president's message
August 2019
(NOTE: This column will rotate each month to the board member assigned to lead the previous monthly meeting. July’s Acting President is Carol Beule.)
We certainly made a big mess……. and then cleaned it up with great success. And I hope everyone went home with the baby Sarcochilus and re-potted Phalaenopsis they wanted. I am hoping that in the next 2 years we will see the fruits of our labor. Orange, pink spotted, “poached egg,” and red sarcos and beautiful phals that are blooming once again.
When you go to a nursery and pay for a plant, you are not only paying for the expertise of the nursery to hybridize the plant you want, but for their space, time, water, greenhouse and expertise in all things orchids. Acquiring a plant as a seedling makes every one of us more appreciative of buying plants from a nursery or grower and the challenge in getting it to the age when it will bloom.
If you learned how to pot up distressed plants and what to do about de-flasking seedlings, then our meeting was a success. We had 4 new or returning members at this meeting and 3 visitors from the South Bay Orchid Society who drove all the way to Burbank to see what we do at this July meeting. It has become a tradition to spend this meeting in working on the actual maintenance and “work” of repotting our collections. I hope this can continue into the future.
If you managed to answer the questionnaire that Kristine distributed for everyone to fill out, thank you. I hope you asked for more of this type of meeting. If you didn’t get to fill out one, there will be another opportunity at the September meeting for anyone who missed telling us what they wanted to see and learn at our monthly meetings. We always try to schedule speakers to address the desires of the members.
As we are off in August, some of us begin to think about the Huntington International Orchid Show and sale happening then. This year’s theme is “ORCHID SAFARI.” Anyone wishing to be a part of the group that puts this show together is welcome to join in. And of course, we need all of your blooming plants to exhibit for the show. Get in touch with me if you want to participate.
And stay cool.
My best.
Carol
erin's fun fact
We’ve all heard of birth stones and flowers, but birth orchids? Yes! It’s true, there are birth orchids! OrchidRepublic.com tells us: “Folklore, legends and mythology all contribute to the field of floriography, or flower symbolism. Tradition has provided us with many examples of how certain flowers hold various meanings and significance. Some of these traditions originated in the Victorian era, while others date back to antiquity.
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Does your birth orchid resonate with you?
January – Dendrobium: beautiful life
February - Lycaste: pure heart
March - Zygopetalum: long and lasting love
April – Odontoglossum: you are special
May - Masdevallia: temptation
June - Vanda: innocence
July - Paphiopedilum: affection
August - Phalaenopsis: romance
September - Oncidium: fairness
October – Cattleya: grace
November - Epidendrum: blissfulness
December - Cymbidium: pure honesty
https://orchidrepublic.com/blogs/about-orchids/what-is-your-birth-orchid