Coalition for Orchid Species At Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden 10901 Old Cutler Road, Miami, FL

Dear Club Members: Fall is certainly here and greeting us as I am even greeting you! Aren’t the days gorgeous? The orchids appreciate the few degrees drop in temperature, I can tell by the leaves. Try to take a few minutes out of each and every day to feel the breeze on your own skin, it might put a little more in touch with what’s going on with all your orchids. I’d like to thank everyone who attended our anniversary open house, and all the board members for bringing the wonderful fare presented at the party. We have a few new members who joined at the event. The annual auc-tion is upon us again. We’re going to have one-of-a-kind orchid species this year, so get there early to discover the ones for which you wish to bid! Many people have joined together to bring this auction together, but we’re always looking for more volunteers and assistants. Speak up, people! Hope you’ve all saved your monies, there’ll be some great plants. Also, remember, we are asking each and every member to bring some type of food to the meet-ing to accommodate all our guests. Invite as many people as you can, and if you have any donations, try to bring them early. We’ve gotten a few new books in the library, so take a look at the meeting in November to get the scoop. The election for the NEW board of directors is coming soon upon us, so if anyone is interested in serving in any of the capacities, please let any current board member know. Please patronize our advertisers and any of

the nurseries who support our auction. Until next meeting, Your pres, Katria

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Katria Whitfield

Special October Monthly Meeting - There will be no regular monthly meeting in October: Our fea-ture will be the COS Annual Species Auction on Monday, October 20, one hour earlier, at 6:30 p.m. at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, in the Corbin Education Center. The most important event of the year - Our annual auction is one of the most important events on the COS calendar. Why? Because this is where we hope to make enough money to cover next year’s speaker ex-penses and fund many of the other important activities that we provide to our members. We need your support! Plan on attending and bidding on some of the terrific bargains that will be available. COS has obtained splendid orchids from many vendors for this event. There are blooming orchids, unusual orchids, bargain-basement orchids, miniature orchids, grand orchids — why, there is an or-chid for every taste and passion! Come to the annual COS auction and find out for yourself! Great plants, great company, great fun! Your Donations to October’s Annual Auction will be appreci-ated! — and Volunteers are needed for the auction! — We need your help to make our annual auction a success. Please contact Katria Whitfield or Lou Lodyga if you can help setting up plant ta-bles, sorting the donated plants and clerking during the auction, or to help collect donated plants from local vendors and members.

This Month’s Special Event: The COS Annual Species Auction!

Meets every third Monday. Next meeting: Oct. 20, ‘08 October 2008

COS WILL SOON HAVE ITS OWN FABULOUS WEBSITE! STAY TUNED!

BITS and PIECES by Mirta Russis-Heineman

GET GROWING! Bulbophyllum longissimum By Lou Lodyga

Mirta Russis-Heineman was recently hospitalized for a week, following the onset of heart problems. She is at home now and as busy as ever, and thanks everyone for their outpouring of concern. Ethel Goldberg is now at home recovering from her badly broken leg, and would welcome your friendship. She sends the following: “Words are not enough to express my thanks for all the prayers and beautiful words of love, cards, e-mails, phone calls and visits that I received during my stay in the hospital and now at home.” COS member Jean Wilson is also doing well, recovering from bruised ribs from a fall last month.

Greetings to our newest COS members, Rosa Cuadrado, Millie Rodriguez, Karen Moss, Peggy Rente, Jill Sidran, Jim Watts, and Maria Wood. A big “welcome back” into COS membership to Jill Godfrey and Gail Roberts Smith! Happy growing to all of you!

"O, what land is the Land of Dreams? What are its mountains, and what are its streams?" - William Blake The dreamy exotic lands of Borneo and Malaysia are the haunts of this lovely Bulbophyllum. This is a must for those of you who love beautiful flowers, and to those who grow this fascinating genus. The name refers to the very long 11” flowers, which create a spectacular show! The 5-10 fragrant, cream colored flowers with minute pink spotting are arranged in an umbel, on long, pendant 20cm long inflorescences are produced in the fall. There is even a reddish spotted variety available. Like other Bulbophyllums, they like WATER!! You can grow them in pots, baskets, and mounted. Mine does best in a pot of sphagnum moss, because they don’t want to dry out. It prefers very light shade, so don’t grow them too dark, or you won’t get many flowers. Fertilize and spray pesticides as per your other orchids. As the plant is tropical, keep the cold weather away from them.

Page 2 Coal i t ion for Orch id Species October 2008

Stanhopea sp. photo by Melanie Trexler

As some of you may know, my Mom passed away on September 23. Al-though she didn’t grow orchids herself, she enjoyed them when I brought the

blooming ones into the house for her. It became a daily ritual for us. She’d wait each day to see what I may bring in, and she was fascinated with the dif-ferent shapes, colors, and fragrances and the number of varieties. I am so glad that she could fill her days with the beauty of orchids. Thanks to those of you

who sent emails and cards. Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated. Melana Davison

UPCOMING EVENTS

October 20, 6:30 p.m, come to our annual COS Auction! We will auction species and hybrids at great prices from local and international vendors. We also need your donations of plants and plant divisions. This is our soci-ety’s biggest fundraiser, so donate, volunteer, bring guests, and bid!

November 8 &9, 2008, The 68th Ramble at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, where COS will be showing off its membership’s blooming plants and recruiting new members. Please contact Mirta Russis-Heineman for more information and to volunteer!

December 6 - AOS class: Orchid Installation in Trees and Misting Systems (limit: 20 people) Instructor: Patrick Jennings, head horticulturist, American Orchid Society Botanical Garden. Here you’ll learn everything you need to know about installing orchids on trees and proper misting system setups for naturalizing orchids outdoors. Patrick will provide tools to help you determine the water needs and basic design principles for your home land-scape. Classes are held at the AOS Botanical Garden located in Delray Beach on Saturdays from 10 am – 12:30 pm. February 27-March 1, 2009, The 63rd International Orchid Show, “Secret Orchid Gardens,” at the Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel and Convention Center, 711 N.W. 72 Ave. Miami, FL (305)-261-3800.

BECOME A MEMBER OF COS!

We invite you to join the Coalition for Orchid Species! Receive this newsletter and many

other benefits, including a holiday party, fun meetings, reduced prices on special COS

events, and a free starter orchid!

To join, please bring or send your check for $20 for an individual membership or $30 for

a dual membership, payable to COS, to:

Vivian Wadell, Membership Chair, or email at vcwaddell@yahoo.com.

Page 3 Coal i t ion for Orch id Species October 2008

Refreshingly Voluntary!

We encourage COS members to help out with refreshments, setup and cleanup at Monthly Meetings. We need about five peo-ple each month to bring snacks such as fresh fruit, desserts, crack-ers & cheese, small sandwiches, etc., and assorted drinks for the next meeting. We could use about three dozen cookies, one cake or pie, one to two pounds of fruit or cheeses, or two boxes of crackers is an appropriate amount; you know what we like! Re-member to pick up your raffle ticket as one of the rewards of sharing — and good luck in the drawing!

Run, don’t walk, to sign up with Cindy Langdon, Hospitality Chair!

WHAT’S IN BLOOM

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Javier Morejon brought in a lovely Gongora specimen; Jose Gancedo’s Ionopsis utricularioides; Dr. Matthew Snow shows off a well-grown, floriferous Pholidota imbricata; Jose Gancedo and cheerful Cattleya; Jordon Steele’s lovely Miltonia

spectabilis 'Lizzie' AM/OAS; Mirta Russis-Heineman with a delicate Florida native, Epidendrum nocturnum.

Page 4 Coa l i t ion for Orch id Spec ies October 2008

Newsletter Submissions The COS Newsletter welcomes news, articles,

events, and any other items of interest to mem-bers. Send items by the FIRST MONDAY

OF THE MONTH to: mbtrexler@gmail.com

Please include your name at the beginning or end of your text. All submissions will be re-viewed and may be edited because of space

limitations. Thank you!

2008 COS Board President:

Katria Whitfield

Vice President:

Lou Lodyga

Treasurer:

Tom De Mello

Secretary:

Michele De Bianchi

Board Members:

Audrey McIntosh, Betty Eber,

Cindy Langdon, Melanie Trexler,

Eduardo Marcellini

Membership:

Vivian Wadell

Education Committee:

Lou Lodyga

Newsletter Editor:

Melanie Trexler

2007 President:

Mirta Russis-Heineman

(Special Events Chair)

JOIN THE AMERICAN ORCHID SOCIETY

For $60.00/year, you reap the following benefits:

Monthly subscription to Orchids magazine Free and discounted admission to more than 200 botanical

gardens and arboreta Receive the annual Orchid Source Directory detailing orchid

suppliers worldwide Access to Members-Only section of the Web site,

www.aos.org 10% discount on purchases in the Orchid Emporium or on-

line at www.aos.org Discount on back issues of Orchids magazine and on Ameri-

can Orchid Society published books Reduced processing fees for American Orchid Society judged

plant and flower awards Discounts on orchid class fees at the American Orchid Society

Botanical Gardens Free admission to the American Orchid Society Botanical Gar-

dens and 50% off admission for any guests. JOIN TODAY!

For information, contact Michele De Bianchi.

Support COS and get some Culture! Come get your copy of Dr. Martin Motes’ excellent cultural handbook, Florida Orchid Growing Month by Month, detailing how to grow orchids throughout our South Florida seasons. It is now ON SALE and going fast at the COS Library table, while supplies last. $15.00 each. Beautiful orchid notecards and prints by lo-cal botanical illustrators are now ON SALE at the COS Library table! Prints by Sylvia Bota, Pauline Goldsmith, Bobbi Gardner, Caroline Lane and Elsa Nadal are sure to charm. Impress your friends with your good taste, or frame them and display them for your own enjoyment! Prices vary; while supplies last!

Page 5 October 2008 Coa l i t ion for Orch id Spec ies

JOIN THE ORCHID DIGEST CORPORATION

Don't let the name fool you, the Orchid Digest is a non-profit membership-based organization dedicated to orchids. Designed to appeal to the mid-range to advanced grower, nothing beats the Orchid Digest for terrific information and eye-popping photographs.

For just $34/year you get 4 issues of full-color, in-depth articles about orchids. The magazine is large format and the fourth issue of the year is always an extra-special issue devoted to a single genus. For more information, contact Mirta Russis-Heineman at mrussis@bellsouth.net.

COS Anniversary Open House Festivities Page 6 Coa l i t ion for Orch id Spec ies October 2008

Our Fearless Leader, Katria Whitfield

Bob Pemberton

Mirta Russis-Heineman

Dr. Martin Motes

Eduardo Marcellini, Michele De Bianchi, Lou Lodyga

Betty Eber The COS

Please patronize our loyal advertisers!

Michele R. De Bianchi, Esq. Levey, Filler, Rodriguez, Kelso

& De Bianchi, LLP

Plaza Venetia

555 NE 15 Street, Suite 104 Miami, Florida 33132

Tel.: 305-371-5250

Where Quality is as Traditional as the Orchid Itself

28100 SW 182 Ave. , Homestead, FL 33030 305-245-4570 * rforchids@aol.com *www.rforchids.com

Order toll-free 1-877-4VANDAS

Coa l i t ion for Orch id Spec ies October 2008 Page 7

World Wildlife Fund Discovers Several New Orchid Species in New Guinea With a blossom that looks a little like a snarling face, this newly discovered species of orchid is beautiful even when it's angry. Scientists from the conser-vation nonprofit WWF discovered the flower, along with at least seven other new species of orchid, in the tropical rain forests of Papua New Guinea. The researchers made the discoveries while surveying previously unexplored forests in the Kikori region on the southern coast of New Guinea's principal island between 1998 and 2006. Over the course of three expeditions, the scientists collected some 300 orchid species, 8 of which have been confirmed as new to science, with 20 more still awaiting verification as new varieties. Even before the find, Papua New Guinea claimed more known orchid species than any other country in the world. "The island of New Guinea is an incredible gold mine of orchids," said Wayne Harris, a WWF researcher and botanist with

Australia's Queensland Herbarium. "There are over 3,000 known species found here with countless varieties un-doubtedly yet to be discovered." WWF announced the find a week before the official launch of new wildlife man-agement areas in Kikori, which will aim to protect the rain forests where the flowers were found.

Page 8 Coa l i t ion for Orch id Spec ies October 2008

ON LEFT: In addition to the eight new or-chids recently discovered in Papua New Guinea, scientists also found previously known but still impressive species, including this ex-quisitely ruffled Dendrobium spectabile.

ON RIGHT: Thin, translucent petals form the starlike bloom of this newfound species of orchid discovered in Papua New Guinea. This as-yet-unnamed species belongs to the genus Taeniophyllum, whose members are notable for their lack of leaves.

NEXT MEETING :

COS ANNUAL AUCTION!!! MONDAY, October 20, 2008,

1 HOUR EARLIER, at 6:30 p.m., Corbin Education Building

at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

Coalition for Orchid Species

Return Address:

14303 SW 80 Avenue

Palmetto Bay, FL 33158