ILLINOISORCHIDSOCIETY

FOUNDED IN 1952

AUGUST 1995 VOLUME 8

Next Illinois Orchid Society Meeting

Sunday, August 20, 1995

OAK HILL GARDENS

Our August meeting is always memorable.Held at Oak Hill Gardens in Dundee,

Illinois, it 'is a wonderful opportunity to getaway from the city and to relax under the"oaks. Yes, there really are great, old, oaktrees at Oak Hill Gardens. Hermann Pigorswill welcome you to stroll through~his greei¥houses to admire and purchase his orchids andvilde v8.J.-iety of other t:"opical plants. He jswell knovvn for having a wide variety ofunusual species and popular hybrids available.

The grounds will be ready for you to enjoyafter 12:00 noon. Bring your lunch for aRavinia-style picnic. Hermann and Dorothywill provide beverages and dessert. Theprogram will begin at approximately 2:00 PM.Hermann will speak on 'CulturalInformation from Seed to Bloom for this

Growing Area' ,

It's always a relaxed, enjoyable day, and givesus a chance to meet informally and enjoy eachother's company.

See you August 20, 1995, at Noon, at OakHin Gardens, 37W550 Binnie Road, Dundee,IL.(708)428-8500. It's easy to get to! See themay on Page 462. Or, follow the NorthwestTollway to Rockford. Exit on Rte.31 North­bound. Drive to Rte 72 and head west( on the

corner of Rte.31 and Rte.72 is Spring HillMall). Take 72 to Randall Road and turn right(North) for about 1 Yz miles to Binnie Road.

Turn left(west) on Binnie till you reach OakHill, just up the road.

Lois Cinert

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THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGEby Leo Schordje

It is time for the annual picnic at OakHill Gardens in Dundee, IL Come our andrelax in the shade of Hermann's oak trees.

Enjoy a summer Sunday, with little to do butshop( and eat, I never missout on the eating!).Dorothy and Hermann Pigors are alwaysgracious hosts. This is the way we avoid thechaos at the CBG due to the Bonsai Show,which brings me to thoughts of upcomingshows.

The Peoria Show is coming 9/16 &9/17, the Milwaukee Orchid Society Show iscoming up 9/23 & 9/24 at the Mitchell ParkDomes, the our Fall Mini Show is October 7& 8. In between there's the Mid-America

Orchid Show and Congress in Cleveland. Ifyou have a couple plants in bloom consider

DDC[][][][][][JC[]C[]

PRESENTING .•".•",,,,,,,,.•OUf Newest Members:

We'd like to exte~d a he~rr)r'vvelcome-"toournev,rest members. It's always hard to join anew group but we hope you will find the IOSboth friendly and informative. We will makeevery effort to get to know you but don't beupset ifit takes a while. We're not a clique ...we just have known each other longer.

Des Plaines

MinneapolisChicagoChicago

SchaumburgWilmette

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

The Soviet UnionAbout the only place left in the world where

people still wait in line for what their factories turn outis the Soviet Union. i\nd you've probably heard thestory of how a RUSSianwent to a Moscow auto dealer toorder a new can, arid was told that It would be ready May

] 7, 1996.. '"Would that be in the moming or afternoon?"

the Russian asked.

Well, the dealer started to loose his temper."Comrade, you're lucky to be getting a car at alL And,

anyway, it's five years from now What possible differ­ence C()uldit make, morning or afternoon?"

The Russi"" fep!i<~~," The plumber is comingin the morning."

--from a speech delivered by John Thompson,Chairman, IBM Canada

AMERICAN ORCHID SOCIETYSupplemental JudgingsLinnaeus Room, Chicago Botanic GardenGlencoe~ IL. 2:00 PM, Fourth Saturday(unless otherwise announced)August 26,1995September 23, ] 995October 6, ]995(10S Fall Mini Show)October 21, 1995November 25, ]995December 16. 1995

Welcome! \Velcome! 'Velcomel

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

- Diana MaxwellOrchidarium. Inc.Maria Ortiz

Kathy PotterlKa.ri DennisMarta Sch.wenkerl

Steve Temmer

Pat \Vitt-Maynard

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

First Fan Away Show:The first away show that the IOS will exhibitis the Peoria Orchid Society Show--

~

ChicagoLincolnshireBartlett

ChicagoDes PlainesFranklin Park

Lake Bluff

Arlington Mts.

ChicagoWestAHis, WI

ChicagoWheaton

dropping them off to go in our SocIety displayat the first two shows. It is easy and getthoseplants seen by others, rather than keepingthem at home where everyone rolls their eyeseverytime I start rattling on. It is f1.Irftogeryour plants out in froml of an audience that

actually cares. It was by goiflK!2 a show thatI first developed an interest in raising orchids.If you have plants or are perhaps interested ingoing to Peoria, contact Linda Schubert, 708­835-0799. We need a couple more volunteersto help! Even if you only want to do a daytrip to see their show, let Linda know whatday you'll be there; you may be able to helpwith something.See you at the meeting~ ! ! ! I

Patricia BabiarzBarbara BennettEdward Bertram

Opal Toni BrodkinTilda DulmanEstelle ElliottCarol &Ricbard Goldthwaite

Carole GregornikElizabeth &Michael Jack

Kristen Kem pGeorge & Kathy

KHmaitisMCM Orchids

««<»»>««<»»>««<»»><

NOTE:

An asterisk(*) indicates a new member for1994-95 competition purposes.

The Final Talty for1894/S.,,,•..•,,•.•.Points thrau5/31/95:

314

230

31

137615

6020

52

219

517

73

42

552

47

6

5

18

35

91

554

20

112

4

10

10

132

10

5

99756

26

15

274

2

17134

51

8

197152

I53

4

103851

25420

31

25541

1

- Dorothv NieterRhondaPeters

Nicola Radcliffe

Al Rich

Laima Sahagian,Heddi Schellbach

Lee Soule

Jim Spatzek

~. :;]ohn Stubbings. Gerald Steuben

Carole ThompsonBill Walsh

Bill Welter(*)Bob Wolf

Wally Zielinski

Li~htstand:Kim Aaron(*)Walter Andersen

Kim Anderson

Cathy Bailey

Margo Begy

Cathy Bloome

Olga BoorEd Bulow

Margie Casserly

Dipen Chembur~ar(*))Robert Cherry(*)

Mary ChildesterLois Cinert

Michael Comwell(*)

Susan Crawford(*)Joe & Rosalie Dixler

Kevin & Irma Dixler(*)Walter Drubka

Ruth Duncan(*)Joel Edwards

John & Joan Emmerlich(*)James Fiala

Tom Franczak

Ron & Joan Hale

Rob Halgren(*)

Charles HighAlice HueW

Bruno Junod

Lawrence Knudsen

Pat Kralik

Carol Loeppert(*)

Willy LosertPaula Malone(*)

Sherry Maloney

Lorrame Meyer("')Morris Millman

Armon McPherson(*)Bil Nelson

Jane Nelson

18

54

10

6720

176

1741

681276

71

5

10

319

72288

September 16 & 17. Please contact LindaSchubert(708-835-0799) if you will haveblooming plants for the 10S exhibit. Plants

will need to be delivered and picked upfromLinda's or her designated drop-off pOInt.· Aftplants must be delivered on Wednesday,September 13. We need your nlantsin orderto build an exhibit. If you don't show your

plants, you can't win ribbons and trophies.Your plants are well-looked after, and this isan opportunity for your beauties to berecognized. Please call Linda as the dateapproaches to let her know she can count onyou. Once you start showing, you'll neverwant to stop. By the way if you'd like tohelp by taking an exhibit to an away show,pick one from the list in this newsletter andlet Linda knOw. We pay two nights hotel .and mileage for anyone setting up and re­turning our displays. It's a great week-endaway!!! ..

Greenhouse:G. Calilao---JW ortman

Carol Cloud

Frieda CogswellJack Coutts

Siefried Dux

EdGamson

Sue Golan

Sophia HarrisJodi Hirt

Bob Hoel

Paul Katz(*)Suki Kroeber

Maggie Kuntz

Otto Leupi

Jay Mullen

The 1994/95 Wirmers(conti.)

Ken Ostlund(*)James PatnckJoe Pizzo

Margie PoorJim PupelisMichael Rossler(*)Carla Ryan(*)Me! Schmidt

Leo SchordjeLinda Schubert

4

1

5

50

747

40

~ef.O

206

21

10

I

CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

And, continuea.,.,.,.Zenny SchuermanJohn Shepler(":Llinda Silva

Carolyn Simons( ")Laura StanleyS.Susman(*)Ken Vrabel

Renee & Chris Welch(*)Susan WestNorman WoUf

Bob & Helen Younghale

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Meeting Forecast:Sept. 17 Chicago Botanic Garden

Speaker: Mr. Jerry Fischer, Orchids LtdPlymouth. Minnesota.

Nov ]9 Chicago Botanic GardenSpeaker: Mr. Fred Case"Native American Orchids"

Dec. 10 Hausermarm' s Annual Christmas Party

9/1l/95

9/16/95·9/17/959/22/95­9/24/95

10/6/95­10/8/95

J 0/6/95­

10/8/95

10/21/95­10/22/95

5

6

86I

171

16016

21

2

130

IOS BOARD MEETING, 7:30 PMHome of John StubbingsPeona Orchid Society ShowPeoria., II..(Call Linda Schubert)Wisconsin Orchid SOCIetyShowMitchell Park Conser' nary DomesMilwaukee. WI

Ulmois Ol'chid Society Fall MiniShow. Lhlcago Botanic Garden,GlenCDe. IL

Chicagoumd Orchid Festival

Orchid Grower's Guild Fall Show

Madison, WI

11/4/95­11/5/95

111ll/95­11/12/95

1l/13/95

1/8/96

1/20/96­1/2l/96311l/96

3/16/96­3/17/96

5113/96

Indiana Orchids Growers Show

Fashion Square MallIndianapolis, INNortheast Wisconsm Orchid

Growers Show, Green Bay,IOS Board MeetIng, 7:30 PMHome of Linda Schubert

IOS Board Meeting, 7:30 PMHome of Jim SpatzekOrchid Growers Guild Spring ShowWest Towne Mall, Madison. WIIOS Board Meeting, 7:30 PMHome of Sherry MaloneyUlinois Orchid Society SpringShow, Chicago Botanic GardenGlencoe, II..IOS Board Meeting, 7:30 PMHome of Sue Golan

FROM THE SOUTH AFRICAN ORCHIDJOURNAL

"POOR WILLlAM"BY MITANWY PIRIE

I wonder what it is

about this name,that it is

so generallyand so persistentlymispronounced.It isnot difficultnoris it

ugly:yet another syllableis added

to upset the balanceofa simplegentle work,making of it

a staccato hideosity.In 1824

Lindleynamed and orchidfor

William Cattleyand called it

Cattley-a.

I ask where Cat-Ter-Lay-Er comesfrom?

(Thanks, Sue Golan!)

CCCOCOCCCDCDCDUC

Rejoinder

Let me thank Sue Golan. first of all, for taking the timeto highlight(the July newsletter) the ADS judgingguidelines regarding the ventral sepals of flowers inthe genus Paphiopedilum. I'll want to refer to theguidelines a little later on. My remarks(the Junenewsletter) were in no way a commentary of theawardability of the plant in quesnon and I'd simply let

.them stand as they are except that there might besomething to be leamed by pursuing the topic.

Instances where it is correct to charactenze a flower as

deformed were preVIously cited. I quoted a few of theoracles of the paph temples to show that the splitsynsepal is not such an instance: and. in fact, theJudgmg guidelines concur that such flowers should not

. ~. :b.erelegated to the category of monstrosity.

We're on the same page. Where could the disagree­ment have ansen? Let me suggest that plants \Vithsplit synsepals share something Wlthplants thatexhibit genuine defonruries--rarity! They arestatistical outliers, and of a specific type:morphological. In nature and ill normal cultivanon,split synsepals rank right up there(in frequency ofoccurrence), Wlthtwo-headed cows. So we may aswell ask: Are all morphological outliers IpSO factodeformities?

Before you answer "Yes" to that·question, look atwhat other morphological oddities would satisfy theoutlier criterion. I'll mention three. the last of which

makes split synsepals look pretty tame.

Peloria, for starters. Rare in nature, though abundantincl.lltivation. this is the "disorder" whereby the lateralpetals to a greater or lesser degree mimic the labellumin shape. Peloric flowers retain the bilateral symmetrycharacteristic of orchids, and experts such as Cashstrongly deny that peloria is a deformation.

Next, consIder polyploidy(having more than two setsof chromosomes). Even though this condition can beinduced by chemical intervention during gerrnmanon,polyploidy is quite rare m nature. Among otherthings, it is responSIble for significantly enlargedflowers, though in paphs, not so much along thevertical axis as along the horizontal. Tetrapolidflowers for example, are dramatically \Viderthandiploid ones. Like peloria, polyploidy preserves thebilateral symmetry of the flower. I might call suchflowers an acquired taste, but not a calamity.

The final case! Paphiopedilunl stonei v. Platytaenium.If you can't swallow a split synsepal, you're going tochoke on this one. It's a wide-petalled form of thespecies. Utterly rarel Trouble is. it has a habit ofbreaking bilateral symmetry on occasion. One year itmay bloom with both lateral petals wide. Anotheryear the left petal may be \Videwhile the right one isnarrow. Shouldn't this entire bariety be dismissed asmonstrous? Cribb acknowledges it( pg.106 of thebook previously cited), but nowhere suggests it is a

Rejoinder ...(conti,)

monstrous0 Cribb acknowledges It( pg.l 06 of thebook previously cited), but nowhere suggests it is adeformity, evem though he is aware of its propensityfor asymmetry. The prices I've heard quotedi'ordivisIons of platytaenium clones are know, techni­

cally as silly money. In other words. for the samepnce you could either have a brand new Cadillac oryou could have this plant. Does high value placed onthe plant save it from being a deformity? Or is it adeformity but only in odd-numbered years, and normalin the even-numbered years?

I refer now to the guidelines Sue quoted. " ..(a) splitventral sepal is not in itself a defect if its effect.. ..ispleasing." See any problem with this? Though thequote IStaken out of context, I'm all but certaln thatby "defect" is meant "deviation from AOS judgmgstandards," so you'il get no argument from me. Infact, you'll get strong agreement. However.lf"defect"had been meant in the broad and general sense. as I ,(correctly) understood it to have been meant last Apnl,then I'm afraid the guidelines would have oversteppedthemselves and be pleading with me to set them nght.

In other words, it is a matter of a vote? That man isthe measure of all things is out and out axiomatic inthe world of horticulture. But not so obvious in the

world of botany, which is where questions of conform­ity should be asked and answered. And botany doesnot care whether someone finds something pleasing ornot. For the same question, the right answer in one ofthose worlds can be right, wrong. or Simply not appli­cable in the other. As for the rest, with mv old drink­mg buddy, WittgenstelIt we let it pass m silence.

Tom Franczak

It Is not!: death that a manshould feor, but he shoulld fearanother a'reJoind€~'I!j<'!i~.

--a perversion of Marcus Aurelius by youresteemed Editor

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A FALL FESTIVAL OFORCHIDS

IOS FALL WNI~SHOW

OCTOBER 6.7, AND 8.1995- .

Affectionately knoi,'n as our Table Top Show, thelOS's Fall Festival of Orchids 'W'iBbe held at theChicago Botanic Garden on October 6, 7, & 8. Twiceeach year we dazzle the public with a spectacularshow of orchids Wlththe larger exhibition in thespring and the smaller, but Just a beautiful mmi-showin the autumn.

This show is dedicated to our members. especiallynewer members who may be shy about trymg theirhands at setting-up displays All the displays andorchids are evaluated by the American Orchid SocietyJudges from allover the midwest and sometimes evenfurther afield. So the quality is there. But the generaltone of the event is more relaxed and a bit moreinformal.

The displays are limited to fuB-table or half-table topsin size;rl1us, an exhibit may b<:set up with a few asperhaps five orchids and a little greenery. If youmissed the last workshop given by Tom franczak, youmissed getting some excellent pointers about doing asimple, but effective arrangement. Further workshopshave been planned for different aspects of exhibitmgincluding labeling and registering plants. Even if youdidn't get to the workshops. we'll have plenty ofmembers there to help you get started.

In this issue there are forms for signing up to help set­up the show(no prior experience m necessary) and alsoto take the plunge and set-up your ovm display. Wehave a lot offun. but we do work hard. It's well worthit. You learn so much from really expert growers andoutstanding judges, And in a effort to assist those whomay only have one or two plants in bloom, we aregoing to try to pair up teams of people to set-up dis­plays together. There' s a place to mark on the form ifyou are interested in testing our efforts at match­making. rm looking forward to meeting a lot of newpeople in October.

Linda Schubert

Show Chairperson

AFALLFESTIORCHI

Presented by the

ALOF

ILLINOIS ORCHID SOCIETYAnnual Fall Mini-Show

October 7 and 8, 19959 a.m. to 5 p.m.

(photography limited to 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. each day)

at the beautiful

CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDENGlencoe, Illinois

(1/2 mile east of the Eden's Expressway on Lake-Cook Road)

Admission free (Parking $4)

MEMBERS PLANT SALE ALSO

A FALL FESTIVAL OF ORCHIDSOctober 6\ 7, and 8, 1995

Sign-up Form

Below are lists of types of work, work times and exhibit spaces available for our autwnn mini-show We break theduties into 3-hour shifts which are fun and manageable.

Write your choice of task on the :dlO\",ing bik.ctimey, ;d like to work. The joe's ::Ie:

Plant S,-,L:S

Hospitlil1ry (for the workers)InformationT able

Plant Check (like a CDatcheck room)Raffie Table

Good WilVSecurity (just walking aroundkeeping an eye on things and answeringquestions)

Friday, October 6

Saturday, October 7

Sunday, October 8

9:00 a.m. to Noon Noon to 3:00 p.rn. 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

*,,*$ * * $* .•** •••• >1<•• ** * ** *>1<•••••• $ $ "'* •••• $_*-*. * * *.~••••• * ••* * ••*.•.•.•.•.•.••.•*•••••*~••••••••••••* * •••••••• *11'•••••••** ••••••••••••••

The following tasks require a little more time and energy & brain and brawn. If you like a challenge, this is for you.Plant Registration: Thursday evening, October 54:00 p.rn. to 8 p.m.

Plant Traffic:

Tear Down:

Friday, October 6

Friday, October 6

Sunday, October 8

9:00 a.m. to Noon

Noon to 3:00 p.m.

3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. _

9:00 a.m. to Noon

Noon to 3:00 p.m.

3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.rn. _

5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. _

NAME PHONE _

P.S. I can provide a Salad __ or a Dessert __ for the Judge's Supper on Friday evening. (Bring it with you. TheGarden will let us put food items into the walk-in cooler if we need to.)

EXHIBIT SPACE REQUESTI would like to reserve table top space for the 10S FaIl Mini-Show (October 6, 7, and 8, 1995).

NAME PHONE--------------------- ------ADDRESS _

CITY, STATE, ZIP _

SPACE DES.iRED Table Top (6' x 30") or HaIfTab1e (3' x 30") _Plpl':l~ W"P>'h~P'f'll tJ...; .•. f'~ ~,.. 'i ; •..•,.; •• l' l;.',...k •• l-....:,.,.q "7A< r_"", •• "",c .•.....- 1""":1•••••.•..........., n t::f\f'I"" r\.. •.....,.,-t~ •..••.••• ? r".•.t1 'i'rHiLfl1.l\...1i"70a

REPORT OF THE AWARDS COMMITIEETom Fllanczak, Chairman, (708) 398~5093

Here's the first report of the 1995/96 com~petition year. My favorite report of tlle yearLHardly anything to type! From June AOSjudging at the CBG:

Klehm •.•.Brachycorythis acuta 'Carla' CBRJAOS

No general member earned any points duringthe month of June, so heading into the Julymeeting, the playing field couldn't be anymore level than it is right now. We're all tiedfor first place with 0 points. Stay tuned! I'vegot a feeling about the up~ comingcompetition year.

<><><><><><>«><><>

W ATCD THIS SF ACE, Coming soonto a newsletter near YOll. YOURADHERE. All this and more!

As we get our act together, the CommercialComer Page of the newsletter will be com~ing to life, within a couple of months. Generalmembers, keep an eye out! It's been on thedrawing board a long time. Now it's going tohappen.

Commercial members, watch for a letter inthe mail explaining what we're going to do.

THA T REA T WAVE. I wanted to comment on

the stress it may have put on your plants and what youmay have been required to do to safeguard your plants.I know that those of you with greenhouses were hardpressed to keep temperatures from soaring. I know thatthose of you with lightstands in your homes andapartments were hoping that you air conditioners wereup to the task and that sometime they weren't.

First, to those of you with lightstands: if you're leaving

, for work in the mommg and no onoe will be home tomomtor the sItuation on a ",day when the outdoortemperature WlII be in the 90's, then if you have anydoubts about your air conditioning or the quality of yourelectrical service. TURN YOUR UGHTST ANDS OFF.

Your plants won't miss the light for the few days that aheat spell can last but they will resent the waste heatenutted by the lights, slight though it may be. But do

,~ ."put all the fans you own into servIce to circulate the air.If temperatures build''Yp(say 105+), the mere circulationof the air may spare your plants while the lack of airmovement would spell doom.

To greenhouse and lightstand growers alike: brownoutsare a threat to be taken very seriously. If you loseelecmcal ,service ill your greenhouse and you happen tobe there when that happens, you can just stand there andmist the glass and the l'lants until sunset. But what ifyou're not horne? Without the fans pulling the airthrough, temperatures can hit 120-140 degrees in just afew mmutes .. Do' you have an emergency g~nerator inyour basement to operate Y0l}f sU!TIP punp in case ofpower loss during a flood? Wouldn't it make sense tohave another one in your greenhouse to operate the fansin the event of a blackout?

If you are safely ror cOnditioned and Continue to operateyour Iightstands during a heat spell, you may notice agrea', deai of tiickenng or dimming. As you shake yourhead and wonder how in the world all the light fixturesand all the flourescent tubes could decide to fallon the

same day, be reassured that most of what you are, seeingis an ebbing of voltage-~a brownout! DO NOT beginreplacing bulbs or swapping out light fixtures. Waituntil the heat spell is over and then re-evaluate yourlights and fixtures. You are likely to see that all or mostof these items have resumed functioning normally.

Tom Franczak

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REM IN DER •••••. REM IN DER .....• REM I N DER

THE CHICAGOLAND ORCHID FESTlVALOCTOBER 6.7,8. 1995

SIX COMMERICAL GROWERS -EFG ORCHIDS. KLEHM

GROWERS, OAK HILL GARDENS. WINOSONO

ORCHIDS. WILLIAM -J. SHABAN. PHALAENOF'SIS

BREEDER. AND CYPS. ETC .• WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE

3RD ANNUAL FESilVAL. THE ORCHID FESTIVAL IS

HELD IN CON..JUNCTION WITH OUR FALL MINI-SHOW.

SUPPORT THESE GROWERS BY ATTENDING ALL THE

FESTIVITIES. PRESENTATIONS, REFRESHMENTS AND

BARGAINS WILL ABOUND. THE TIME WILL BE 8:00AM TO5:00PM ALL THREE DAYS.

ORCHID FESTlVAUcmm.)

JOINING OUR LOCAl.. COMMERCIAl.. GROWERS WILL BE

MAoJORNAMES THAT YOU HAVE HEARD AND READ ABOUT--~-- ~.

IN YOUR ORCHID GROWING. THE ""JLI...OWING HAVE

PROMISED TO BE THERE:

THE ORCHID ZONE<@ EFG) , KR~L~"SMITH(@ EFGl,

CARTER 0, HOLMES (@ EFG), PAPHANATICS(@ EFGl,

HOOSIER ORCHIDS(@ WINDSONO), IMPACT ORCHIDS<@KLEHM'S), ORQUIDEAS DEL VALLE(COLOMBIN (@

KLEHM'S),CYp HAVEN(@ WINDSONGl, GREENVIEW

GARDENS(@ KLEHM'S), MCM ORCHIDS( @ OAK HILL),

GEMSTONE ORCHIDS(@ OAK HILL.)

WOW!!!! WHAT A OREAT ORCHID WEEKEND. WE HOPE TO

INCLUDE A FLYER WITH DIRECTIONS, INFORMATION, ETC.,IN NEXT MONTH'S NEWSLETrER. IF YOU NEED DETAlLS­

NOW- CAl..L ONE OF THE COMMERCIAl.. GROWERS LISTED.

AFTER ALL IS SAlD AND DONE, PLEASE DON'T ALSO

FORGET THAT YOUR HELP IS NEEDED.AT THE IOS FAL,Lc'MINI SHOW. ALSO,

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NOTE: After the Peoricir'Show;the IOS wilU !maxi:exhibit In the~SCONS=N ORCt-iilD SOCBE"f'trSHOW•.•.•.S&pilember 23 & 24that the MecheU Park DomaSeSet•.up and shew judgIng win been Friday~ Spetember 22.Please plan to help withblooming plants and bodies; it'sonly '\I 'i/~ houir'$ from hereiMolI"e deiaUs In the SeptembernewiBietter.

CCCCCCCCDCCCCCCDDCDCCD

SEASONS GREETINGS TO NEWMEMBERS! A new competition year hasbegun and with it the contest within thecontest. Open only to new members, this oneis othervvise identical to our regularcompetition. And, in fact, new members arecompeting both in the regular contest and inthis special one. Here's how it works,

Register your plants as usual for monthlyshow-and-tell and send your plants, as usual,to home and away shows( did you know you

'-~

. get double points for away shows????) AsI tally the points you earn., I note whether youare eligible for the new member'scompetition. If you are, your name and pointtotals appear in the monthly tallies annotatedvv'ithan asterish(*). At the end ofthe year, the

.top newcomer in the greenhouse division andein the lightstand~division earn awards. If a

rookie should crack the TOP 5 in his or her

respective division(this has actually happenedonce), then the award is even more substan­tiaL

So who are these new members? Well, ifyour name appears in the 1993-94(or proior)Membership Directory, you're no longer anew member for purposes of the .1995-96competition year. You are still a newmember if your name first appears in the1994-95 directory or the newly published1995-96 directory, or if you're SO NEW thatyou won't show up UTItilnext year's dir(~ctoryis printed.

Note that the way we define new members forpurposes of the competition, you get two full12 month seasons of eligibilty plus somefraction of a third. There are just two morespecial rules. Once you have won an award,newcomer or Top 5, you lose your amateurstanding, get traded to the old pro's league,and the rest of your rookie eligibility is lost.Rule #2: you must accumulate at least 20points to claim the award in your division. Amodest challenge, but a challenge neverthe­less. Any questions? I'm always around!

On your mark. ••.•...

Tom Franczak

Mid-America Orchid Congress &. AOSTrustees Meeting & Show, September 28,29, 30. and October 1, 1995. Cleveland, OBIf anyone has an Interest in anendjng thisshow, congress and trustees meeting, contact

your editor for detailed inf8nnation.

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"When I get some money, I buy books. If any is left,I buy food and doilies."-Ernsmus"When I have some spare tune, I repot mv orctuds. Ifany is left I wnte essays about repomng my orchids "Franczak

Late last year 1 traded cattleya diVlSIOnsWIth WavneKing from the Madison socIety The trade wasc.perclvaizana 'Soma de Urbano " for C.mosswe'Panther Creek' and that's wnat the trade was all about

and we were both very happy WIth It Completelyincidental to the plant trade, we swapped the pots theplants were in. And therein lies a small tale I

I've become pretty religious about usmg those clay patsWIth the slits in the sides for potting my carts and mylaeiias. Even so, I stili pound out some of the bo~..om ofthe pot to enlarge the drainage hole and cover it with asquare of insect screen that I cut to fit. sorta. (As far as Iknow, the only local source for these pots 15

Hausermann' s).

If you grow cans then you know how they iove tosocialize. Put one ill a pot, turn your back. and the nextthing you know it's crawled out of the pot and It'S got Itsroots In half a dozen other pots. You can try the cantamer bit WIth the chair and the whip but it doesn't doany good. You have to repot and sooner than you'd likeAnother SIX months and the plant' s center of graVlty wiDhave traveled beyone the edge of the pot.

Wayne's plant was m a plastic pot As I prepared torepot it in caly, I noticed a liner all around the IDSldeofthe pot. It didn't extend onto the borrom of the bot, butit ful1y irned the SIdes. Wax Paper? Of course I Tneplant slid easily out of the pot and there was no rootdamage wnatsoever because roots wouldn' t adhere towax paper. I was pleasantlv surpnsed to discover thIsgrowing technique and transferred the irner to the claypot. Slick, I thought! Later I thought it through.

My growrng conditIons for catts include ponmg mmedium grade bark top-dressed with crumpled, com­posted horse manure, m clay pots that dram rapidly. Wlth

tWlce a week watermg. 1 rely on the clay to dram andbreathe. The wax paper would defeat my mtentions togIve the roors access to air and to help them drybetween waterngs. But on the positive side of theledger, the. root damage and trauma that occur wnenreponmg catts wnose roots have virtually fused with thepot are all but eliminated by use of a wax paper liner.Not Fair' I want the.best of both worlds!

....Last rught I reponed c.perclvaiiana 'Jewel' It hadrevened to the jungle. In the eighteen months smce itwas last reponed, it had become a three story plant -­roots and rhizomes growing rn every which direction­at bark level, an mch above that, and again at anotherinch above that. Roots inside and outsIde the pot.Roots that left the pot and went back in through a sideslit. Roots everwnere. How many would perish duringthe struggle to remove the plant from the pot? Howmanv would be bent bevond the elastic limit and crack?How many would refuse to let got of the clay and benpped apart? \Vhere was the wax paper When I reallyneeded ifl

Now all large plants('Jewel' probably had rn excess of30 pseudobulbs), will tolerate a fair amount of insultduring the reponing and division process. I wasn' t reallyworried. But still you'r like to retain as much of the root5}-~tem·intaaCe as you possibly C~"1. SO ... \vhat did I do?(P'rl."tty suspenseful, eh?)

Roots and all, I wa able to lower 'Jewel' into a 5 gallonbucket. Then I added enough water to submerge theplant and all of its roots. Now here comes the criticalpan of this enterpTlSe. I got myself a beer and sat do'Wnand watched a couple of innings. That allowed 20-30mmutes to elapse durmg which the roots became pro­gressively softer and more pliable With a precisionmstrurnent(butter knife), I was able to dislodge :manyroots from the clay pot without much damage Andwithout much effort Once out of the pot. I gentlydivided 'Jewel' into four manageable pieces usmg justa machete and a chain-saw. Oust kidding about themachete).

I recommend tillS techruque to you because it doesn'tInvolve forfeitIng the pot. Given the cost of the claypots I described, I would hate to have to crack one opento remove the plant inside. Alternatively, if yourgrowrng conditIons call for weekly waterings rather thatsemI-weekly, you might want to experiment WIthWayne's wax paper lining for the sake of its repottlngbenefits When we haul out the med old "it depends onvour growrng conditIons, wnat's food for one, etc.," wereally mean it

Tom Franczak