Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is hosting Orchids the Friendly Addiction

"the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is hosting Orchids, the Friendly Addiction... the annual show and sale presented by the Orchid
Society of Santa Barbara... Saturday or Sunday, December 8 and 9"

URL : http://www.independent.com/news/2007/nov/29/holiday-activities/

Enjoy,
Steve
1888Orchids.com

American Orchid Society volunteers help keep plants blooming in Delray Beach, Florida

"Russell Curtis... cares for orchids.
... volunteers every week at the American Orchid Society's headquarters west of Delray Beach.
His passion for the plants started more than 20 years ago... Now... retired... has 1,000.
...
Orchid doctors are now available on weekends at the society... The free service had been offered only on weekdays.
...
They started the weekend program in September, because they are busiest on weekends...
Approximately 25 people call daily for help with their orchids, and from five to 10 show up for a diagnosis...

Volunteers are always available to help visitors but don't have the in-depth knowledge required to be an orchid doctor. Madeline Michalowski... is the other orchid doctor... People call from all over the country and even overseas...
The most common diagnoses are over-watering or parasites...

There are approximately 1,000 society members in South Florida... There are 2,500 members of organizations affiliated with the American
Orchid Society from Miami-Dade to Martin counties, and more than 18,000
society members across the country...

The society sits on 3.5 acres and has two 4,500-square-foot greenhouses. One is open to the public, and the other is a production house for staff
and volunteers. Guests can watch them work in the production greenhouse through windows.
...
the $60 annual fee gets members get free admission and... Orchids [the magazine].
Membership includes free admission to more than 250 botanical gardens around the country."

URL :
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flporchid1126pnnov26,0,2186006.story?track=rss

Enjoy,
Steve Peralta
1888Orchids.com

American Orchid Society Botanical Garden

"The American Orchid Society... its Botanical Garden...
A 5-acre, $8 million international headquarters for the American Orchid
Society, featuring a 20,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style building, two
4,000-sq.-ft. greenhouses, and 3?-acre botanical garden showcasing a
variety of orchids from around the world...

The garden features:
Vaughn Focus Garden ? Dedicated to the Vaughn family, who shared its home
in West Palm Beach with the AOS for 16 years before the organization moved
to Delray Beach. The Focus Garden features a reflecting pool and the first
orchid collected by Lewis Vaughn, transplanted from his estate.
...
AOS? Greenhouse ? The public display house has a formal staging area for...
orchid displays. The private production greenhouse is visible through large
display windows and houses the Society?s main orchid collections and is
used for production and conservation.

Two Water Falls ? The smaller of the two was donated by the Fort Lauderdale
Orchid Society; the second is a 14-foot cascading waterfall that forms the
backdrop for a small pond and wooden bridge.

The Cork Tree ? This 13-foot display tree was ?grown? in six months. It was
constructed by fitting and securing PVC piping, concrete, wires and screws
together. It was then topped off with more than 600 lbs. of cork... The
tree is covered with flowering orchids... demonstrating how these plants
grow in their native habitat.
...
AOS? Future ? The AOS is seeking donations to fund an American Heritage
Collection of orchids. This permanent collection of historical plants
provided the breeding stock for modern-day American-grown and -produced
orchids. This collection will be available to students of orchid
hybridization for study and research both in person at the AOS
headquarters, as well as online.
...
The AOS facility and gardens... Admissions are... free for... AOS members."

URL :
http://www.easier.com/view/Travel/Attractions_and_Events/article-148819.html

THE Sapphire Coast Orchid Club Australian Native

"THE Sapphire Coast Orchid Club presented its annual Australian Native
Orchid Show at Twyford Hall, Merimbula, recently visitors were treated to a
display of the infrequently seen Sarcochilus orchids.

These Australian gems are becoming more and more popular as selective
breeding increases their flower size and colour range.

Many well grown specimens were on display... flowers of pure white, white
with red centres, all shades of pink, red and... yellow.
...
Shirley Bedingfield...
Her... Sarcochilus Heidi x Jewel Dungog, carrying... crystalline white
flowers with red centres, was awarded Grand Champion of the show, as well
as Champion Sarcanthinae Hybrid.

Her Sarcochilus Fitzhart 'Red' gained Champion Sarcanthinae Specimen and
her white Sarcochilus hartmannii 'My Joy' was awarded Champion Sarcanthinae
Species...

Champion Any Other Orchid was awarded to... Joy Richardson for...
dendrombium Malones Victory.

Champion Novice was won by Tathra growers Graham and Adrianne Dempster
for... Potinara Love Call 'Lai'."

URL :
http://bega.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/orchid-results/1089267.html

Happy Thanksgiving!

We will be back Monday, November 26!

Staff
1888Orchids.com

Orchid Swallow Tail Butterflies

"You may also like to try orchid plants for attracting Orchid Swallow Tail Butterflies"
Enjoy,
Steve Peralta
1888Orchids.com

Rare Disa hallackiee found in the West Cape of Africa

"endangered Disa hallackii, which was last seen growing in the Robberg Nature Reserve near Plettenberg Bay, was spotted growing in a previously burnt-out area by a CapeNature ranger...

Eben Louwrens, a ranger on the Robberg and Keurbooms River nature reserves, had discovered the flower while doing regular maintenance work.

Louwrens's discovery follows the finding of another rare orchid, Acrolophia barbat[a]... by members of the Custodians of Rare and Endangered
Wildflowers group.

The Acrolophia barbat[a] was found near Nature's Valley on the Garden Route.

Annelise Vlok, regional ecologist in the Gouritz area, said the Disa hallackii was considered "one of the most threatened orchid species in South Africa"
URL :
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20071116034336811C678331

Sincerely,
Steve Peralta
1888Orchids.com

Man Uses Cave to Grow Orchids

"David Bird's underground cave in Kansas City.
...
6,000-square-foot cave... called Bird's Botanicals...
cool- and hot-growing rooms filled with about 4,000 orchids...
limestone walls... covered in reflective aluminum panels.
To get the climate and high-pressured sodium lighting just right took
almost half a year of experimentation.
...
Bird worked with orchids at the Denver Botanical Garden and worked his way
up into managing the orchid greenhouse. He later earned his bachelor's in
horticulture at North Dakota State University.

He started his career at the International Peace Garden on the U.S.-Canada
border, then went on to the Des Moines Botanical Center and eventually
Powell Gardens, just outside Kansas City. At Powell he started an orchid
exhibit that's still an annual event.

Meanwhile Bird grew orchids in a 400-square-foot greenhouse at his Blue
Springs home...
He learned about the cave storage and thought it could work similar to a
grow-light room in a basement.
...
The Mid-America Orchid Congress... 58 member societies from the U.S. and
Canada, will... meet. Kansas City last hosted the congress in 1994...

a lecture series with orchid experts such as Tom Mirenda, museum specialist
for the orchid collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington."

URL / links to photos : http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/360965.html

Steve Peralta
1888Orchids.com

Garden Club focuses on orchids

Orchids and other unusual plants were the topics of discussion yesterday among members of the Freeport Garden Club at their regular monthly meeting where they heard from a special guest speaker from New Prov-idence who wowed them with her vast knowledge of the unusual plants.

Marina Greaves, a member of both the Horticultural Society as well as the Orchid Society, travelled along with her specimens of plants from Nassau to Grand Bahama to address the Club.

"I love gardening. I am such a gardener that I am into everything. I have no real specialty, but I love orchids. If I go anywhere and I see something new that I like, I say, 'I have got to have that,'" she said.

In her address, Greaves shared some tips to Club members that she has learned in her years of gardening.

She presented useful information on finding, growing and maintaining various species of the orchid plant.

She also showcased some of the plants that she brought, highlighting some of the special features of those plants.

"We are all in some sense non-gardeners. But you learn something from everybody that is in gardening. We never ever know it all," she said.

"But for the person who is just starting, if you look around your environs, it is often an indication of what should do well in the particular area that you live."

Greaves encouraged persons to drive around their neighbourhoods and find certain plants that they like.

"Enquire about it because if it is doing well here, there is a great chance that you can grow it as well," she said.

Noting that there are many different species of orchids, Greaves said that one must be careful when choosing them since they do not always adapt to every environment.

"There are so many different types of orchids and there are also a lot of native orchids that are becoming very, very popular," she said.

"In fact, there are 33 species in Andros, but the hybrid ones that are grown elsewhere, you now have to have some special knowledge of how to grow those. They require special care and you can differentiate among the type of orchids and the type of care they require."

Greaves said she enjoys gardening because of the therapeutic experience it offers and also the end result of the blooming plants.

Averaging that she spends about 5 - 6 hours a day in her garden, Graves jokingly said she often gets so caught up in gardening that she sometimes forgets her housework.

"I enjoy the surprises that gardening brings. The joy is that the brown thumb that you have can become green by just starting to garden."


ORCHID LESSON — Marina Greaves of the Horticultural Society and Orchid Society from New Providence is pictured with David Long addressing members of the Freeport Garden Club during their monthly meeting at the Rand Nature Centre. (Photo by JENNEVA RUSSELL)

Relax

The Momet Moisture Meter

"Jerry Fischer, owner of Plymouth-based Orchids Limited, developed the Momet moisture meter...

Fischer and one of his customers, electronic product developer Michael Pletman, spent two years developing the Momet.
javascript:void(0)
Publish Post
a switch in the back... indicates the potting medium... insert the prongs of the meter into the medium. In a few seconds, one of the three small lights on the front of the unit will indicate if the medium is wet (green light), approaching dry (yellow light) or dry (red light).

The unit... comes with basic information about what types of orchids like their roots wetter or drier, and how to handle plants in spike or bloom.

The Momet... is available online at jermic.com and at several local garden centers"

URL : http://www.startribune.com/10180/story/1547558.html

Enjoy,
Steve Peralta
1888Orchids.com

Ball State University's own tropical treasures - Orchids

"Ball State University... on campus for 27 years, the Wheeler Orchid Collection... is comprised of
approximately 1,200 plants... the greenhouse... is open to all visitors...

The orchid greenhouse serves as a repository for species orchids...
focus is species conservation"

URL :

http://media.www.bsudailynews.com/media/storage/paper849/news/2007/11/13/Features/Exotic.Orchids-3095964.shtml

Enjoy,
Steve Peralta
1888Orchids.com

Northeast Pennsylvania Orchid Society...

"Troy Prutzman...
26, has accumulated more than 450 orchids...

the Northeast Pennsylvania Orchid Society...
Members ranging from college students to retired people and professional growers... from across the local region. The NEPOS... started in 1987... is the only orchid society in Northeast
Pennsylvania.

Richard and Jan Jost are the owners of Jungle Paradise in Benton, a greenhouse specializing in orchids"

URL : http://www.timesleader.com/living/20071111_11Orchid-People_ART.html

photo : [caption : "Officers of the Northeast Pennsylvania Orchid Society,
not in order, are Jack Buziuk, vice president, Alan Fenwick, president, Jan
Jost, secretary, and Joyce Jenkins, treasurer, as they conduct the monthly
meeting... at the Pittston Township Volunteer Fire Department ? Suscon
Station."]

http://media.timesleader.com/images/300*196/Orchids_1_11-11-2007_HI6L3PK.jpg

Encyclia kingsii orchid

Encyclia kingsii was believed to be endemic to Little Cayman... Carla Reid discovered Encyclia kingsii growing wild in an undisclosed
location in Grand Cayman.

Encyclia kingsii... grows on trees in dry rocky woodland areas and produces... yellowish-brown flowers.

Encyclia kingsii is... close to extinction in the wild and its discovery in Grand Cayman highlights the need to conserve natural areas as many of the
Cayman Islands' most rare and unique plants are on the brink of extinction. Mrs Reid... is a member of the Cayman Islands Orchid Society"

URL : http://www.caymannetnews.com/news-3182--1-1--.html

photo : http://www.caymannetnews.com/news/_files/Image/1511/017.jpg

Phragmipedium kovachii

"If customers decide to sell their legal Phragmipedium kovachii seedlings within North America, it would be prudent for them to supply
each purchaser with a photocopy of their own legal certificate, write the name of purchaser and number of seedlings purchased on that photocopy and and sign it. This way the new owners have proof that
their Phragmipedium kovachii was obtained legally, just in case some authorty should question it."


This would indeed be prudent, because the authorities are indeed preparing to act. Page 265 of the current (Sept-Oct 2007) edition of The Orchid Review contains the following warning:

"it is common knowledge that in addition to INRENA certified P. kovachii plants, many others have been removed illegally from the wild
and smuggled abroad. Some growers in possession of uncertified material are said to be growing second generation P. kovachii hybrids.
As a result the RHS, as International Cultivar Registration Authority for Orchid Hybrids, has decided that all future applications to
register hybrids involving P. kovachii must be accompanied by copies of the appropriate CITES and INRENA documentation".

Peter O'Byrne

The Fairy Orchid

Calypso bulbosa... a terrestrial orchid from North America, Europe and Asia. Naturally found in the Western U.S. and along the northern states, it is
also commonly seen in Sweden and Finland.

The genus Calypso is named for the... sea nymph in Homer's Odyssey...

The fairy orchid [Calypso bulbosa] has a single, pleated, oblong-shapedleaf that grows from a corm.
It also has a single flower on a slender stalk.
The flowers... are pinkish purple with light pink in a "crown formation" on top of flower.
A pale slipper cup has markings of dark purple stripes on inside of slipper. The center of the slipper is lemon yellow with tiny yellow hairs.
Generally blooming takes place in May or June.
Fairy orchids usually reach heights of about 3-6 inches.

Although the fairy orchid's distribution is wide, it is very susceptible to disturbance, and is therefore classified as threatened or endangered.
Picking the flower often destroys not only the flower but the entire plant. The bulbs were once used as a food source by North American Indians, though this is not recommended now because the sites for these plants are now rare and easily destroyed.

As sensitive as this plant is known to be, given the right germination conditions, it is... adaptable...
The plants require a location in full shade such as beneath trees. Its natural habitat is in thick, wet, mossy areas of woodlands, especially
near creek beds and rivers. The fairy orchid enjoys rich, moist soil that has been enriched with leaf
mold or bark chips. In frost-prone areas, the fairy orchid should only be grown in a cold shaded greenhouse, while in warmer regions plants can be naturalized in the woodland or bog garden.

As the flowers fade, divide corms very carefully to propagate, usually in fall. The fairy orchid produces a new tuber towards the end of its growing season.
If this is removed from the plant as its flowers are fading, the shock to the plant can stimulate new tubers to be formed. The tuber should be
treated as being dormant, while the remaining plant should be encouraged to continue in growth in order to give it time to produce new tubers.

Make sure that you keep plenty of soil with each plant. It is also said to be possible to transplant orchids after they have flowered but while they
are still in leaf.

There are two varieties common to the U.S., var. americana and var. occidentalis, which may be available for purchase through suitable growers.

Slugs and snails love devouring the fairy orchid so this should be taken into consideration when growing them."

From Bella Online

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art53804.asp

Enjoy,
Steve Peralta

The Orchid Grower - A Juvenile Forensic Science Adventure Novel

The Orchid Grower
A Juvenile Forensic Science Adventure Novel
by Julian T. Rubin
Zumaya Publications

Buy the book here: Juliantrubin.com

Taiwan's annual flower exports hit US$100 million

Taiwan's flower exports are expected to hit US$100 million this year, eight times the figure posted a decade ago, according to statistics
compiled by the Taiwan Flower Export Association.

... Taiwan-grown butterfly orchids and oncidium flowers have been... popular as premier species in international flower market.

... butterfly orchids usually sell for US$100 [really ?] per plant in Washington, D.C., and the corresponding price even hit a high of US$300 in
Hollywood... major flower export markets include Europe, the U.S. and Japan...

Butterfly orchids have long enjoyed very good prices in Europe and the U.S., due mainly to their... looks and long duration of around three
months. They usually enjoy brisk sales in the Netherlands, the U.S., Denmark and Germany...
...
Formosa Orchid Farm in the Netherlands... has managed to record a 30 percent annual sales growth due to the emerging of Taiwan's butterfly orchids.

Sogo Team Co., Ltd. ... turns out over 10 million orchid plants, and exports... mainly to Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany,
posting a robust annual sales growth of over 40 percent.

... Ox Orchids Farm, established in 1979... phalaenopsis orchid breeding, seedling production, flower cultivation farm in southern Taiwan.

The total phalaenopsis orchid plantation acreage, located in An-Nan, Pei-Man, Madou and Taiwan Orchid Plantation (TOP) at Tainan County, ranges
approximately 50,000m2 (12.36 acre), which includes 23,000m2... automatic environment control greenhouses, low temperature blooming control systems, and tissue culture laboratory with... advanced biotechnology for year-round
production.

This year (2007), OX ORCHIDS FARM is scheduled to build another 13,000 m2
fully automatic green houses in the second development stage of Taiwan Orchid Plantation for phalaenopsis orchid production. A branch office and farm of OX Orchids Farm is also scheduled to open at the end of this year at Maryland, United States.

Ox Orchids Farm supplies 3,000,000 phalaenopsis tissue cultured plants in flasks, 800,000 small and medium size plants, and 300,000 blooming
plants... annually... throughout the world in 2006

URL :
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/headlines/2007/11/04/50084/Taiwan's-annual.htm

Enjoy,
Steve Peralta
1888Orchids.com

How to Care for Cymbidiums Video

General Orchid Care Video - Enjoy!!



Orchid Care for Winter

International Flavors & Fragrances Aromatic Orchids

"Subha Patel...

the orchid...
At different times of the day, it will give you a different smell...

Patel, director of nature-inspired fragrance technology for International Flavors & Fragrances...
oversees the world's largest collection of aromatic orchids, among other plants, at IFF's Botanical Gardens in Union Beach... she tries to capture
their essence to create the next great aroma.

IFF...
The New York company creates flavors for soda, candy, soup and toothpaste, and fragrances for soap, detergent, women's perfume and men's cologne...

Five customers, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Colgate, Pepsi and Este Lauder, represent 31 percent of IFF's $2 billion in revenue...

Some scents can be re-created when perfumers use air samples from a flower. Fragrances made in that way include... Wonderful by Beauty Bank, an Est?e
Lauder brand, which uses the scent of a Mackayi orchid.

Patel... An organic chemist... grew up on a coffee plantation in Nairobi, Kenya"

URL :
http://www.nj.com/business/ledger/index.ssf?/base/business-8/1193809006226530.xml&coll=1

Enjoy,
Steve Peralta
1888Orchids.com