THE NEMOS NEWS December 2014. Issue no. 261 The monthly newsletter of the North East Melbourne Orchid Society Inc. President: Michael Coker Secretary: Glenda Warren Editor: Brian Milligan (brimilli@bigpond.com) NEMOS meets on the third Monday of each month at the Marwal Centre, 9-11 Marwal Avenue, Balwyn North (Mel. 46B3). Culture Corner, the early session for new growers, commences at 7.15 pm (except Dec.). The main meeting begins at 8.00 pm. Visitors are welcome. THE CHRISTMAS MEETING The first Item of the Evening will be a Christmas Dinner, which is scheduled to commence at 6.30 pm. Please note that to participate, you must have booked for this dinner and paid the subsidised fee of $15.00 per head ($20 for guests). If you failed to pay our treasurer, John Skews, at the November meeting, it may not be too late - please call him immediately (9439 8890), so that he can notify the caterer. You may also invite family or friends to join you at our Christmas celebrations. If they accept, you will also need to advise John Skews immediately, and pay the $20 per head on their behalf. The meal will consist of a range of roast meats with baked potatoes (plus various salads) as the main course and a choice of desserts. Remember to bring your own drinks, glasses and nibbles, and also your own cutlery unless you’re happy to use the plastic cutlery that the caterer may supply. I will open the hall early for the caterer, and would like assistance from a few able-bodied members at 5.30 pm to help set up the dining tables, auction tables and show benches before other members begin to arrive. The meeting will commence at the usual time of 8.00 pm with the distribution of prizes. Those who finished in the first six places in the Open section, and those who finished first, second or third in the Intermediate and Novice sections in the annual show-bench competition will receive cash prizes. Cumulative points scores for the period of the competition (December 2013 to November 2014) are shown at the end of this Editor: Brian Milligan Page 1 bulletin. The names of the prize winners in each Section are underlined. The main item of the meeting will be an Orchid Auction, held to help defray the Society’s costs for the dinner. Members are asked to donate one or two good orchids for sale at this auction. Newer members should note that NEMOS doesn’t expect you to have plants to donate, but we do urge you to buy a few plants for your collection during the evening. During the auction the auctioneers will tell participants which plants grow under cool conditions and those plants which need heat, and also provide other pertinent information. Buyers need to bring cash, as our treasurer cannot accept credit cards. There will be a Special Christmas Raffle. Tickets will be $2 each, or three for $5. The first prize is a hamper packed with enough goodies to celebrate Christmas in style, while the second and third prizes are smaller baskets of Christmas treats. We thank Carmen Gobbi for assembling the contents of the hamper and baskets. Because of the early start, there will be NO Culture Corner session in December. Nor will there be a formal sales bench at this meeting. However, please Bring Your Show Orchids, as the 2015 Show-bench Competition starts in December (2014)! PRESIDENT’S REPORT – December 2014 As I mentioned at the November meeting, our order of Orchiata bark bags will be delivered to our Christmas meeting, not by Besgrow, but very kindly by the Simonetto family! Michael Simonetto is President of the Orchid Species Society of Victoria, his wife Allison is Treasurer of OSSV and their daughter Zoe is a fabulous helper at OSSV. Neither OSSV nor NEMOS ordered sufficient bags to fill a whole pallet – but together we have almost enough to fill a pallet. Not only are the Simonettos some of the finest growers of orchids in Victoria (there are few orchids that I can grow as well as them), but they are very generous in helping us out with transportation. Please make them feel welcome at the December meeting. Please also make sure you bring your payment for your preordered bark to the meeting. John Skews is not a big fan of IOUs! THE NEMOS NEWS: December 2014 The discussion we had at the November meeting on shade cloth types and colours was very interesting. As I always say – there is no universal formula for success in growing orchids, you should always listen to what other growers do, and what they recommend, and adapt that information to your circumstances. Don’t just adopt the latest trend or change your approach just because someone said it works for them. If you’re in doubt about what to do – ask one of our senior growers, as they will invariably be happy to help you out. It was great to see Lilanga Balachandra win Judges’ Vote at the November meeting. Not often does a Novice exhibitor take out the big prize – and it’s always a delight when that happens. The standard has now been set high, but their efforts should be an inspiration for all people in the Intermediate and Novice classes. The audience at a NEMOS meeting 21 years ago ORCHIDS in FLOWER at BM’s on 1 NOV. Shade-house Species. Dendrobium nobile, D. striolatum, Masdevallia coccinea, M. veitchiana, Sarcochilus hartmannii, Satyrium ligulatum. The return of the Neopabstopetalum seedlings in November was fascinating– there is clearly a wide range of conditions under which our plants are grown, and this provided an opportunity for Members to share their growing hints, or for some, suggestions on what not to do! I wonder how many of those green Maudiae-type paphiopedilum seedlings that I de-flasked about two years ago are still growing well? We should call these back sometime in early 2015 just to see! Finally – please think of what you might be able to donate for our Auction at the Christmas meeting. I know of a few donations already, and there will be some special plants on offer. Bye for now, see you in December. MJC THE GOOD OLD DAYS It’s now 21 years since NEMOS held its first meeting in the Marwal Centre (for the first nine months we met at Bulleen Heights School). We moved because we had attracted too many members to fit comfortably in the school hall! If you examine the photograph below, you will see that we almost filled the Marwal Centre at our Christmas 1993 meeting. It must have been an interesting meeting, because only one member of the audience seems to be asleep! The rest of the audience seems to be wide awake – no doubt enthralled by the presentation on disas by your modest editor! BM Editor: Brian Milligan Page 2 Sarcochilus hartmannii Shade-house Hybrids. Dendrobium Stephen, D. Yukidaruma, D. Snowflake, Lycaste Macama, Masdevallia Cuzco Gold, M. Pichincha, M. Sun Dancer, Sarcochilus Cherie, S. Fitzhart, S. George Colthup, S. Melba. Sarcochilus George Colthup THE NEMOS NEWS: December 2014 Glass-house Species. Barkeria spectabilis, Coelogyne lawrenceana, Cynorkis guttata, Leptotes bicolor, Oncidium laeve, Polystachya pubescens. Philippines, just to name a few countries where it is found). It is often found on limestone cliff faces at altitudes between 300 and 2500 m. There are two leaves per pseudo-bulb and it flowers in the autumn. The inflorescences bear many small green flowers that are arranged in such a way as to give rise to the common name, bottlebrush orchid. Although the flowers have a strong odour, it is not as repulsive as that of the Australian Liparis reflexa (which is sometimes referred to as “the cat’s pee” orchid)! Barkeria spectabilis Liparis viridiflora Odontoglossum crispum Leptotes bicolor Glass-house Hybrids. Monarch ‘Everglades’. Oncidium Jungle Liparis viridiflora THE BOTTLEBRUSH ORCHID There are about 250 species in the mainly Asian genus Liparis, most of which grow terrestrially in temperate or tropical regions. The name Liparis refers to the shiny leaves – each pseudobulb bears either one or two. Eight species are found in Australia, the most commonly grown being Liparis reflexa, L. swenssonii and L. nugentae. Although the genus Cestichis has been proposed for these and a few other Liparis species, the name has not been accepted by the authorities at Kew. Liparis viridiflora is not found in Australia but is widespread throughout south-east Asia (lower India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, China and the Editor: Brian Milligan Page 3 Sadly that most popular of all orchids among 19th-century British orchid growers, Odontoglossum crispum, has perished at the hands of a ruthless band of British taxonomists. Not content with changing the species epithet crispum, they have completely exterminated the much loved genus, Odontoglossum! Henceforth Odontoglossum crispum is deemed to be known as Oncidium alexandrae. The following article, entitled Odontoglossum crispum, is an updated version of one that I wrote for the Journal of the Orchid Species Society of Victoria (2001, Vol. 19, pp. 1-2) a few years before it ceased publication. BM Odontoglossum crispum (now known as Oncidium alexandrae - but not in this article!) by Brian Milligan This cool-growing central American orchid was the most popular of all orchids in England in the second half of the nineteenth century, partly because the climate was so well suited to its successful cultivation but also because plants of this species collected from the jungle were so variable that there was always the possibility of flowering a cultivar that one could sell for hundreds of pounds! THE NEMOS NEWS: December 2014 In his book Orchids for Everyone (1910), Charles Curtis wrote: “This fascinating Orchid has much to answer for. It has lured men to their death, it has tempted fanciers to pay enormous sums of money for a rare and distinctly marked variation from the general type, and it has induced many a lover of flowers to make his or her first attempt at Orchid culture. Not to admire Odontoglossums seems to be quite outside the bounds of possibility”. Odontoglossum crispum was first collected by Karl Hartweg, who travelled to Colombia in 1841 to collect orchids and other plants for the Horticultural Society of London (now the Royal Horticultural Society). His plants were collected near Pacho, some 50 Km north of Bogota, on the western branches and spurs of the eastern Cordillera of the Andes Mountains. Later the range of this orchid was found to extend south from Pacho for about 300 km, always at altitudes between 2250 and 2600 m. Odontoglossum crispum (unblotched, fair shape) Plants collected by Hartweg in 1841-1842 soon died because of the “incredible folly persisted in at that time of growing cool Orchids in hot stoves” (according to James Bateman) and it was another 20 years before new shipments were introduced to Britain. By coincidence three rival collectors were sent to Bogota at the same time, finding themselves travelling together on the same ship! By that time (1863) Paxton and other British gardeners had shown that orchids collected at high altitudes grew much better at moderate temperatures, especially if provided with good air movement, and Odontoglossum crispum soon became widely established in cultivation. By the end of the 19th century an entire glasshouse devoted to Odontoglossum crispum was by no means unusual for the big English estates, the cut Editor: Brian Milligan Page 4 flowers being used to decorate their dining tables and drawing rooms. Curtis’ book Orchids for Everyone (1910) contains an interesting account of the importation of odontoglossums into Britain about 120 years ago. “Sorry looking things are Odontoglossums when they arrive in temperate countries after a long journey through the tropics. Torn ruthlessly from their homes, roots broken and leaves cut away, they suffer many indignities, and frequently they are exposed to the sun for some time, so that the excess of moisture is extracted from them. This treatment is necessary, so that when the plants are finally packed in dry material for their long journey, there is little risk from damp and its attendant evils of fermentation and overheating. When packed very green, there is a great danger of Orchids commencing to grow while on the journey, and such growth, made in the dark, can seldom be saved”. There was quite an art in resurrecting these plants after they arrived but it is irrelevant here, because virtually all plants available to us today are raised from seed, rather than collected from the wild. Curtis provided some useful cultural advice based upon observations as to where Odontoglossum crispum grows and flowers best in the wild: “Odontoglossums grow for the most part in forests composed largely of trees belonging to the Cinchona, Walnut and Oak families. These forests are dense and evergreen, consequently the sun’s rays, though often practically vertical, have to filter through the leaves ere they reach the Orchids. But collectors tell us that the plants are most numerous where ravines or streams break up the level and general density of the forest, and it is at such points that the air circulates the most freely and the light penetrates most readily to the plants. There is also a great difference in the size of the pseudo-bulbs of plants that grow in these lighter positions, as compared with those growing deeper in shade; under the influence of greater shade the pseudo-bulbs are considerably longer than where there is more light, but this does not necessarily mean that the spikes are stronger or the flowers larger”. Obviously it is a mistake to grow Odontoglossum crispum in heavy shade, even though these conditions may produce attractive, lush growth. THE NEMOS NEWS: December 2014 Some idea of the scale on which Odontoglossum crispum was grown in England 120-odd years ago, and the wide variation in the price of the plants, can be gauged from the following extract from Curtis’ book: “In batches of thousands of imported plants scarcely will any two be alike, so variable is this wonderful Orchid. Some will have thin, spidery flowers, and be hardly worth growing, but plenty will be of good, useful size, substance and character, and a few maybe will be well above average. A beginner may start with plants ranging in price from £5 to £25 per hundred. Varieties of the purest and unspotted white, if of fine, rounded form, are rare, beautiful and expensive; but far more valuable are the heavily blotched and deeply coloured varieties, and for extraordinarily fine varieties of this kind, sums ranging from £250 to £1000 have been paid”. The Orchid Review (1937, 45, 314) carries an account of some of the more memorable duels that occurred between rival bidders at auction sales over the years, especially for the most highly regarded “blotched crispums”. For the most part the plants sold were “duplicates”, that is, divisions of an original plant that was retained by the vendor. Among the orchids sold on 31 May in 1904 were six different cultivars of Odontoglossum crispum, no doubt all of them “blotched”. Prices paid ranged from 180 to 640 guineas! But these prices were by no means a record, as O. crispum ‘Pittianum’ FCC/RHS had previously been sold for 1150 guineas. A plant of O. crispum ‘Fred Sander’ was also sold for £1500 in 1904, according to Arthur Swinson in his book Frederick Sander: The Orchid King (1970), from which the accompanying picture was copied! Some of the buyers who grew their plants well were subsequently able to divide them and recoup their initial expense, while others used them for breeding purposes. But some must have been feeling rather sick 20 years later, when the bottom fell out of the market for “blotched crispums”. There were two reasons for the dramatic fall in value. Many growers withdrew from the hobby during World War 1 (1914-1918) and money was not as easy to find after the war as before. Also, hybridisers had found the secret to breeding orchid hybrids with flowers similar to those of the “blotched crispums”. As an example of how prices plummeted, compare the prices paid for divisions of Odontoglossum crispum ‘Gairianum’ in 1906 (900 guineas) and in 1919 (3.5 guineas)! Unfortunately, we see relatively few plants of Odontoglossum crispum on our show benches in Australia, as it is not an easy orchid to grow well here. Temperatures in its native habitat seldom exceed 25°C and it fares badly during Melbourne’s summer weather. However, if you have the facilities to maintain a buoyant, humid environment within the temperature range of 825°C then you should be able to grow and flower “the Queen of cool-growing orchids” to perfection. BM SEEING RED: Masdevallia ignea Masdevallia ignea, a native of Colombia, was first described by H.G. Reichenbach in 1871. It is a terrestrial orchid found on the eastern range of the Colombian Andes at altitudes between 8500 and 11,000 feet (2500-3300 m). Its plants vary with the altitude at which they are found, those at lower levels having longer leaves and flower stems. Plants found at upper levels are Odontoglossum crispum ‘Fred Sander’ Editor: Brian Milligan O. crispum ‘Veitchianum’ (from a chromolithographic print in The Florist and Pomologist of December 1884, p.177). Page 5 THE NEMOS NEWS: December 2014 said to be smaller and the colour of their flowers more variable. Nov. Phalaenopsis Brother Kaiser L. Balachandra Popular Vote Dec.’13 no record Jan. Miltoniopsis Lycaena ‘St’land’ M. Coker Feb. Habenaria medusa M. Coker Mar. Cattleya Minerva C. Gobbi Apr. Phal. I-Hsin Pudding Poppy M. Coker May no record Jun. Oncidesa Sweet Sugar C. Gobbi Jul. Dinema polybulbon J. Skews Aug. Dendrobium harveyanum M. Coker Sep. no record Oct. Trichopilia suavis M. Coker Nov. Cattleya purpurata F. & J. Coker Best Culture Masdevallia ignea ‘Frances’ Plants in cultivation today have flowers that vary in colour from orange through to a brilliant deep red, each lateral sepal carrying three broad stripes of a slightly deeper shade. One of the most spectacular cultivars grown in Victoria is Julian and Frances Coker’s awarded Masdevallia ignea ‘Frances’ HCC/OSCOV, which has flowers of a deep red colour. Because of its lofty native habitat, M. ignea dislikes Melbourne’s hot summer, and does better if provided with evaporative cooling during that season. However, it doesn’t automatically follow that this species enjoys our cold winter weather, and I have found that plants grown in my glasshouse at a minimum temperature of about 10˚C all year do slightly better than those grown in the shade-house. BM THE BIG WINNERS FOR 2014 Judges’ Vote Dec.’13 Cattleya Royal Beau ‘Stanley’ Jan. Paph. Harold Koopowitz Feb. Paph. Harold Koopowitz Mar. Miltonia moreliana ‘Campbell’ Apr. Phal. I-Hsin Pudding Poppy May Bulbo. Eliz. Ann ‘Buckleberry’ Jun. Oncidesa Sweet Sugar Jul. Dinema polybulbon Aug. Paphiopedilum rothschildianum Sep. Paphiopedilum Orchilla ‘Chilton’ Oct. Trichopilia suavis Editor: Brian Milligan M. Coker M. Coker M. Coker M. Coker M. Coker M. Coker C. Gobbi J. Skews M. Coker M. Coker M. Coker Page 6 Dec.’13 Oncidium sphacelatum S. Giarrusso Jan. Oncidium Ellen Williams B. & L. Milligan Feb. Stenoglottis woodii J. Newitt Mar. Epidendrum porpax J. Skews Apr. Gomesa radicans M. Coker May Bulbo. Eliz. Ann ‘Buckleberry’ M. Coker Jun. Dendrochilum convallariiforme J. Skews Jul. Dinema polybulbon J. Skews Aug. Paphiopedilum rothschildianum M. Coker Sep. Dendrochilum tenellum B. & L. Milligan Oct. Phragmipedium Living Fire S. Tsoumbakos Nov. Sarcochilus Melba B. & L. Milligan SHOWBENCH RESULTS for NOVEMBER OPEN SECTION MINIATURE CYMBIDIUM 1st. Sweet Devon ‘Beenak’ T. & G. Warren AUSTRALIAN NATIVE HYBRID 1st. Sarco. Melba B. & L. Milligan 2nd. Sarco. Cracker M. Pender 3rd. Sarco. (Karen x Fitzhart) M. Pender LAELIINAE ALLIANCE HYBRID: Exh. Style 1st. C. Bob Betts x Lc. Wake A. Hope 2nd. Rlc. (Dal’s Fry x Mem. Warren Jones) J. Skews LAELIINAE ALLIANCE HYBRID: Novelty 1st. Cattlianthe Trick or Treat T. Jones 3nd. (Rhyncattlianthe Love Sound x C. Mari’s Song) T. Jones 3rd. C. Heathii J. Skews DENDROBIUM HYBRID 1st. Snowflake B. & L. Milligan 2nd. (Marie Dalmeny x Mousmee) F. & J. Coker 3rd. Mingle’s Sapphire M. Coker LYCASTE HYBRID 1st. Lyc. Macama ‘Atlantis’ F. & J. Coker 2nd. Lyc. Macama ‘Atlantis’ B. & L. Milligan 3rd. Lycastenaria Darius B. & L. Milligan MASDEVALLIA HYBRID 1st. Cuzco Gold B. & L. Milligan 2nd. (Sun Dancer x Bob Hoffman) B. & L. Milligan 3rd. Sun Dancer B. & L. Milligan MILTONIOPSIS HYBRID 1st. Mtps. Herman Sweet ‘Bonfire’ J. Skews THE NEMOS NEWS: December 2014 ONCIDIINAE ALLIANCE: Any Other 1st. Psychopsis Kalihi M. Coker PAPHIOPEDILUM: Exhibition Style 1st. (Stone Lovely x Icy Galaxy) M. Coker PAPHIOPEDILUM HYBRID: Maudiae Style 1st. (Hsingying Emma x Hsingying Dragon) M. Coker PAPHIOPEDILUM HYBRID: Novelty Style 1st. Henrietta Fujiwara M. Coker nd 2 . (rothschildianum x St. Swithin) M. Coker 3rd. Fumi’s Delight A. Hope PAPHIOPEDILUM SPECIES 1st. P. delenatii M. Coker 2nd. P. lowii S. Tsoumbakos 3rd. P. wardii A. Hope PHALAENOPSIS HYBRID 1st. Layla Beard A. Hope 2nd. (Golden Sun x Brother Spotter) x Dendi’s Elegance A. Hope 3rd. unknown M. Coker SPECIES: AMERICAN 1st. Cattleya purpurata F. & J. Coker 2nd. Maxillaria triloris ‘Mike’ F. & J. Coker 3rd. Oncidium laeve B. & L. Milligan SPECIES: ASIAN 1st. Aerides rosea M. Coker 2nd. Dendrobium thrysiflorum A. Hope 3rd. Phalaenopsis stuartiana A. Hope SPECIES: ANY OTHER 1st. Cynorkis guttata B. & L. Milligan 2nd. Angraecum didieri M. Coker ANY OTHER HYBRID 1st. Sartylis Blue Knob ‘TJ’ T. & G. Warren 2nd. Phragmipedium Jason Fischer M. Coker rd 3 . Phragmipedium Living Fire ‘Anastasia’ S. Tsoumbakos SEEDLING FLOWERING FIRST TIME 1st. Sarco. (Zoe x Orange Glow) = Sarco. Joy M. Pender 2nd. Lycaste (Shoalhaven x Above Ritz) F. & J. Coker 3rd. Paph. (delenatii x wenshanense) M. Coker INTERMEDIATE SECTION MINIATURE CYMBIDIUM 1st. Pee Wee J. Newitt nd 2 . Cricket J. Newitt 3rd. Tennis J. Newitt AUTRALIAN NATIVE HYBRID 1st. Sarco. Fizzy Dove J. Newitt 2nd. Sarco. (ceciliae x Fitzhart) = Powder Puff (registered by Florafest in 1993) M. Newitt AUSTRALIAN NATIVE SPECIES 1st. Sarco. hartmannii I. Forrest PHALAENOPSIS 1st. Brother Lawrence M. Newitt SPECIES: AMERICAN 1st. Bifrenaria harrisoniae M. Newitt nd 2 . Cattleya intermedia J. Newitt 3rd. Masdevallia ignea ‘Frances’ J. Newitt Editor: Brian Milligan Page 7 SPECIES: ASIAN 1st. Dendrobium moniliforme J. Newitt SEEDLING FLOWERING FOR FIRST TIME 1st. Sarco. Cindy J. Newitt NOVICE SECTION AUSTRALIAN NATIVE HYBRID 1st. Sarco. (Cream Cake x hartmannii) = Cream Hart (registered by Butler in 2008) J. Young nd 2 . Sarco. (fitzgeraldii x Sandon Rose) J. Young AUSTRALIAN NATIVE SPECIES 1st. Cymbidium suave J. Young 2nd. Sarco. hartmannii J. Young PHALAENOPSIS 1st. Brother Kaiser L. Balachandra nd 2 . Surf Song L. Balachandra 3rd. Wedding Promenade L. Balachandra THE BIG WINNERS BEST in NOVICE SECTION, JUDGES’ VOTE & POPULAR VOTE Phalaenopsis Brother Kaiser Lilanga Balachandra BEST IN OPEN SECTION Cattleya purpurata Frances & Julian Coker BEST IN INTERMEDIATE SECTION Sarcochilus hartmannii ‘Moorland Symphony’ Ian Forrest BEST SEEDLING FLOWERING FIRST TIME Sarcochilus (Zoe x Orange Glow) = Sarco. Joy (registered by N. Roper in 2008) Michael Pender BEST CULTURE Sarcochilus Melba Brian & Lorraine Milligan CUMULATIVE POINTS SCORES (December 2013 – November 2014) Those exhibitors whose names are underlined will receive cheques at the Christmas meeting. The numbers in brackets indicate the number of plants exhibited during the year. Open Section. M. Coker, 365 (167); B. & L. Milligan, 274 (131); A. Hope, 246 (165); S. Giarrusso, 123 (46); J. Skews, 103 (73); T. Jones, 55 (22); F. & J. Coker, 49 (14); R. Rowlands, 33 (11); T. & G. Warren, 31 (9); M. Pender, 23 (13); S. Tsoumbakos, 20 (8); J. & B. Filgate, 15 (8); J. Doney, 7 (2). Intermediate Section. M. Lagos, 192 (69); J. Newitt, 173 (57); M. Newitt, 86 (27); R. & M. Thomson, 69 (33); I. Forrest 53 (18); K. & B. Jardine, 15 (4); T. Eastaugh, 4 (1). Novice Section. J. Young, 84 (26); C. Gobbi, 54 (18); L. Balachandra, 24 (7); J. Nolan, 19 (7); J. Lowe, 8 (2); B. & K. Kurioka, 4 (1); B. Williams, 4 (1); W. Yu, 2 (1); L. Job, 1 (1). THE NEMOS NEWS: December 2014 Editor: Brian Milligan Page 8 THE NEMOS NEWS: December 2014
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