-
Eyes on Orchids Newsletter of the Baton Rouge Orchid Society
P.O. Box 66242—Baton Rouge, LA 70896-6242 June, 2012 - Volume 54
- Issue 6
www.batonrougeorchidsociety.org - 225.308.1404
–[email protected]
June Meeting - Wednesday, June 20 - 7 p.m.
Baton Rouge Garden Center - 7950 Independence Blvd.
Program: Finalize Show Plans
Continue Discussion of Orchid Maladies
President’s Message
June Program
July is almost upon us which means that our annual Show and Sale
is just around the corner. Therefore, our June meeting will be
devoted to finalizing the plans for the Show and being sure that
all bases are covered. Show Chairman James Jeansonne will lead this
discussion. A successful Show is possible only if all members
participate and contribute whatever they can to the efforts. Help
will be needed in the kitchen as we feed the vendors and
volunteers. Please plan to donate one of your delicious dishes to
this effort. Everyone needs to help with publicity. Talk the Show
up to all your friends and family. If you have an “In” with any of
the TV or radio stations, let me know. It would be great if we
could get TV and/or radio spots. We’ll provide flyers for you to
distribute to businesses, libraries, etc. Clerks will be needed for
judging. Putting up our exhibit requires lots of labor. Help is
needed with making plant tags, distributing trophies, etc. There’s
something for everyone to do! So jump right in and help wherever
you can. It’s lots of fun! Continued Pg. 3
Our society will hold its 33rd Show and Sale on July 13, 14 and
15, 2012. James has done his usual fine job to get the preparations
well in hand up to this point. Of course there remain things to be
done to ensure the beauty and fellowship for which our show is
valued, and James will outline those needs at our meeting on
Wednesday. I hope that everyone is ready to pitch in and pull
together to get the job done. Those who have helped in the past
know what is needed. Newer members are encouraged to help in
whatever area you have an interest. The more people we have
involved, the more satisfying and enjoyable the experience will be
for ourselves and for our visitors. Thanks are due to folks who
have represented BROS at regional shows recently. Boots, Patty,
John, and Tin took responsibility for organizing our exhibits in
Houma and New Orleans, respec-tively. And I am grateful for the
help and camaraderie from Clyde and Gene in Alexandria. By the way,
congratulations are due to Boots and James for winning AOS flower
quality awards for plants in two of the BROS exhibits; they were
beautiful flowers which truly were worthy of the awards. We have
one more show -- held by the Acadian Orchid Society -- for which we
need volunteers for setup (Friday, June 22) and takedown (June 24)
in Lafayette. Finally, let me again recognize that two of our local
orchid-growing friends have been facing difficult times. I
sincerely hope that John Bourgeois and Nancy Rowe can turn to their
orchid plants and orchid friends for respite and joie de vivre.
-
BROS Officers, 2012
President Bob Danka 225.769.7762 (h) [email protected]
Vice-President Bob Lank 225.927.2514 [email protected]
Secretary Sue Ellen Graham 225.766.4327
[email protected] Treasurer Blair Many 225.921.9938
[email protected]
Show Chairman, 2012 James Jeansonne
Newsletter Editor Danna Spayde 225.317.0933
[email protected]
Board Members Clyde Howland, thru 2012 Lata Johnson, thru 2013
Beth Blackstock, thru 2014
SWROGA Representative: James Jeansonne AOS and Orchid Digest
Representative: John Huner
Chairs of Standing Committees: Program Co-Chairs ♦ Lata
John-son, Tin-Wein Yu, Tanner Single-ton Membership Bob Lank
Finance ♦ Blair Many Librarian♦ Bob Danka
Minutes of May Meeting
President Bob Danka called the meeting to order at 7:29 p.m. on
Wednesday, May 12, 2012. He extended welcome to new member Valery
Sonnier and speaker Dr. Raghuwinder “Nick” Singh. Bob Danka
reported on the results of the Alexandria show that he and Clyde
Howland set up and took down. James Jeansonne had two plants
awarded AM. Beth reported on the successful acquisition of plants
from Whole Foods. She invited members to bring home some plants:
repot, grow, and bring them back in bloom. James Jeansonne reported
on the Show progress. He in-vited members to fill in the different
empty spots on the various committees that are necessary to make
the July BROS Show successful. Frank Zachariah announced he would
be selling fertilizer for $5.00 a bag at the next meeting. Lata
Johnson introduced the guest speaker: Dr Raghuwinder “Nick” Singh,
director of the LSU AgCenter Plant Diagnostic Center. Nick gave a
most informative pro-gram on the disease problems of Orchids. He
organized them into fungi, bacterial, viral, and care. The door
prize and silent auction were held. Meeting adjourned at 9:45pm In
the absence of Secretary, Sue Ellen Graham, Carolyn Clay took notes
of the meeting. Thanks to Carolyn for filling in.
Condolences
Those of us who know Nancy Rowe of the Acadiana Orchid Society
have been upset and saddened by the disappearance of her daughter,
Mickey Shunick on May 19. Please con-tinue to hold Nancy and her
family in your prayers.
From Left: Ana “Cris” Garcia, Dr. Singh, and Marie Williams
Photo by Lata Johnson
-
Orchids for Seniors
The OFS annual “Take the Terror Out of Potting Orchids” Workshop
and Pot Luck lunch will be help on June 25 at 10 a.m. at
Independence Park, Room 137. We will have lots of plants to
di-vide, repot, and share. Any of you who would like to join us are
welcome. Just bring a covered dish and your own pots. Potting mix
and other supplies will be provided.
Green Growers Meets on the following
dates during 2012.
July & August - No meeting September 12
October 10 November 14
December - No meeting Mark your calendars now and plan to attend
these educational meetings.
Happy June Birthday to: Ana “Cris” Garcia 6/11 Al Krotoski 6/20
Tanner Singleton 6/27
June Program
Continued from pg. 1
The May program on orchid diseases generated a great deal of
interest. After the Show discussion this month, our resident
entomologist, President Bob Danka, will share some information on
insect pests.
How Long Have You Been a BROS Member?
Since we are in the throes of the spring/summer orchid show
season with all the tempting orchid plants on sale, I want to
remind you of Rob’s Rules: 1. There is always room for one more
orchid.
2. There is always room for two more orchids.
2a. See Rule 1 3. When one has insufficient credit to pur-
chase more orchids, obtain more credit . . . . Rules by Rob
Halgren
I recently found a copy of the BROS 1996 Membership Directory,
and I saw names of people who are still Society members. In our
Directory each year we list the names of people who have been
members for 20+ years. Since 1996 was 16 years ago, I figure that
some of you who were members then are still members now &
probably before 1996. So if you’ve been a member for 20 years or
more, please let me know so we can add you to the list in next
year’s Directory. I prefer that you email this information to me.
If you tell me at a meeting, I’ll probably forget. My email address
is [email protected].
May Meeting Collage - Thanks to Lata Johnson
-
What Happened to the Laelias? [And a brief description of L.
anceps]
Let’s start at the beginning.
When we think of the classic Laelias, our mental images are
small plants from drier high-lands, having small flowers, narrow
sepals, and simple lips. Of course, this is wrong. None of the
things we observe as a ‘normal’ Laelia sepa-rates it from the
Cattleya. Except …
Other Cattleyas have 4 pollinia (pollen sacs). These plants have
8. (So do the Sophronitis and Schomburgkia.) In 1831 John Lindley
named a new genus Laelia and began to separate the Mexican species
with 8 pollinia from the Cattle-yas. In 1852 Lindley added the
8-pollinia plants from Brazil starting with Laelia purpurata.
Oth-er orchid taxonomists wrote -- except for the pollinia count --
there is nothing in the morphol-ogy (the shape of the flower or
plant) that would be unique to a genus Laelia. Lindley pre-vailed
and the name stuck for 150 years.
Laelias have
been important
in the breeding
of the florist orchids. Some are
yellow and orange and bring
these art shades into the white
and purple Cattleya palette.
The Brazilian purpurata has
more named clones than any
other Cattleya and has been
used extensively in breeding.
The famous Canhamiana ‘Wedding Flower’ of
the mid-1900’s is a cross between C. (L.) purpu-
rata and C. mossiae.
By analyzing DNA in 2000, Cassio van den Berg
determined that the Mexican Laelias are distinct
from those in Brazil. However, the Brazilian
Laelias share a common ancestry with
Sophronitis and were very briefly lumped under
that genus. There is some genetic distinction
with Cattleya, but there are hundreds of hybrids
between these groups. Instead of coming up
with new intergeneric names [for the discarded
names, like Potinara], it was thought best to
move all the Brazilian Laelias and Sophronitis
under Cattleya. [The old genera names will
probably be retained as Sections in Cattleya.]
Therefore, Laelia purpurata is now Cattleya
purpurata and Sophronitis coccinea is Cattleya
coccinea. (A few of the names had to be
changed according to taxonomic naming rules.)
The remaining Laelias are the original Mexi-
cans -- and some of the old Schomburgkias. As a
thumbnail, if a Schomburgkia pseudobulb is hol-
low at maturity, it was moved into the new ‘ant
-hosting’ genus Myrmecophila.
[For example, Myr. tibicinis.] If
the pseudobulb is solid, it is now
a Laelia. [L. undulata.]
A brief description of one of the most important Laelias Laelia
anceps is native to Mexico and Central America. A distinguishing
feature is its tall raceme which can be three to four feet. A
well-known progeny, Lc. Puppy Love, displays this trait, carrying
the flowers well above the foliage.
Let’s be Frank
About Orchids
By Frank Zachariah
Lithograph by John Fitch
Photos from Santa Barbara Orchid Estate
orchidspecies.com
www.gardenbanter.co.uk
Continued Pg. 5
-
Laelias continued from page 4 L. anceps is one of the best
parents for imparting cold tolerance in its progeny. In California
it shows no damage even at 22 F and is a common landscape plant in
the southern part of that state. (Note: Do not expect those results
here.) In many hybrids, the anceps parentage shrinks the size of
its offspring – a desirable trait for us with limited bench space -
while its color is recessive and does not show up. It has received
114 awards for its many color varieties and its ease in crossing
has produced 265 offspring. It tends to sprawl and is better grown
mounted as it prefers to have its roots drier than other Catt-like
orchids. Note: Frank is a student judge at the Houston
Judging Center. This article on Laelias is one
he wrote for his studies.
MEET OUR NEW
MEMBER!
BROS Meeting &
Program
Calendar, 2012
July - It’s Showtime! No Meeting August 8 - Andrea Niessen (note
change of date to 2nd Wednesday) September 19 - Manny Aybar October
17 - Carlos Fighetti, former AOS President November 3 - Alan Koch,
owner, Gold Country Orchids - note that this meet-ing will be on
the 1st Saturday. December - date TBA - Christmas Party Let Lata,
Tin, or Tanner know if you have any program suggestions.
We are delighted to welcome a new member who joined at the May
meeting. Her contact information:
Valery C. Sonnier 11412 Rosedale Rd. Port Allen, LA 70767
225.342.7571 w 787.538.2227 c
[email protected]
New Orleans Show
At the New Orleans Show on June 2 - 3 our exhibit won the Best
Society Tabletop Ex-hibit. Thanks to Tin-Wein Yu, John Nelson,
Carolyn Clay, and Patty Granier for their hard work in setting up
the exhibit.
Several of our members sent plants and were rewarded with
ribbons as follows: Bob Danka - Blue ribbon & Best Flower in
Category for Rhyncholaeliocattleya Pratum Green, which was pulled
for judging. Tin-Wein Yu - Yellow ribbon & Best Flower in
Category for Gastrochilus japonicas John Graham - Blue ribbon James
Jeansonne - Blue ribbon
Carolyn Clay - White ribbon
Long time members Geri Templet & Carolyn
Clay in deep discussion at May meeting.
mailto:[email protected]
