newsWe orchid hobbyists have a great thing going. Wherever we may be, in the office, at the bank or supermarket, or in a doctor's waiting room, when we mention that we grow 'orchids', strangers immediately smile and express kind thoughts. Orchids mean something special to almost anyone we meet. They seem to conjure up images of beauty, fragrance and fragility. That we grow orchids, that we have a close relationship with that most prized flower, seems to be a perfect 'ice breaker'.
All of us started out in this hobby as beginners. We probably saw our first orchid at a show and were bitten by the 'orchid bug'. We purchased a plant, joined a club and began our orchid adventure. Those of us who have been afflicted with the orchid bug for quite a long time now probably have a similar challenge. Can we find space for one more orchid!
I always marvel at how well my orchids make the annual transition from an 'under lights' existence to their temporary home in a summer shadehouse. A sure sign of their content is the appearance of growing roots and shinier, more substantial foliage. This season is no exception, at least in much of Ontario and Quebec. During our record hot summer in eastern and central Canada, even the cooler growing orchids seem to be thriving. Perhaps the constant breeze (air movement) and the day/night temperature differential of approximately 10 degrees is primarily responsible. If orchids respond so readily to natural conditions we have all the more reason to pay attention to air movement and temperature variation during the winter months when plants must survive with what we offer. Cool weather will soon be upon us and my plants will be returned to their indoor home. I resolve to make their home a happier one where they will thrive and not simply survive.
Marilyn Light
President and Conservation Committee Chair
Among the many award winners at the WOC were Nancy Tozer (ECOS) who a Silver Award for her informative stamp display and for her Educational Exhibit. The Vancouver OS won an award for the Best Society Exhibit.
The COC has expressed their special thanks on behalf of all member societies by presenting a mounted COC Medal to each WOC Conference Chairperson: Douglas Allison, Marjorie Disher, and Dr. Wally Thomas. A medal was sent to the family of the late Dewayne Klobas who passed away before his role could be completed. COC Vice-president, Lynne Cassidy, made the presentations on June 26 during the Vancouver Orchid Society annual general meeting.
As of January 1999, there were 25 member societies with a total of 2315 individual members or an average of 96 members per society. The largest society is the Southern Ontario OS followed closely by the Vancouver OS.
Conservation was the theme of the recent WOC and it was clear from discussions with many of those doing work in the field that actions must take place on a global as well as on a regional level if we are to make progress. In Issue 1 of the Orchid Conservation News, published by the Orchid Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, 'Priority Actions for the Orchid Specialist Group' are discussed. Once members of the OSG agree to the priorities, we need to get going with conservation action including in situ and ex situ conservation, education, project funding, and information gathering. There is a lot to do even for a relatively orchid-poor country such as Canada.
What Canadian hobbyists can do is patronize nurseries selling artificially propagated plants, support orchid species breeding programs in botanical gardens and similar institutions, and keep species orchids healthy and thriving in their collections.
One of biggest challenges facing members of the OSNS is the supply of orchids. There is one local store and some vendors but as well all know, hobbyists have a thirst for new plants. Group orders are important. Members like to try unusual plants and to grow selected specimens to their award potential.
OSNS members meet at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History. Their show table is sight to behold! The June table was overflowing with Cattleyas, Phals and various botanicals including a beautiful Rodriguesia venusta.
This enthusiastic Society has already hosted their first COC meeting and look forward to another opportunity in a few years. We can hardly wait to see their beauteous orchids and enjoy their famous hospitality.
Jerry Bolce, Newsletter Editor and now web master, has been
working on the COC web site. Check it out! Jerry welcomes all COC
members societies to link their home pages with the COC site. The
COC web site is:
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Recreation/OrchidSNS/coc.html
Gordon Heaps and Ken Girard are working on two educational slide programs about Cattleyas and Oncidiums and their culture. Marilyn Light has developed a program on the topic of Fragrant Orchids. This was presented to the Orchid Society of Nova Scotia in June. We eventually plan on having at least two copies of each slide program available for clubs on a first come, first serve basis. Booking arrangements and regional coordination are being worked out.
Dick Kock, Huronview Nurseries, and a member of several southwestern Ontario societies, disclosed that the stamp issue was an idea he floated with Canada Post a few years back. When they contacted him earlier this year to let him know that a special issue was in the making, he was delighted. Bravo Dick!
The first two-hour session dealing with orchid natural history and habitat is presented by Dean Mulyk, President of FVOS and Lab Manager of Brookside Orchid Gardens. The second session deals with both the care of orchids (Dean Mulyk) and Plants in Crisis. Participants are invited to bring their 'sad orchids' for discussion and suggestions regarding their care. Russ Volker, AOS Judge and Founding Member of the FVOS presents and discusses a show table to round off what must be a thoroughly enjoyable experience for all.
Thank you to Lynne Cassidy for providing this news.
One natural hybrid has been found to date, a cross of P. malipoense and P. micranthum, which Dr. Harold Koopowitz of Paphanatics named P. X fanaticum due to the fanatical attention these plants have elicited from orchidists.
Two plants of the beautiful delicate pink Paph. delenatii Guill. were discovered in northern Vietnam in the early 20th century. One was made into a dried and pressed horticultural specimen, therefore all the plants of this species which have been available for cultivation and hybridizing until recent years are derived from selfings and sibling crosses from the second plant. However, a new population of this species has now been discovered in the wild, and a greater variety of genetic material is available. P. delenatii differs from the "Chinese Parvis" in that the plant habit of P. delenatii is clumping, and it may produce 1-3 flowers per inflorescence. This species can be one of the easier "Parvi Paphs" to grow. It requires moderate light, intermediate to warm temperatures, good air circulation, perfect drainage, and even moisture. In the wild P. delenatii grows in detritus-filled crevices of limestone outcroppings, so in cultivation it needs calcium in its potting mix. The first hybrids appeared in 1936. Since then, 186 progeny of P. delenatii have been registered (through October, 1998). The American Orchid Society has given 55 awards to the species, including four cultural awards for specimen plants. One of the hybrids most often awarded is P. Armeni White (x armeniacum). This is a cross of a pink and a yellow flower, but the progeny are (you guess it) white. This is possible because the pink P. delenatii suppresses yellow color (except for the staminode color which is inherited separately) and the yellow P. armeniacum suppresses pink color. Other frequently-awarded hybrids of P. delenatii are P. Black Diamond (x P. fairrieanum), P. Delrosi (x P. rothschildianum), P. Delophyllum (x P. glaucophyllum), P. Deperle (x P. primulinum), P. Joyce Hasegawa (x P. emersonii), P. Magic Lantern (x P. micranthum), and P. Vanda M. Pearman (x P. bellatulum). P. Vanda M. Pearman is the most-awarded of these hybrids, with 65 AOS awards.
P. armeniacum Chen & Liu was the first of the Chinese Parvisepalum Paphs to become available, having been exported from China in 1982. This spectacular chrome yellow species caused a stir in the Judging world when the first plant seen by AOS Judges was given a First Class Certificate, the highest quality award possible from the AOS. Different cultivars of P. armeniacum have received 89 AOS awards to date, including 18 coveted FCC's. In this short period of time there have been 51 hybrids registered with P. armeniacum as one parent, and in addition there are three second-generation hybrids. The most- awarded grexes by the AOS are P. Armeni White (x P. delenatii) mentioned above, P. Dollgoldi (x P. rothschildianum) P. Fumi's Delight (x P. micranthum), P. Goldollar (x P. primulinum), P. Norito Hasegawa (x P. malipoense), P. Wossner Bellarmi (x P. bellatulum), and P. Golden Diamond (x P. fairrieanum). The desirable intense yellow color was obtainable in progeny especially if the other parent was also yellow. Yellow coloration could be passed on by the pollen parent. The most pleasing hybrids to date have been between species in the subgenus Parvisepalum, or with a Parvi and a species in section Brachypetalum (usually P. bellatulum). Hybrids with a Parvi and a multifloral are being tried, with mixed results. One success is P. Dollgoldi (armeniacum x rothschildianum) which produces large brilliant yellow flowers with some striping in the petals, and a very pleasing triangular shape. The stoloniferous plant habit appears to be a recessive trait.
P. micranthum Tang & Wang is most memorable for its large bubblegum-pink pouch, however the flower color may also be white or mauve. In nature this species rests during the winter, its tough leaves withstanding cold dry winds and little moisture until the monsoons come in the spring. There have been 114 AOS awards to this spectacular species including eight First Class Certificates. P. micranthum has 35 registered progeny. Hybrids awarded by the AOS are P. Fumi's Delight (x P. armeniacum), P. Gloria Naugle (x P. rothschildianum), P. Kevin Porter (x P. bellatulum), P. Magic Lantern (x P. delenatii) and P. Tanja Pinkepank (x P. fairrieanum). P. Magic Lantern, a cross of two pink flowers, has produced even darker pinks, with shapes intermediate between the two parents. P. delenatii suppresses all yellow color in the petals, but intensifies the dark petal veins. The staminode retains intense yellow and red colors. P. Kevin Porter can be an even more stunning flower, with brilliant dark pink to deep burgundy tones. Shape and pouch size is intermediate between the two parents. Crosses with another "Parvi Paph" or with a section Brachypetalum (P. bellatulum), and also the use of P. rothschildianum and P. fairieanum, appear to produce the most pleasing flowers.
P. malipoense Chen & Tsi was first drawn and described in 1984 based on a flower collected in 1947 from the Yunnan Province of China, and dried by K.M. Feng. The flowers of this species are apple green to avocado green and slightly fragrant of raspberry. Leaves are soft and fleshy; the plant is usually found under bamboo thickets, in deep pits and in the stones along water seepage, protected from dry winter winds. There have been 66 AOS awards to this species including one First Class Certificate to the cultivar "Jolly Green Giant." The name tells it's story. There are 33 registered progeny of P. malipoense. The hybrids most often awarded by the AOS include P. Norito Hasegawa (x P. armeniacum) mentioned above, P. Lynleigh Koopowitz (x P. delenatii), P. Ma Belle (x P. bellatulum), P. Mem. Larry Heuer (x P. emersonii), P. Harold Koopowitz (x P. rothschildianum), and P. Wossner Jade (x P. niveum). Again, the most pleasing hybrids appear to be between "Parvi Paphs", and between a "Parvi Paph" and a Paphiopedilum in section Brachypetalum (P. bellatulum, P. niveum). The only multifloral hybrid awarded is again with P. rothschildianum.
P. emersonii Koopowitz & Cribb has the largest flower of the "Parvi Paphs." Its white color lightly spotted with purple originally held promise for large- flowered pure white Paph hybrids. However, this goal has not been realized, to date. This species has received 16 quality awards from the AOS. There are currently 24 registered progeny of P. emersonii. Hybrids most often recognized by the AOS are P. Joyce Hasegawa (x P. delenatii), and P. Memoria Larry Heuer (x P. malipoense), both crosses within the subgenus Parvisepalum, and two unusual hybrids with a complex Brachypetalum Paphiopedilum hybrid as the other parent, P. Kabuki Moon (x P. Virgo) and P. Wintermoon (x P. Greyi).
In summary, due to the newness of the Parvisepalum Paphiopedilum in cultivation, hybridization with the species in this subgenus has just begun. The most successful hybrids to date have been within the subgenus, or between "Parvi Paphs" and a species in section Brachypetalum, usually P. bellatulum. Hybrids with P. rothschildianum and P. fairrieanum have also produced awardable flowers. No second generation hybrids have as of yet been awarded by the AOS.
Copyright Donna Burch 1999 <burchdk@aol.com> (reprinted with permission. Please contact Donna for permission to reprint.)
Vice-President Lynne Cassidy has taken on the task of organizing speakers tours on a regional basis with the regions being roughly: BC and Alberta (Ingrid Ostrander, Coordinator), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (Coordinator to be named), Ontario and Québec (Coordinator to be named), and the Maritimes (Gail Swarz, OSNS). It is understood that the speaker will determine how extensive a circuit can be managed. Occasionally regions may overlap according to available flights and interest.
The first tour being organized is for Steve Skoien (Hawaii), an AOS judge and commercial grower well known on the West Coast. He is booked for November for Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg.
Gail Swarz (OSNS) has confirmed John Doherty as a speaker but no date has yet been finalized. John's area of interest is Cypripediums.
Lynne is hopeful that we can arrange a Canada-wide tour for Francisco Miranda, a Brazilian now residing in Florida. Possible topics include: Cattleyas of Brazil, Laelias of Brazil, Rupiculous orchids, Catasetums, Orchids from the Brazilian Amazon and Orchids of Rio de Janeiro State. We look forward to hearing more about this interesting opportunity.
The purpose of COC news is to inform members of the meetings, policies of the COC, to profile members, and to provide technical information regarding happenings, trends and techniques in orchid culivation across the country and around the world.
We welcome your suggestions and contributions. Deadline for each issue is one month before the issue dates previously announced.
Recipients of this newsletter are strongly urged to pass a copy on to other members of their society
Officers of the Canadian Orchid Congress
President ..... Marilyn Light
819-776-2655
email: mlight@uottawa.ca
Past President Jeanette Arthurs
613-225-6941
email: bl368@freenet.carleton.ca
Vice-President Lynne Cassidy
604-536-8185
Treasurer ........ Janette Richardson
306-543-0560
Secretary .......... Judy Browne
204-888-2656
email: browne0@ibm.net
Education ...... Ken Girard
403-283-6013
Conservation . Marilyn Light
819-776-2655
email: mlight@uottawa.ca
COC Web Site:
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Recreation/OrchidSNS/coc.html
Please send in your show information - date, location, contact, etc.