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August, 2019

E Y E S O N O R C H I D S

B A T O N R O U G E

O R C H I D

S O C I E T Y

Eyes On Orchids

President’s Message

V O L U M E 6 1 , I S S U E # 7 - J U L Y , 2 0 1 9

Meeting: August 21 at 7 p.m. at Burden Center - 4560 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA

Inside this Issue

President’s Message 1

Program 1 Minutes 2 Committees 3

Name Tags 3 Gulf Coast Event in October 4 What’s wrong With My Orchid? 5

Short Course 7

Green Growers 8

Short Course Speakers 8 Misc. Pictures 9 Birthdays & Birthday Orchid 10

Meeting Schedule 11 Notes from the Orchidnut & pictures 12

PROGRAM This month’s program will be a webinar called

“Demystifying Dendrobiums” conducted by Ron McHat-ton, Education Director for the American Orchid Socie-ty. Dendrobiums grow very well, here and this program

should help us do even better with them.

I hope everyone is enjoying the

warmer, I mean hot weather we are hav-

ing. Please remember to keep cool and

hydrated during the extreme heat. Also,

our orchid companions would probably en-

joy an extra fan as well. I have been look-

ing for another little cool front to come back down to

south Louisiana. Hope one comes soon.

Just wanted to let everyone know that Kathy Conerly

and I worked to reschedule our annual show. But, due

to the conflicts in the available dates we were able to

secure, we were ultimately forced to completely cancel

for the year. We will just try and look forward and get

a head start on next years show.

I also want to thank everyone who purchased or-

chids from Kent Daniel’s that I was selling for him last

month. He was very grateful to us for helping him out.

He also thanks everyone for their purchase.

This month at 6:30pm in the parking lot of Burden,

Frank Zachariah will be demonstrating and repotting a

few of the orchids from the LSU Orchid Conservatory.

See President Page 3

President’s Message

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The July meeting of the Baton Rouge Orchid Society was called to order by president Wesley Matthews, who wel-comed guests and new members. Members with birthdays in July chose their birthday orchid. Though Hurricane Barry cancelled our annual show at the last minute, Wesley thanked everyone for all of the work put into its preparation. There is no rescheduled date at this time. He also encouraged members to save the date of December 7th to attend the Lafayette short course. David Medus of the Lake Charles Orchid Society gave a presentation titled “Growing Orchids is Easier Than You Think”. Just a few of his good take-aways were:

● Orchids like to eat more than fertilizer and use sun light as a food source

● The right environment is important airflow – water – and light

● Get a mentor. A mentor can offer priceless advice to help one grow healthy orchids

● He has found that phals like clear plastic pots and mentioned the orchidsupplystore.com as a source.

● He prefers clay pots for his cattleyas

● David then encouraged everyone to join the American Orchid Society as it’s the best source of the latest or- chid information.

● David followed his talk with taking questions from his audience sharing more of his expertise.

Wesley followed the talk with the refreshment break, thanking everyone who brought food to enjoy.

David also reviewed the bloom table and asked members to talk about their orchids in bloom. This was followed by the door prize and the orchid raffle. The meeting was then adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Patty Granier for Lata Johnson, Secretary

BROS Officers, 2019

President

Wesley Matthews

662.321.1912 wdmatthews@hotmail.com Vice- President

Kathy Conerly

225.921.3084

kconerly1@bellsouh.net

Secretary

Lata Johnson

225.933.0801

plantlover58@bellsouth.net

Treasurer

Jim Morrison

225. 752.6383

jwmorrisoniii@msn.com Show Chairman, 2019 Vacant so far

Newsletter Editor

Danna Spayde

225.317.0933

orchidnut_2000@yahoo.com

Board Members

Hal Canning, thru 2019

Ed Gaskell, thru 2020 Glenn Gawarecki thru 2021

SWROGA Reps:

Lata Johnson & Kathy Conerly

AOS Rep:

Tin-Wein Yu 225.388.0850

tin@laorchid.com

Orchid Digest Rep:

Frank Zachariah 225.202.0377 lousid8@gmail.com

Standing Committee Chairs

Program ♦ Lata Johnson

Membership ♦ Kathy Conerly

Librarian ♦ Bob Danka

Refreshments ♦ Nancy Morrison

Publicity ♦ Danna Spayde

Minutes July, 2019

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President continued from pg. 1

He is bringing the supplies and will bring a few plants that need repotting.

Show up early and learn how to do it and help him out.

Happy Growing and can’t wait to see everyone Wednesday.

Wesley

Committee Meetings

Publicity/Membership Committee - Meets on 1st Wednesday of each month - September 4, 2019 at 6 p.m. by conference call.

Program Committee - 3rd Saturday of each month at 8 a.m. - Septem-ber 15th by conference call.

Anyone who would like to participate in either or both committees is welcome.

Access Numbers for Conference Calls for both Committees:

Dial-in Number: (605) 475-4700

Need a Name Tag?

If you would like a Society name tag to wear proudly at our meetings and other events, contact Cmdr. Ed Gaskell. You may

leave a voice message or text him at 225.400.8946; or email: epgaskell@cox.net; to place an order.

Several fastening choices are available. The cost is $10.

Denise Ann

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Better-GroOrchidBlog 7/15/2019

What's Wrong with my Orchid? Improper

Watering & Feeding Levels There are several factors that lead to poor orchid growth. Correctly identi-

fying the source of the problem is key to understanding how to treat it and

avoid it in the future. In this post, we’ll discuss the most common issues

that arise from improper watering and feeding levels.

An under-watered Phalaenopsis

Overwatering and Underwatering

Not too much and not too little - but just the right amount of water will

make your orchids very happy. But how do you know how much is just

right?

Over-watering is the most common problem associated with poorly per-

forming orchids. Symptoms can look very similar to those of under-

watered plants because it often rots the roots and therefore prevents them

from taking up adequate amounts of water.

The first thing to do is to examine the roots of the plant. If the roots are

rotted (soft, black and soggy) then chances are the plant is being over-

watered. If the potting media is fresh and the pot size is not too large,

then you will need to cut back on the frequency of your watering. Also, be-

cause the rot is often associated with a bacteria or fungus, you may need

to drench the plant or pot with a good fungicide or bactericide.

Under-watered plants often exhibit limp or withered leaves and withered

stems or bulbs. This happens because the plant is not getting enough wa-

ter to keep the leaves, bulbs, or stems turgid.

If the pot is not too small for the plant and the roots are in good health

(white and firm), then this is easily remedied by watering the plant more

frequently. Remember that Cattleyas and Dendrobiums like to dry be-

tween waterings. Once the potting media dries out, you should water the

orchid promptly. Do not let the orchid stay dry for a prolonged period.

See What’s Wrong With My Orchid pg 6

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Also, realize that larger pots tend to stay wet longer than smaller pots. One

trick to learn is to lift the pot up when it is ready to be watered and note

the weight of the pot. Now, water your plant thoroughly and let it drain for

5 minutes, then lift the pot up and again note the weight. The difference in

pot weight is noticeable and, over time, this can be a quick and easy way to

tell when your plant requires watering.

Overfeeding and Underfeeding

Orchids require plant food, known as fertilizer, for food. In nature, they re-

ceive this from dead or rotting plant and animal material. Regular feeding

with an orchid plant food is essential to getting the best results from your

orchids. There are several different nutrients that are required by the plant

for proper growth. A plant food made specifically for orchids such as Better-

Gro® Orchid Plus®, typically contains all the nutrients your orchids need.

Over-feeding (feeding at a higher than recommended rate) is the most

commonly observed issue with plant food use. This is derived from the fal-

lacy that if a little is good, more is better. Actually, over-fertilization can

cause root burn which can lead to root rot and/or stunted plant growth.

Under-fed plants often have leaves that start to lighten in color

(especially evident on the older leaves first) becoming more and more yel-

low. This leads to weaker, poor-growing plants that may not flower or that

produce very weak flower spikes/stems with fewer and smaller flowers than

normal.

It's easier than you think to feed your orchids - just follow the instructions

on the Orchid Plus® package.

Happy Blooming!

What’s Wrong With My Orchid? From Pg 5

Disclaimer: I have permission to use material from Better-Gro publications in this newsletter. Naturally they’re going to advertise their products. BROS has no financial interest in Better-Gro and does not necessarily endorse their products. Better-Gro produces the “bag baby” orchid plants that many of us have purchased from big box stores.

C. Dowiana x Pavavia

Left

C. Hawaiian Passion

Right

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The speakers for the Short Course to

be held in Lafayette by the Aca-

diana Orchid Society on December

7, 2019 are Alan Koch owner of

Gold Country Orchids (pictured

left) and Fred Clarke, owner of

Sunset Valley Orchids (pictured

right). These are two outstanding

orchid experts and speakers, both from California. Alan specializes in catt-

leyas and Fred in catasetums.

Be sure to save the date and plan to go. Registration forms will be sent in

early August. The Short Course is always an outstanding event and a

great opportunity to learn more about our favorite flowers. You don’t want

to miss it!

December Short Course Speakers Announced

Green Growers Schedule

September 11 October 9

November 13 Meetings are at

7 p.m. at the home of Gene & Thelma Berg

425 Nelson Dr. Come for good fellowship,

refreshments, learning - and door prizes!

Green Growers Meet-

ing on August 14.

Next meeting is Sep-

tember 11.

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Kristen Wilcox, Clinical Support Coordinator

at Cancer Services, receives orchids that I

dropped off there on August 5. These were

donated to us by Trader Joe’s.

Our July speaker, David Medus, of the Calcasieu Orchid Society

enjoyed visiting our Orchid Conservatory at Burden.

David Medus, Sue Hilliard,

and Frank Zachariah

Blc Chance the Chance Very aromatic. Posted by Lata Laxman on the BROS Facebook page

Phalaenopsis Jungle Cat 'Stripes' all ready to come to our show which didn’t happen. Posted by Glen Ladnier of Gulf Coast So-ciety on Facebook

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August Birthdays

Lynette Frazer 8/1 Pat Canning 8/28 Jimmy Clark 8/3 John Huner 8/29 Frank McMains 8/23 Tin-Wein Yu 8/30 Melanie Newkome 8/8

Birthday Orchid for

August - Phalaenopsis

The name came from two Greek words phalaina ( meaning ”looking like a moth” ) and opsis (meaning “appearance” ). Therefore, it means visually looking like a moth. The shape of the flower looks like a local moth.

The original flower found in nature is very small. For decades, since the early 20th century, humans have kept producing new varieties of this tiny flower, and it has become the size it is now. The Meaning of the Flower: I will love you.

Definitely this is another birthday or-

chid that we can grow very well in Ba-

ton Rouge. They are seen everywhere

in stores. The first ones discovered

were white, but they now come in vari-

ous colors with stripes, spots, and oth-

er markings.

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Meeting Schedule

August 14 at 7 p.m. - Green Growers August 21 - at 6:30 Plant Clinic 7 - p.m. - BROS meeting—Webinar—”Demystifying Den-drobiums” by Ron McHatton, August 26 - 10 a.m. - Orchids for Seniors. Program on Bonsai by Chip Thompson

September 11 at 7 p.m. - Green Growers September 18 - at 6:30 Plant Clinic 7 - p.m. - BROS meeting September 23 - 10 a.m. - Or-chids for Seniors. Field Trip (tentative)

September, 2019 August, 2019 October, 2019

October 9 at 7 p.m. - Green Growers October 16 - at 6:30 Plant Clin-ic 7 - p.m. - BROS meeting October 28 - 10 a.m. - Orchids for Seniors. Final meeting of 2019. Program TBA

Three opportunities to learn about orchids….

Baton Rouge Orchid Society -

3rd Wednesday ♦ Burden Center, 4560 Essen

Lane Baton Rouge, LA ♦ featured speakers,

growing tips, plant clinics, awards table, plant

raffle.

Plant Clinic at 6:30 p.m. Meeting at 7 p.m.

Green Growers - educational program for novice

orchid growers ♦ 7 p.m. on 2nd Wednesday of

month except July, and December at 425

Nelson Dr. Baton Rouge.

Orchids for Seniors - 10 a.m. - 4th Monday

January through October, except July ♦

Independence Park ♦ 7500 Independence Blvd.

Extending the knowledge and appreciation of

orchids to members and the gardening

community of the Greater Baton Rouge Area.

Baton Rouge Orchid Society

P.O. Box 66242

Baton Rouge, LA 70896-6242

info@batonrougeorchidsociety.com

www.batonrougeorchidsociety.com

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Meeting on August 26, 2019 10 A.M. at Independence Park, Room 137

Program; Presentation on Bonsai by Chip Thompson

Orchids for Seniors Supplement

We didn’t meet in July because of

the BROS Show. However, Mother

Nature dealt us a blow on Show

weekend, and it had to be cancelled.

We were unable to re-schedule it so

no Show for 2019. This is probably

the first time we’ve not been able to

have it - at least it’s the first time in

my memory, and I’ve been a mem-

ber of BROS for a loooooong time.

In August Chip Thompson will do

a program for us on Bonsai. Chip,

who is a BROS member, is very

knowledgeable about bonsai, and we

will learn a lot from him.

I’m hoping that we can take an-

other field trip in September to a

nursery in Loranger. I’m going to the

Gulf Coast next week and plan to

visit the nursery on the way over to

see if a field trip is feasible. I’ll be

able to report to you about it at the

August meeting.

Our last meeting of the year is

in October. Would y’all like to have a

pot luck lunch for that meeting or

have a short meeting at Independ-

ence Park and then go to a restau-

rant to have lunch together? Let me

know. See you on the 26th.

Danna, The Orchidnut

July

August Meeting

2019 Future Meetings

Some orchids on display table to BROS

July meeting