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ORCHID SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES P.O. Box 211463

Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421 www.orchidsocietyofthepalmbeaches.org

Find us on Facebook June 2014

Hello Everyone, Jacob is on vacation. We will have to carry on without him at the next meeting. I am sure he would want to tell you to bring a plant for Show & Tell, and a friend to enjoy Dr. Brian Monk’s presentation. He will be visiting family in North Carolina and also plans a side-trip to Carter and Holmes Orchid’s in South Carolina. That sure sounds like a good time to me. He will be well rested and ready to get down to work, to make our 64th Anniversary Party a huge success in August. Have a good time Jacob.

Once again, Hyla Levine from The Green Barn Orchid Supply brought the store to us. I am always amazed at the amount of products she carries with her to society meetings. That is a lot of work! … and we all took advantage of it. Her program was very informative. She knows her products and what specific use

they are designed for. She passed around pictures of the various orchid pests and

diseases we should familiarize ourselves with. She recommends starting a regular

regime of spraying fungicide, starting on Memorial Day, around the start of the rainy

season because fungus is spread by splashing water. It is a good practice to alternate

between a topical and a systemic fungicide. Physan, Captan and Dithane M-45 are all topicals. A topical only affects

leaves and roots on the surface. A systemic gets into the plant tissue. Banrot, Thiomyl, (Cleary’s 3336) and Plant

Doctor are all systemics. The systemic needs to build up in the plant tissue, so several applications may be required

before the plant has built up a resistance. After the initial spraying, spray again in 2 weeks and then every 4 – 6 weeks

and this should stop or prevent any fungus problems you might encounter.

This is a tank mix recipe from Broward Orchid Supply. Mix Orthene -1 tsp. systemic pesticide, Thiomyl - 1½ tsp.

systemic fungicide, Dithane – 1½ Tbls. topical fungicide to 1 gallon of water. Use a pump sprayer and apply 2 times

7 – 10 days apart, then apply monthly. Please take the proper precautions and protect yourself when using any of

these chemicals.

Insects are another big problem growing orchids. Mealy bugs and scale are the biggest problems for Phalaenopsis

growers. Mealy bugs cause leaves to turn yellow and drop prematurely. They get in the axils of the leaf and really go

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about the business of setting up house -keeping and building their families. They get down in the mix on the root

systems and kill the roots in no time at all. Remember strong roots make healthy plants.

Scale also love Phalaenopsis and all other genera as well. The male scale looks like a cottony mass. The female has a

protective waxy cover that is somewhat hard. She lays her eggs under that cover. Safer’s Soap, applied at the rate

per the label or dishwashing detergent, 2 oz. to a gallon of water will help control scale in its creeper and immature

stage. Thoroughly saturate all surfaces of the plants in your collection. I keep a spray bottle of 1 part alcohol, 1 part

409 cleanser, mixed with 1 part water and a few drops of dish washing soap handy at all times. If I

spot any scale I zap it immediately. The female scale will die but you must remove them with a

toothbrush because those eggs under that shell will hatch out in a matter of days and re-infest

your plants. Orthene is another good scale killer if you have a serious infestation.

I recommend that you bring a notebook to the meetings. You think you’ll remember what the

speaker said but if you’re like me; in one ear and out the other. I can look back to the beginning

of my notebook, the TOS meeting, August 2010, there is so much information in that book. I

treasure it.

We welcome back after a few years absence, Larry and Marcia Alkema. We are so happy you

decided to return. Marcia Alkema

Our July 10th meeting will feature Dr. Brian Monk. He was supposed to be our speaker several

months ago but was ill and had to cancel. His program will be entitled What Do You Mean It

Won’t Grow? He always does a good job for us. I am looking forward to his presentation. Bring

a friend…..!

Shannon Skoulikas will keep the building open for us. Happy Birthday to Mary Jo Prosser,

Brenda Skaggs and Katie McGiveron. We look forward to the refreshments you will be providing

for us. We are a little light on July birthdays. If your birthday is in August or December, it would

be nice if you could bring something for the refreshment table.

A Message From Charline. The Saturday workshop in June was lots of fun because there were so many interesting

repotting situations. We all learned from each other’s plants. We have one more month to get our repotting done, so

if you have a hard, over grown plant, bring it in on July 12th. We meet 10:00 a.m. till noon in the Mounts Auditorium

(where we have our regular meetings). It is only $1.00 per meeting.

Our August 14th meeting will be our annual potluck dinner. It is always a lot of fun, so plan to attend. We will play

orchid bingo, and have a silent auction of plants and garden related items. Who knows what else Jacob and Charline

will come up with to entertain us? If you have not signed up yet please do so at the next meeting or call Gloria

Kennedy to make your reservation, 686-1491 or e-mail gta711@comcast.net. We will be celebrating our 64th

anniversary and you don’t want to miss it.

I had a call from Sandi Jones at Broward Orchid Supply. She will be presenting 3 weekly programs at Mounts, starting

on July 12th at 10 a.m. until 1:00, then again July 19th and July 26th. There is a charge to attend these meetings. I think

it is $30. for Mounts members and $35. for non-members. (I’ve misplaced my notes). But the real reason she called

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was to tell me to let you all know, if there are any supplies you need, just give her a call and she will be happy to bring

them along and you can pick them up at the end of her program at 1:00.

It’s mango season again, or the time of the year when I really hate squirrels. They have a

field day pulling my mangos off the trees, taking one bite and throwing it on the ground. I

picked up 15 on Sunday morning that they sampled. I went on a ramble with the

Bromeliad Society a couple weeks ago and this couple we visited had the red, drink cups

hanging like bells off of their fruit trees. I jokingly asked if they were leftover Christmas

decorations. What she said was that it was mothballs to keep the squirrels away. You use

a lady’s knee high, put 4 or 5 mothballs in the toe and knot them in there. Make a hole in

the bottom of the cup and pull the knee high through it. Hang them on the branches and

see what happens next. Today is Monday and I had 0 mangoes on the ground this

morning. I must go to the Dollar Store and get more knee highs to finish the job. If you

have squirrels stealing your fruit, you may want to try this, it’s cheaper than buying a gun

to shoot them.

Update on my greenhouse….

It is nearing completion after 2 ½

years. I have started moving in; ready

or not. The north end still has to be

closed off and a door put in and I

need some benches. The lumber is

waiting there and the concrete is in

the back of my truck. I can live with

this as long as it is finished before the

cold weather gets here. 2nd picture is

mid- way into the greenhouse.

Eleanor Bevins has volunteered to be our librarian. We have some very nice books in our library.

You really should look them over and take advantage of what we have there. I know, everything

you need to know is on the internet, but there is nothing like sitting down on a rainy day with a good

book to read. This is just one of them you will find in there. Everyone should have a copy of this one

on hand. Florida Orchid Growing Month by Month, written by Dr. Martin Motes. It is one of the

best books ever written for Florida orchidists. Dr. Motes, a Florida native, has been growing orchids

for over 50 years. He is the owner of Motes Orchids in Homestead, Fl. He specializes in growing and

hybridizing Vanda’s.

I hope to see you all at the July 10th meeting at 7:30, when Brian Monk tells us all about making

those stubborn orchids grow and bloom. Bring a Friend……!.

Have a Happy 4th of July. Enjoy the fireworks but be safe

Patt Lindsey

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