OSET February 2010 Newsletter


2010 February Meeting Date is the 1st Sunday February 7 at 2 pm
Linda Lee Earle will speak about Orchid Pests

-from Ann Groce, President:

Welcome to a New Year for OSET. I hope that our activities in 2010 will provide each of us with some benefit: new or stronger friendships or maybe that one perfect tip that helps you build a better orchid collection.
Let’s all take a moment at our first meeting to thank the 2009 board members. They have devoted endless hours to maintain our club, provide education for our members and outreach to the community. They have made their way through an endless maze of notes, miles, money, food, countless phone call and emails, lifting and toting with grace and style. I am grateful to John Hyatt, Don Large, Susan Dettor, Trish Jenkins, Dee Wildenstein, Anita Bausman, Debbie Oliver and Jo Owen for their fine work and am glad a few of them agreed to stay at their post for another term.

For the February meeting, please make an effort to bring a Show and Tell plant. In February there will be no vendors at the meeting so I thought it would be a good time to have a member’s plant sale , so bring in your extra plants to sell!

Meeting Notes: 2009 Christmas Party

President John Hyatt called the meeting to order at 2:20 P.M.
He announced the slate of new officers. There was no nominations from the floor and the slate was approved.

He thanked all of the outgoing officers for their service.

The door prize was won by Harold Meade who donated it back to the club. It was auctioned off with some left over plants from H & R in Hawaii after the members drew for the free plant they get for renewing promptly.

There will be no meeting in January and it was decided to change the meeting date to the 2nd Sunday beginning in February 2010.

Julie Hyatt will be the new hospitality chairperson and will bring drinks, plates and snacks for February. We will have a sign up sheet for volunteers for the rest of the meetings.
The food and fellowship were great and we are ready to start a new year.

Dee Wildenstein
Secretary

Hosting Arrangements for the 2010 OSET Meetings
From Julie Hyatt, Hospitality Chairman


We're planning to do something a bit different in 2010 for snacks and drinks at our OSET meetings.

Here's the plan: John and Julie Hyatt will provide snacks and drinks for the February meeting.

At the February meeting, we will pass around a sign-up sheet whereby members can volunteer to bring either a salty snack or a sweet snack to one of the remaining meetings. We will be looking for volunteers for March, April, May, June, September, October, and November. (We do not meet in July. At the August plant auction, we will be asking everyone to bring a plate of finger-food, and the December meeting will not require volunteers.)

For each of these meetings, John and Julie will bring the drinks, cups, ice, paper plates, and napkins. OSET has plenty of these, so those bringing food need not worry about these items.

We will need a total of 14 volunteers for the 2010 meetings after February; we hope that members who do not participate this year will be able to do so in 2011. OSET will not be reimbursing those who bring snacks, so please don't go overboard with elaborate or expensive dishes!


An Invitation for Our Club

Dear OSET, We are looking forward to having you at the beautiful North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, NC for this year's big orchid show. The show dates are March 26-28. Below is the detailed schedule. Please RSVP no later than Feb 26.2010 WNCOS Orchid Show Details Show Location: North Carolina Arboretum 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way Asheville, North Carolina 28806 Show dates: Friday through Sunday, March 26, 27 and 28 Set-up date: Thursday, March 25, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Judging date: Friday, March 26, 9:00 am (area closed to the public) NC Arboretum Members Only Preview Reception and Vendor sales: March 26, 4:00 pm -7:00 pm Public Show and Vendor sales:Saturday, March 27, 9:00 am - 5:00 pmSunday, March 28, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Exhibit/Vendor Breakdown: Sunday, March 28, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm Additional Breakdown time: Monday, March 29, 10:00 am - noon We look forward to having you this year!!!!

Regards, Axel Graumann
2010 WNCOS Show Display Committee Chair

From Ann: We will need someone to set up and someone to break down our exhibit. I always find the Asheville show an interesting way to spend an afternoon. Whoever sets up gets a "first shot" at the vendors' tables, and whoever breaks down often is able to bargain with a vendor who "doesn't want to take it back home" In addition, they have a nice raffle table. Bob and Betsy Culler both won prizes year before last, one of which was a stay at a B&B in Asheville.

Visit the OSET BLOGSPOT http://oset2010.blogspot.com/ my goals for the site are to post pictures of our meetings and post the newsletter with the intent of drawing new members.
The slide show at the top right is a generic orchid slideshow I found at picasa. I intend to open an account for OSET so that we can post member’s orchid pictures.


Monthly Checklist for January and February from AOS

Cattleya

Watering and fertilizing will be at a minimum, as will potting. Be on the lookout for senescing sheaths on your winter-into-spring bloomers. Careful removal of the dying sheaths will still allow buds to develop without the danger of condensation-induced rot. Low light will lead to weak spikes, so, and as noted above, staking is critical. If you have a chance to get out to nurseries, there may still be a chance to acquire good plants in sheath for spring bloom. Getting them now not only ensures that you'll have them, but allows them to acclimate to your conditions and bloom at their best.

Cymbidium

We are well into the flowering season now. Outdoor growers should be cautious of freezing temperatures. Damage starts to occur below 30 F. Be diligent about tying the inflorescences for best arrangement of the flowers. Also watch closely for slugs and snails. If weather is quite wet, protect the plants from the rain and this will help to reduce the risk of botrytis spotting.


Lycaste

The most glorious of all orchids, Lycaste, will be moving toward their flowering season. Make sure the palm-like leaves do not interfere with the emerging inflorescences. Tying them loosely together often is helpful. Some growers cut the leaves off at the pseudobulb, but this removes part of the attractiveness of this elegant orchid. Resist picking up the plant to inspect those beautiful buds and then setting it down in all different directions as the flower buds will be forced to re-orient themselves to the light source each time and will not open as nicely as they should. Keep plants a little drier during the shorter days.

Odontoglossums

Odontoglossums and their intergeneric hybrids offer a great splash of color now. Though once thought of as being difficult to grow and requiring cool temperatures due to the emphasis on odontoglossum breeding, the new intergeneric hybrids made using Oncidium and Brassia, for example, are just the opposite. These plants are quite content in more intermediate conditions. New growths generally emerge in the spring, later forming beautiful plump pseudobulbs. Look for the flower spikes to emerge from the inner sheath of the pseudobulb. If your plant's pseudobulbs are shriveled, then the plants have been kept too dry or too wet. Inspect the roots to determine which condition prevailed. If the lead pseudobulb is large, plump and green (and back bulbs are shriveled) but no flower spike is evident, the plants may have been kept too dry.

Paphiopedilum

The standard Paphiopedilum insigne-derived hybrids, which are called "bull dogs" and "toads," are at their peak. Unlike most other orchids, they can even be potted while in bud. There really is no wrong time to pot a paphiopedilum, and no other orchid responds so favorably to fresh mix and a cleanup. Keep an eye on watering until roots begin to grow.

Phalaenopsis

Now is the peak of spike development, with the first plants in full flower. Staking and plant preparation is a must for those all-important spring shows. Correct staking now will give a better display and also make it much easier to transport to your society meetings and shows. Care with watering is vital to avoid mechanical damage to the flowers, as well as rot-related problems. Keep spent blooms cleaned up to avoid botrytis inoculation. Do not repot this month. Now you'll be seeing lots of phalaenopsis at orchid shows and sales.

Zygopetalum

For the most part, the flowering season will have ended for this group, providing the grower a chance to do some repotting. The plants will then have a chance to become well established before the hotter months of summer arrive. Most growers use bark mixes, but some exceptional results have been seen lately using rock-wool blends. You may want to try this mix, but do not change your whole collection over to this new media until you are sure it is right for you. First, experiment with a few plants to see how they respond.

The AOS thanks Ned Nash and James Rose for this essay.
Copyright 2008 American Orchid Society. All rights reserved

Submissions for the newsletter will be welcomed! Please email your news, reports or articles by the 26th of the month to ensure they are included in the new edtion. As the new newsletter editor, I want to extend a special thank you to Susan Dettor for all of her help in getting me started in the position. She did a wonderful job getting me set up to do the newsletter. Thank you Susan! -Tammy Fletcher

Directions to the Gray Community Center

Directions from I 26(I-181) - Take the Gray exit #13 and turn Right. Turn Left onto Old Gray Station Road from the traffic light in front of Dairy Queen. Take the 1st Left onto Gray Station Road. Take the 2nd Right onto Gray Ruritan Drive. The 2nd building on your Left is the Gray Community Center. This building is located next to the Gray Volunteer Fire Department.