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September 2020 Overtures – The Newsletter of the Orchid Society of the Ozarks 1
September News!
Upcoming Programs The COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, and currently there are no planned in-person OSO activities. We are, though, going to hold our first “virtual” OSO meeting this coming Sunday, September 20, which is our usual meeting date, and at our usual time of 1:30 pm. If you are a dues-paying member you should have received an email several days ago with an invitation to the virtual meeting. If you did not, please let me know! We hope lots of you will attend Sunday, because we want to discuss upcoming programs, including an idea for an in-person event that would be socially-distanced, spread out outdoors, and over several hours to be safe and responsible.
New OSO Facebook Group We’ve added an OSO Group on Facebook along with the OSO page we already had. If you liked the page, we encourage you to join the group – it will be easier for you to post pictures of your plant, questions, etc. there. Search Groups for “Orchid Society of the Ozarks”, or use this link:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2640406932837737 We still encourage everyone to like the OSO Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Orchid-Society-of-the-
Ozarks/166606350108921 Please send pictures of your plants, stories about your plants, tips you’ve learned about growing your plants, and so on, for the Newsletter!
Volume XXV Issue 9
September 2020
Stimulating interest in
Orchids and their culture as
a nonprofit, educational
organization …
The Orchid Society of the Ozarks meets
the 3rd Sunday of each month. Annual
dues are $10.00 for individuals and
$15.00 for joint membership.
President: Trudy Picket
Vice-president: Laura Wilkins
Treasurer: Lois Geren
Editor: Steve Marak
What’s inside: September News p. 1
Growing Cattleyas p. 2 Know Your Enemy p. 4 News from the AOS p. 5 Greenhouse pictures p. 6 What’s Ahead p. 7 Just for Fun p. 7
O v e r t u r e s A Communications Instrument for Society Members and Other Interested Parties
September 2020 Overtures – The Newsletter of the Orchid Society of the Ozarks 2
Growing Cattleyas
by Doug Martin
Cattleyas are among the easiest orchids to grow. They like bright light; temperatures close to what we like; good, but not excessive, humidity; and an open, free-draining medium. They need to dry out between waterings, which means that they get along just fine if they’re neglected a bit. There are many ways to provide these conditions. Each grower needs to find what works best for them. Light: Give Cattleyas as much light as possible but avoid direct sun. In nature, Cattleyas grow high in trees where they get dappled shade. An unshaded east or west window will work, but supplementing with a grow light will be even better. Many people grow the smaller Cattleyas successfully on light carts positioned close to the light source. Temperature: Ideal temperatures for Cattleyas are in the intermediate range: nighttime temperatures in the mid-60’s in summer and mid-50’s in the winter, with daytime temperatures 10-20 degrees higher. But modern Cattleya hybrids, like the project plants, are much more tolerant. If you’re growing them in your home and you’re comfortable your plants will be happy. Watering: There are two aspects to this, how much and how often. How much is easy, a lot. Really, you cannot water them too much. So, water until it is running out the bottom of the pot, and then a little bit longer. Don’t water again until you’re sure the medium is dry, then wait another day or two. Remember, their ancestors were adapted to grow in a rainforest. When it rained, it rained a lot and the plants got soaked. After the rain stopped the plants, and particularly their roots, would dry out before the next rain. The plants are adapted to this soak/dry cycle. If their roots stay wet for an extended period they will rot. There is no one answer to how long it takes for the medium to dry because it varies for everyone’s growing conditions. Factors that affect watering frequency include, temperature, light, humidity, air movement, medium type and age, type and size of pot. The easiest way I know to tell when to water is to pick up the pot every day. One day it’ll feel lighter. Water the next day or even the one after. After a few times you’ll know how long it takes. It should go without saying, NO ICE CUBES!!! Save them for your water, tea or bourbon. Never put them on your orchids or in your wine. Humidity: The ideal for Cattleyas is around 50%. This is about the hardest condition for the home grower to achieve. Setting the pots on a tray of pebbles filled with water is often recommended, but one study found that the extra humidity only extends a few inches above the water’s surface. A better option is to put the plant’s pot into a slightly larger clay pot and set that in water. The inner pot, with the plant and its roots must not be in the water. The outer clay pot will wick the water up and release humidity right around the plant. Air movement: Cattleyas like good air movement. It keeps the air “fresh” and helps to prevent the growth of disease organisms. Have a fan blowing on them is good, but unfortunately, this also blows away the humidity. Try to strike a balance, have the fan blow over or beside the plants. Fertilizer: “Weakly, weekly” has become a cliché but it’s a good one to follow. Too much fertilizer is much worse than too little. There are many good fertilizers available and it’s best to use them at half to one quarter
September 2020 Overtures – The Newsletter of the Orchid Society of the Ozarks 3
the recommended strength. Choose a “complete” fertilizer containing micronutrients, particularly calcium and magnesium. Nitrogen is the most important nutrient. Look for a fertilizer that has ammonium and nitrate in it rather than urea. Urea is often used as a cheap nitrogen source but orchids cannot utilize urea directly. It must first be broken down by microorganisms in the medium. Most of it is probably washed out of the pot before this happens. Best practice is to water heavily before fertilizing to flush the medium and avoid a buildup of salts. Unfortunately, many of us don’t have the time. A good alternative is to use plain water once after every two or three fertilizations. I use plain water the first time I water each month because it’s easy to remember. Water Quality: Pure water, rain, distilled or reverse osmosis, is best for orchids but Cattleyas are tough and the local tap water is fine. Summer Camp: The best thing you can do for your Cattleyas is move them outside for the summer. The environment, particularly the light, is much better than what we can provide indoors. Take them out when the overnight lows are above 60. That’s usually in mid-May around here. Put them in bright shade with no direct sun. This step is important because the leaves can get sunburned if they don’t have time to adjust to the brighter light. After a week or two, when they’ve adapted, they can be moved to dappled shade. Bring them back indoors the fall when the nighttime temperatures drop to into the low 50, usually early October.
Spiranthes time in the Ozarks!
Doug Martin, one of our remote members from Kansas City, has generously donated many pots of one of our hardy native orchids, Spiranthes cernua, to OSO for our auctions and shows over the last few years. If you were lucky enough to get one of these, you might be seeing flowers soon! This is what the Spiranthes section of our greenhouse looks like now. This particular Lady’s Tress Orchid, in addition to being beautiful, is also fragrant.
September 2020 Overtures – The Newsletter of the Orchid Society of the Ozarks 4
Know Your Enemy!
Common Greenhouse Weeds
“Nothing is certain but death, taxes, and weeds.” The second in this series is Pseuderanthemum variabile,
which – ironically, I think – is native to Australia and sold as a garden plant there. We have introduced many
invasive exotics to Australia; maybe this is Australia’s revenge! It’s in the same family, the Acanthaceae, as our
native wildflower Ruellia humilis (Hairy Petunia).
Again, this plant is really rather cute – attractive small white flowers on wiry stems. But as with many weeds,
every flower makes a seed pod, with or without help, and nearly every seed germinates. Unlike the begonia
which was last month’s entry, this weed’s roots go deep – seedlings can have a root system twice as deep as
the plant is tall. If you are very careful you can pull the plant and extract the entire main root, but if you break
it, it will grow a new lead and just keep going.
Pseuderanthemum variable, about 6.5” tall with 9 flowers open and more buds. If it were an orchid, I’d be proud of that!
See how deep the roots go! If broken, the main root will grow a new lead.
It's a seedling today, but it will have children of its own by next week!
September 2020 Overtures – The Newsletter of the Orchid Society of the Ozarks 5
News from the AOS
We thank the American Orchid Society for allowing us to use these AOS Corner items in our newsletter! Even if you’re not an AOS member, there are lots of free resources available to everyone … and of course we encourage you to join. AOS membership includes digital access to “Orchids” magazine, including digital archives of more than 350 issues dating back to 1932! Please visit the AOS web site at: http://www.aos.org You can also find the AOS on Facebook! The American Orchid Society Facebook group page has exceeded 35,000 members. Group members post photos and videos of their blooming orchids, ask questions, add comments and share
their passion for the flowers we all love. In real time too. https://www.facebook.com/groups/52597049839/
WHAT ARE WEBINARS? An Affiliated Society may use recorded webinars for presentations at their monthly meetings. With Wi-Fi access, it’s easy! Webinars are an internet-connected audiovisual presentation. You can view from anywhere that you have an internet connection via Mac, PC or even your mobile device. It’s easy to find the scheduled webinars and to register on the AOS website. You will find the link here: http://www.aos.org/orchids/webinars.aspx
To view REGISTRATION is REQUIRED: http://www.aos.org/orchids/webinars.aspx Cannot make it on the scheduled date or time? No need to worry. Register anyhow!
ALL webinars are recorded and available to view at your leisure. GREENHOUSE CHAT Webinars are indexed by topic for future viewing. Send your Greenhouse Chat questions and photos to: [email protected]
September 2020 Overtures – The Newsletter of the Orchid Society of the Ozarks 6
Pictures from the greenhouse …
September 2020 Overtures – The Newsletter of the Orchid Society of the Ozarks 7
ORCHID SOCIETY OF THE OZARKS
President: Trudy Pickett
Visit www.oso-web.org and click the “Join” link
Dues $10 individual, $15 joint
Editor: Steve Marak
3460 Roma Dr
Springdale, AR 72762
479-286-6603
A non-profit, educational
organization stimulating interest in
orchids and their culture.
On the web at: www.oso-web.org
Webmaster: Bruce Brown
On Facebook:
@ http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Orchid-Society-of-the-Ozarks/166606350108921
Like us, post your pictures or
comments, join the community!
What’s Ahead …
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all in-person OSO events are cancelled until further notice. We are having the first OSO virtual meeting this coming Sunday, September 20, at 1:30 pm – see page 1, or email me for details. Please visit the OSO Facebook page, and join the OSO Facebook group.
Just for Fun …
Orchid-related things that are a bit different, fun, and suitable for social distancing. If you know of something like that, please send it along. New orchid-gami! You may recall that OSO sponsored the North American Orchid Conservation Center’s orchid-gami of Isotria verticillata, the Large Whorled Pogonia, which is one of our native Arkansas orchids. One of the newest orchid-gamis is also native to Arkansas, the Three-birds Orchid, Triphora trianthophora, a small and often overlooked summer-blooming orchid. We’ve seen these flowering in August just feet from a well-used walking trail within the city limits of Fayetteville. Here’s a link to the orchid-gami home page: https://northamericanorchidcenter.org/orchid-gami/ (Do note that when they say “some models are challenging and require a bit of tape or glue” this is one of those! It has a 5-star difficulty rating.)
And here is a fun story of an orchid company that decided to make use of orchids not sold due to the pandemic to bring some happiness to others impacted during this time: https://keyt.com/lifestyle/community/2020/09/16/westerlay-orchids-finishes-100000-orchid-challenge-with-special-delivery/