Page 1 SCOS March 2015 Newsletter

SONOMA COUNTY

ORCHID SOCIETY

March 2015

A California Non-Profit 501 (c) (3) Corporation

IN THIS ISSUE

1: Chris Mende and

Speaker Dinner;

2: Presidents Corner

3: Membership

Column, Classifieds and

Special Announcement

4: Refreshment List;

Thank You and Show

Update

5: AOS Corner

6: Orchids that Flower

in March

7 – 8: Pictures of

Show-And-Tell Plants;

Events Calendar

8 – 9: Events Calendar

Continued

Please feel free to post

comments and share pictures

of your blooming orchids on

Facebook or share orchid

articles. It's an opportunity

to show off your orchids

and/or orchid growing

conditions. Press the Control

button on your keyboard and

click on the above Facebook

link.

Our March meeting is on March 10, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. at the Veteran's Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Avenue, SR

GUESTS WELCOME Our March speaker is Chris Mende. "What is it with Paphs?" Chris will present a hands-on demo on how to deal with Paphiopedilum idiosyncrasies and problems. Members should bring in their sick or struggling plants. Chris will discuss them, possibly do some surgery, prune some roots, and repot in fresh medium. Fun, informative and casual. No Power Point! Just Dirty Fingers!

Retired San Francisco Psychiatric Nurse, Chris Mende, began growing plants in a tiny Victory Garden in Pasadena. Red and white radishes, and carrots! It was a far cry from the 1700 sq.ft.

intermediate/warm greenhouse she now maintains in Daly City. Retirement is a good thing! Now the owner of The Tiny Jungle, she grows everything that will succeed in her greenhouse, from Pleurothallids to Paphs. The Paphs initially reigned. Now they are gradually finding themselves smiling across the aisles at various terrestrials, tropical foliage plants of several kinds, Coelogynes, Dendrobiums, Masdevallias, Phrags…. A second greenhouse is planned soon: larger and cooler! Ah, diversity! Chris’s collection is eclectic and somewhat eccentric. The Paphs are mostly species, particularly hard to find ones. The plants are carefully chosen to

provide interest, charm, fragrance, and fascination. Lately, the ongoing drought has prompted a serious review of water-sparing, storage and re-use techniques. There is much afoot at The Tiny Jungle!

PLEASE JOIN US FOR DINNER WITH THE SPEAKER AT Simply Vietnam, 966 N Dutton Ave., Santa Rosa at 5:00 p.m. RSVP to Angelique Fry at 291-6029 or bfry@pon.net. Conrol + Click to follow the link for a Google map. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Simply+Vietnam/@38.4425142,-

122.7302224,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x808438054ed55461:0xdaf37c623df4a6aa?hl=en

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President’s Corner

Dear Orchid Friends,

Spring is in the air! The first day of spring is quickly approaching on March 20th.

It’s also nearly Spring Show time! We only have about a month to finalize our

preparations for "A Symphony of Orchids" Show and Sale on March 28th and 29th!

The time will fly by quickly. We need a lot of volunteers. Our Show Chair, Lynne

Murrell, is heading a superb cast of Show Leaders to make our Annual Show a great

success! But, we need everyone to get involved. There are many fun and interesting

jobs, so, if you haven't yet signed up to volunteer, please do so at the March meeting

(for as many shifts as you are willing to do) or call our Volunteer Coordinator, Gerry Smith at 707-795-0235 or

email her at jagmsmith@gmail.com. I truly appreciate everyone's help with the myriad of details and

volunteering that goes into presenting a spectacular orchid show. Remember, if you have a friend that would like

to work a shift or two, their entrance fee is waived and they are welcome to participate in the Saturday evening

Pasta Party.

If your orchids are getting close to blooming, remember to groom and properly stake them so their flowers can

be presented in their best light. We want to have as many blooming orchids as possible for our grand display! So

please bring them to the Veterans Building on Friday, March 27th, our set up day! Our combined efforts will

make your Sonoma County Orchid Society the best it can be. It is due to YOUR efforts that our Society is a

successful and fun organization! Volunteer, volunteer and volunteer, again!

At our March meeting, get ready to be entertained by Chris Mende, owner of The Tiny Jungle. Chris will be our

guest speaker. She is an expert on slipper orchids as well as many other genera.

See you at the March 10th meeting!

Susan

Bee Orchids (Ophrys) Bee orchids are fascinating and beautiful plants that certainly live up to their name: each flower looks

like it has a female bee or wasp resting on it. These modified petals also smell like female bees, emiting

enticing chemical signals. These remarkable adaptions are in fact an effective deception to lure a

real bee to come and mate. In most bee orchid species the excited male insect becomes covered in pollen, in turn pollinating the

next orchid he visits; a few species, however, are still self-pollinating. These Mediterranean masters of mimicry grow either singly or in small

groups in meadows, woodland edges or even by the side of the road.

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MEMBERSHIP

COLUMN

We presently have 95 paid members. Thank you to all

who have brought their memberships current.

We want to welcome CANDY PETERS, who

joined at our February meeting.

It was super that we had 50 people at our February

meeting! Thank you to everyone who came.

Don't forget to wear your name badge and sign in!

Wear your name badge or make a paper name-tag at the

membership table when you enter the meeting room.

Then, sign the list at the Membership Table. At each

meeting, one name will be drawn and that person will

receive a free strip of raffle tickets.

Those who would like to order a name badge should

email Jeanne at jeannevanb@gmail.com

CLASSIFIEDS

Don't forget you can get orchid supplies from Kris and

Jim Foster: foster@sonic.net or 707-762-7124

Small and medium Rexius bark, Perlite, Sphagnum

Moss, Orchid labels, Stakes, Charcoal

ORCHIATA BARK ($17 includes tax) AND

NUTRICOTE ($3 for 1# bag) FOR SALE BY YOUR

SOCIETY!

Orchiata:

Classic #9 1//4" – 3/8" chips

Power #5 3/8" – 1/2" chips

Power #5a 1/2" – 3/4" chips

Super #7 3/4" – 1" chips

Email Angelique bfry@pon.net to Order and

arrange for pick-up

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING FOR SALE

ADVERTISE HERE – FOR FREE!!

Special Announcement

Marni Turkel is an internationally recognized orchid expert on cool-growing,

miniature orchids and a member of our Society. Marni has been a contributor

to the AOS "Orchids" magazine and her articles have been translated into

Dutch, German, Portuguese and Swedish. Photographs of her plants have been

featured in articles and noted orchid publications, including, "Orchids"

magazine, "Orchids Digest", "Richardiana", "The Orchid Review" and the

"Australian Orchid Review". Marni also shares her knowledge on

OrchidsForum.com.

Marni will be a guest on the Garden Talk show on KSRO (1350 AM) on March 14, from 10am – 11am.

Marni will talk about orchids, promote our Show and answer call-in questions. The call in number is

636-1350. Call in and ask Marni a question.

This is a great opportunity to get the word out about our Show. Thank you Ann Possinger for making the

arrangements with KSRO; and thank you Marni for being our expert.

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PLEASE CHECK THE SCHEDULE BELOW TO

SEE IF YOU ARE SCHEDULED TO BRING A

FINGER FOOD TO THE MARCH MEETING.

(Anyone can bring a refreshment at any time.)

REMEMBER, if you bring a refreshment, you

receive a raffle ticket to be placed in a special

drawing for only those bringing refreshments that

evening. Winner gets first choice from the

opportunity table.

Refreshments

Please bring a refreshment if the first letter of your last name

corresponds with the monthly meeting.

T – Z January, 2015

A – B February

C – De March Di – Fo April

Fr – H May

J – Le June Ice Cream Social July

Li – M August

Bar-B-Q & Auction September

No Meeting in September

N – R October

S November

Holiday Dinner December

No Meeting in December

THANK YOU!

Thank you

Thank you to Judy Carney for the wonderful Skill Session at our February meeting! She demonstrated and talked

on ‘How to get your orchids ready for the show’. She had so many good ideas to help us prepare! Thank you for your contribution Judy! Thank you to Lynne Murrell for picking up 30 cymbidiums and a bunch of dendrobium kingianiums from Neal Tadlock for repotting. Then Lynne, along with Judy Carney and Susan Anderson helped divide, clean up and repot them for our upcoming Show. It was a day of hard work but we had a lot of fun, too!

Change of address, email or to

unsubscribe to newsletter? To send an address or email change, or to

unsubscribe from our newsletter, go to our Society

website at www.sonomaorchids.com and use the

"contacts" link to send an email to the membership

chair.

THE SHOW DATE IS GETTING CLOSE

All show chairs are hard at work doing their part to be ready.

What we most need from members is:

Advertising. Pass out flyers and post cards. Grocery store floral centers are a great

place to leave postcards. I haven't yet had anyone say "no". Canvas the areas you

frequent and pass out postcards. I always carry a handful with me in my purse.

Think about things that you would be willing to bid on at a silent auction and then ask

merchants to donate.

Remember, all donations are tax deductible and the Society will provide tax donation forms.

Any questions, call or email Lynne or any board member.

Thank you for your help.

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AOS CORNER

Where is the American Orchid Society anyway?

I mean, physically.

So I had a thought. If the American Orchid Society represents the entire U.S.

and in addition, has members from other countries, where is it? Physically, I

mean. Pretty much everywhere I send a credit card payment is to some

nebulous nowhere in Oklahoma City or Peyton, VI. It wouldn’t surprise me to

find a warehouse was rented somewhere where no one goes, and was

proclaimed "The American Orchid Society."

Well, you might have already surmised that, in researching this, I found out the

location of 'nebulous nowhere' is the incorrect answer. In fact, I just returned

from a wonderful week visiting the Florida Everglades, where I photographed

some nice examples of orchids living in a tree (below). It turns out, I WAS

RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the American Orchid Society headquarters for three

days and didn’t know it. Rats!

The Society was 'born' in 1921, but in 2012 partnered with the Fairchild Tropical

Botanic Gardens. It moved its offices to the Fairchild Campus in Coral Gables,

FL, in metropolitan Miami.

More than a century ago, South Florida was a natural orchid paradise. Masses of

orchids blanketed every branch of every oak and mahogany tree. Settlers

marveled at the intense beauty and fragrances during Miami’s springtime orchid

flowering season.

In the late 1800s, as the Florida East Coast Railroad extended southward, orchids were among the first natural

resources to be exploited. Millions of flowering orchids were ripped from the trees and packed into railroad cars,

to be sold in northern flower shops. Orchid populations dwindled to catastrophically low levels and orchid

habitat disappeared. Today, native Florida orchids exist in such small numbers that they have no hope of

recovering on their own, despite the fact that oak and mahogany trees have been making a comeback throughout

South Florida. Two orchid species still occur naturally at Fairchild Gardens. These are the Florida butterfly

orchid (Encyclia tampensis), lower left, and the cowhorn orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum) lower right. Both

flower regularly in the garden, though have little chance of propagating on their own.

In a program called the Million Orchid Project, Fairchild is proposing to propagate millions of native orchids in

test tubes for reintroduction into South Florida’s urban landscapes. The new Micropropagation Laboratory at

Fairchild will generate a limitless supply of young native orchid plants. Local school landscapes and urban tree

plantings will be the primary recipients of Fairchild’s reintroduction initiatives. Their goal is to have the first

generation of reestablished orchids blooming throughout South Florida within five years. And this is all because

the American Orchid Society decided to partner with Fairchild. Go visit!

Finally, don't forget to check out the AOS awards for

February, by going to http://www.csnjc.org/. There were 7

orchids awarded!

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Some Orchids that Flower in March

March is at the peak of blooming season for many orchids. Phalaenopsis are flowering abundantly in homes and at

Home Centers across the land. It's a great time to bring your favorite orchids inside where you can enjoy their blooms. We present a dozen suggestions. Most are of easy culture and bloom in March, although depending on weather conditions in any given year, blooming season can be earlier or later for any species or hybrid. .

Click on the photo for more

Reprinted from AOS website with permission

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WHAT LOVELY SHOW-AND-TELL PLANTS WE HAD AT OUR FEBRUARY MEETING!

Thank you to all who brought plants and thank you Ann Possinger for the photos

Den. Nagasaki H&R – Kris Foster

Paph. Petula's Glory - Dale Martin

Cymb. Sunset Wine Latour - Gordon Knight

Slc Wasp Nest x Potinara Love Passion

'Dogasima' - Sandra Merlot

Den. Yellow Chinsai – Kathie Hile

Blc in memory of Victoria Kain 'Fascination' -

Gerry Smith

Rhyncostylis gigantea - Gerry Smith

Lc. Melody Magic – Susan Anderson

Cymbidium Double Eagle 'Isabelle'-

Earl Rathbun

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Angraecum sesquipedale - Gordon Knight

Cycnodes jumbo phoenix - Gordon Knight

Basket of Cymbidium Blossoms –

Cynthia Battershall

Neostylis Pinky 'Starry Night' –

Kathie Hile

Blc. Lius' Joyance 'Water No. 8' –

Gerry Smith

Paph. Banjarmasin 'Dry Creek'

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 3/6 – 3/8 Malihini Orchid Society Show & Sale. Friday 3/6, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Saturday 3/7, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Sunday 3/8, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Vallco Shopping Mall, Room 2049, 10123 N. Wolfe Road, Cupertino. Free Admission. http://www.malihini.org/ 3/7 Sacramento Valley Cymbidium Society Show & Sale, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Shepart Garden & Art Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd. Free Admission. http://www.sacramentocymbidiums.org/

3/7 – 3/8 Golden Gate Cymbidium Society Show & Sale, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Lakeside Park Garden Center, 66 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland. Free Admission. 3/8 FINAL SHOW MEETING at the home of Billie MacCarthy, 4704 Hillsboro Court, Santa Rosa. Anyone who wants to participate is welcome to attend. Everyone should RSVP to Billie at 707-303-6867 or billiemacc1@gmail.com. 3/10 SCOS MEETING. Chris Mende of The Tiny Jungle will speak and do a hands-on demonstration on Paph idiosyncrasies and problems. Bring your problem Paph. for Chris to diagnose.

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3/14 – 3/15 Napa Valley Orchid Society Show & Sale. 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Napa Senior Activity Center, 1500 Jefferson Street, Napa. Free Admission. For more info: 707-252-4050 or www.nv-os.org, or email: info@nv-os.org 3/17 SCOS BOARD MEETING at 6:30 p.m. at the home of Karen Wofford, 2359 Maria Luz Court, Santa Rosa. All members welcome. IMPORTANT: RSVP to Karen at kwofford@sonic.net or call 707-975-4299. 3/21 California Orchids Spring Sale. 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 515 Aspen Road, Bolinas. 415-868-0203 http://www.californiaorchids.com/httpdocs/events.html 3/27, 28 & 29 SCOS SHOW & SALE: "A Symphony of Orchids". CLEAR YOUR CALENDARS! Show set-up on Friday 3/27 from 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Please volunteer to help if you're not working that day. Show on 3/28 from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and 3/29 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Volunteer sheets will be at the monthly meetings. Watch your newsletter for more details

April 4/14 SCOS MEETING. Dennis Olivas will present "Orchids 101". A great talk for those new to orchid growing! 4/18 Gold Coast Cymbidium Growers Orchid Show & Sale, 10:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m., Redwood City Community Activities Building, 1400 Roosevelt Avenue, Redwood City. www.GoldCoastCymbidiumGrowers.com 4/18 – 4/19 Sacramento Orchid Society "Orchid Mystique'. Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Scottish Rite Temple, 6151 H Street, Sacramento. $5 in advance; $7 at the door. 4/21 SCOS BOARD MEETING at 6:30 p.m. at the home of Ann Conger, 2002 Coffee Lane, Sebastopol. All members welcome. IMPORTANT: RSVP to Ann at aconger@cpsrealestate.com 4/29 – 5/3 THE SPRING 2015 AOS ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING IN PORTLAND. Don't miss this chance to hear world-class speakers and shop for orchids from around the world. Vendors include: Floralia Orchids (Brazil), Gold Country Orchids, Hatfield Orchids, Hillsview Gardens (Oregon), Ingram's Better orchid Books, New World Orchids (Indiana), Norman's Orchids, the Orchid Zone, Seattle Orchids, Yih Cheng Orchids (Taiwan), Aitkens Salmon Creek Garden (Washington), Aloha Orchids (Oregon), Terry Thompson Orchids (Oregon) and more to follow. Register Now at http://www.portlandorchidsociety.org/calendar/2015AOS.php

May 5/12 SCOS MEETING. May's speaker will be Janet Lamborn from Agdia,Inc./Adgia Testing Services. Janet's

presentation will be on orchid viruses and how to test for them. Members are encouraged to bring in plants with suspected symptoms to be tested. 5/30 SCOS BUS TRIP. "Gold and Wine Country Tour". We will be visiting Alan Koch's Gold Country Orchids in Lincoln. Jeff Tyler of Insitu Orchids and Dave Sorokowski of Paph Paradise will also be meeting with us at Alan's Nursery. We will then travel to Lodi for a tour of I-Hsin Nursery and perhaps we will also have an opportunity to visit one of Lodi's many fine wineries during our lunch stop. (Other orchid related stops are still being investigated). This will be a great trip – not to be missed.

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