachy and Cattleya Tropical Chip Fuji closeup (right) from David Horton and John McKinnon
Page 7 of 8 Oncidium Rosy Sunset Rosebud grown by Jo Ann Cleveland and Charlie Plachy. Ascocenda Princess Mikaza var. alba grown by Judy Shapiro (above). Coelogyne trinervis grown by Renee Bynum (above). Bollopetalum Midnight Blue Cardinal s Roost (above) and Cirrhopetalum Rothschildiana (Division of Original Awarded Plant) (right) both grown by Jo Ann Cleveland and Charlie Plachy.
Page 8 of 8 These sponsors support our Society activities with their donations and assistance. When you are seeking orchids and/or supplies, please be sure to check with them first. They will appreciate your patronage!