Feature :- Talk on Tasmanian threatened plant species with reference to orchids by Wendy Potts and Phil Collier

    Floral Art :- "Spring Fever"

Sept. 5^th. Committee meeting 8pm at Chequers 51 Wellwood St. Lenah Valley

Sept. 19^th. Regular monthly meeting at Legacy Hall Macquarie St

    Feature :- Preparing for the Spring Show

    Floral Art :- "One Colour Arrangement"

29^th. Sept. – 2^nd. October Tasmanian Orchid Society Spring Show

Oct. 3^rd. Committee meeting 8pm at Jim Smith 11 Warren Crt. Howrah

Oct. 7^th. – 9^th. Burnie Orchid Society Conference and Spring Show

Oct. 17^th. Regular monthly meeting at Legacy Hall Macquarie St

    Feature :- Bev. Woodward will talk on Odontoglossums and allied genera

    Floral Art :- "Orchids in the Kitchen"

Nov. 7^th. Committee meeting 8pm at

Nov. 21^st. Regular monthly meeting at Legacy Hall Macquarie St

    Feature :- Nigel Schwatz from Botanic Gardens will talk on the seed bank set up to conserve rare species.

    Floral Art :- "Flowers with a feather, fur or fin"

Dec. 13^th. Christmas party meeting at Legacy Hall Macquarie St

    Feature :- Christmas Party, Bring a plate and enjoy yourselves

    Floral Art :- "Jingle Bell Christmas"

The Tasmanian Orchid Society Inc. disclaims all liability against any loss or damage, which may be attributed to the use of any article or material mentioned in Greenhood. Contributions express the views and opinions of the contributor and are not necessarily those of the Tasmanian Orchid Society.

The deadline for all articles is the Friday, ten days prior to the monthly meeting. No Exceptions.

It no sooner is Monday then its Friday, where does the time go? The year is flying and the spring shows are where we need to focus, to have flowers out (July was not a good month for encouraging flower spikes to move along) and keep them in top condition for the last week in September. Winning prizes at the show is a bonus, not the be all and end all. Showing the public what superb flowers orchids are and encouraging them to get involved with a new and very rewarding hobby.

Flower buds are very slow developing and indications are that they may be late for our show, but ready for the Burnie Conference and show. It would ne nice to have a TOS stand at their show and therefore we will be looking to take plants up on behalf of members who are not attending or cannot be there on the Thursday October 6. Burnie are also making provision for card table size displays for those who wish to have a personal stand.

Another reminder that helpers will be required for our show, see form with this newsletter, please complete and return to Marg. Thiessen, Barry Wilson or myself so we can complete planning.

I mentioned last month the possibility of TOS conducting a Sarcochilus Show next year. The bullet has been bitten and Legacy Hall booked for 24 November 2012. Now we need Sarcochilus in flower for display. More information in due course. I suggest that members attend the shows in Devonport and Launceston during November to see how they are conducted.

I have followed Vic Dawes advice and repotted my Pleiones as he showed and told us his secrets last month, now to see the results. Thanks Vic a good demonstration and talk.

Glasshouse/growing house visits are planned for 30^th. October. Destinations will be advised next month.

Our guest speakers this month are Wendy Potts and Phil Collier from the Threatened Species group talking on our native plants with particular emphasis on our native orchids. They will also be organising a visit to the Peter Murrell Reserve tyo view and photograph orchids. Should be a very interesting talk.

Enjoy your orchids Jim Smith

Volunteers are urgently needed to assist at the Spring Show. We need people to man the entrance tables, show stewards to walk the floors and people to help man the plant sales table plus helpers to set up the show and clean up afterwards. Help Assistance forms and Display Entry forms are printed on the reverse side of the wrapper for the August Greenhood. Helpers are particularly needed for Thursday and Friday when help is limited due to most people working.

It would help organisers if you volunteered for as wide a range for duties as possible rather than volunteering for a particular position. Also give as wide a range of times as possible you would be available to help (Indicate if you don’t want to do more than a certain number of rosters.) and give the organisers as much flexibility as possible in allocating rosters.

I thought I was doing all the right things to escape the winter ‘ailments’ but they finally caught me unawares and I missed my usual column for July … but here I am!

The cold winds, snowy weather plus very low temperatures sure has been depressing for us all and is now showing up in erratic flowering – not only in the orchid house but noticeably in all plants. Now, here it is late July and nothing much has changed apart from seeing Mt Wellington covered in snow – beautiful sight – but we hope Spring brings lots of joy.

By the time you receive this in August it gives us all time to think about our displays for the Spring Show. If you are a new member or you have never created your own now is the time to give it some thought. How about a card table (you need to supply your own), cover with a plain cloth - one large enough to reach the floor to cover the table legs - to create a tidy appearance. Then start by placing your plants (after making sure all pots or containers and plant leaves etc. are clean and tidy) in the best position to catch the judges’ eye – and, as a suggestion, some small ferns, indoor palms or any other FLOWERLESS PLANTS; a few pebbles, dried wood or any other material to soften the effect. Tidy the table edges, tape your plant names to their leaves, recheck the judging schedule guidelines and that’s it: BE IN IT – it’s very satisfying and FUN.

Any queries you may still have, bring them to the meeting.

At our July meeting the number of plants exhibited had dropped but still lots of colour etc.

I cannot remember when we last had such a prolonged period of very, very low temperatures in our growing areas both overnight and throughout the days, so can only hope now that Spring will be kind to us all. I suggest you talk kindly to your plants every day – I DO!

Plenty can happen in a 3 week holiday. The Ceologyne cristata hanging baskets have started to flower so they were hung in the Conservatory first thing Monday morning. It is now time to think that Spring is on its way.

Some large pots of Pterostylis pedunculata are flowering so they are now in position as well as the 4 pots of Pterostylis concinna which are making a Tasmanian feature in one bay.

Many more Cymbidiums are on display. Quite a few are the ones potted on by Society members last October. As I notice this I say to myself "thanks for your help."

The Oncidium excavatum have finally returned to the nursery. They have been flowering for many months.

Orchids on display this month include Zygopetalums, the last of the Paphioedilum, some small Maxillaria picta and a smattering of things that have finally started flowering some for the first time so it is very exciting to watch the petals unfurl.

Odontoglossum pulchellum are adding a faint scent in the building. They remind me of early jonquils. The Laelias gouldiana and Laelia anceps are in a bay still look stunning.

The orchids are of such an interest now that they need interpreting to the public where they are from, their history, who found them and what conditions they grow in etc. This is a big job in itself.

I have other duties which include placement of indoor pot plants for the Admin offices. The Director’s office always have a couple of nice flowering orchids. It is close to subliminal suggestion to have orchids to the forefront of her psyche, I am sure. It is my cunning plan.

Another thing to note is the Spring Plant Sale is on Saturday the 24th of September between 10.00am and 3pm.

Take care

This month we come to you with a bit of a Pterostylis special (Greenhoods) some of Amanda’s favourite native orchids and also our society’s emblem. It can be amazing where you can find these native orchids from the side of the road to directly on the path you walk on, orchids love paths so for the most part they are right in front of your eyes but so very easy to miss.

This greenhood has a flower that is 12 – 15mm in length and stands about 12cm tall, more easily identified by green and white stripes, with brownie maroon stripes on the front (Lateral sepal). This orchid has been showcased at one of our meetings and also at the royal Tasmanian botanical gardens. Flowering Times: July to October, Found at: Clifton Beach Conservation Area.

This greenhood has a nodding flower which is reasonable big at 18 – 25mm, the flower is also very translucent and you are able to see inside the flower. This one was found on the side of the road up a bank. easily seen while driving past, just before the Clifton beach and just after the drive way of the disused quarry. Flowering Times: July to November, Found at: Clifton Beach turn off.

This great little greenhood can range in size from only 5cm tall to over 30cm tall. Easily identified by the leaves up the stem, this orchid can be found most places in south arm. Flowering Time: June to September.

This is the last of the Corybas’s to be found down this way and is one of the most abundant orchids that I have found, Easily identified by the flower having a white petal in the middle of the flower. Flowering Time: July to October, Found: All over Clifton Beach Conservation Area.

Thank you for Reading, see you all at the next meeting

Wikipedia defines a grex : "When a hybrid cross is made, all of the seedlings from a resulting seedpod are considered to be in the same grex. Any additional plants produced from the hydrisation of the same two greges (plural of grex) also belong to the grex. All the members of the same grex may be considered as "sister plants", and just like the brothers and sisters of any family, may share many traits in common or look quite different from one another. This is due to the randomisation of genes passed onto the progeny in sexual reproduction. The hybridiser who created the new grex may choose to register the grex with a registration authority, in which case the grex must be named. If two members of the same grex produce offspring, the offspring receive the same grex name as the parents. Individual clones in the same grex may be given cultivar names to distinguish them from their siblings." Grex offspring, variation and clones/cultivars will be considered in parts 2,3 and 4 but let us consider the basic idea first.

We tend to think of each grex as unique, but are they? Consider the following Sarcochilus crosses and their progeny, the registered grexes.

The first is the Sarcochilus grex Judith:

Sarcocilus hartmannii X S. falcatus gives S. Melba

(registered 1966) ( Melba = ½ hart., ½ fal.)

S. hartmannii X S. fitzgeraldii gives S. Fitzhart

(reg. 1963) ( Fitzhart = ½ hart., ½ fitz.)

S. Melba X S. Fitzhart gives S. Judith (reg. 1992)

S. Judith is made up of; ½ hartmannii, ¼ falcatus, ¼ fitzgeraldii.

The second is S. grex Bon Bon:

S. falcatus X S. fitzgeraldii gives S. Verolica

(reg. 1989) ( Verolica = ½ fal., ½ fitz.)

S. hartmannii X S. Verolica gives S. Bon Bon (1993)

S. Bon Bon is made up of; ½ hartmannii, ¼ falcatus, ¼ fitzgeraldii.

The greges have the same species composition and proportion. Therefore, they are the same thing with two different names: S. Judith = S. Bon Bon. For those who are not convinced that this is widespread, here is another more complex one.

The first is S. Cherie Snow:

S. Fitzhart X S. fitzgeraldii gives S. Cherie

(reg. 1990) ( Cherie = ¼ hart., ¾ fitz.)

S. Cherie X S. hartmannii gives S. Cherie Snow (reg. 1995)

Cherie Snow is made up of; 5/8 hartmannii, 3/8 fitzgeraldii.

The second is Sweetheart:

S. hartmannii X S. fitzgeraldii gives S. Fitzhart

(reg. 1963) ( Fitzhart = ½ hart. & ½ fitz.)

S. Fitzhart X S. hartmannii gives S. Heidi

(reg. 1983) ( Heidi = ¾ hart., ¼ fitz.)

S. Fitzhart X S. Heidi gives S. Sweetheart (reg. 1998)

The weather bureau has revealed a series of cold fronts caused Tasmania's extreme weather conditions last month, bringing record low temperatures and huge swells.

The extreme conditions reached their peak on the 23rd, when Liaweenee in the Central Highlands recorded minus 11.2 degrees overnight, the second coldest July temperature on record.

The cold fronts also whipped up massive swells that damaged Port Arthur and other sections of Tasmania's south-east coast.

In the north, the Cape Sorell wave rider buoy recorded its largest ever swell of more than 18 metres.

Ian Barnes-Keoghan from the Bureau of Meteorology says the cold fronts also caused powerful wind gusts, especially in the west and south.

"178 kilometre an hour gusts recorded on Mt Wellington, 176 down on Maatsuyker Island. That brought damaging surf which caused a lot of problems on the Tasman Peninsula, coastal erosion," he said.

Mr Barnes-Keoghan says the cold spell only broke in the last four days of the month.

"What was peculiar about July was although most of it was cold, a lot of us will remember the very mild end to the month, where we saw some very high temperatures, well, high for winter, pushing up into the high teens, especially in the eastern half of the state," Mr Barnes-Keoghan said.

Strathgordon in the south west recorded more than 360 mm in July, compared with 13 mm for Maria Island off the east coast.

By the time you read this it will be well into August. The worst of the cold weather should (hopefully) be gone, and warmer weather on the way. As soon as any warm spell arrives you can start to use a high nitrogen fertiliser (weak solution only) making sure your plants are moist first, avoiding any root bum.

Watering frequency can now be increased, according to the weather, once a week up to once every 3 days in warmer spells. Water in the early mornings as the nights can still be cold.

Keep an eye out for Aphids as they start to breed as the weather warms up, they will attack the buds, marking the flowers.

Continue to tie and stake those plants with spikes, and prepare your plants for the Spring Show, cleaning and removing dried husks and leaves, clean the leaves with a weak, white oil and water mixture to make them nice and shiny. You only have until next month to prepare for the Show. A little effort now will help you to have your plants ready and make the show the best yet. Even if you only have one or two plants in flower I encourage you to show your plants as it is more for the public to see them than it is for us.

At this time of the year I like to sort out those plants that will need repotting and potting on, so that I can be prepared as soon as the weather warms up so that the plants get the longest advantage of the new root growth in the new compost. To sort out my plants for repotting I look for any signs of roots rotting or breaking down and any build up of salts in the pot. I simply tip the plant out of the pot and look at the root system and for those in a bark compost I will tip some of the mixture out until I can establish the root condition. Repotting is not necessary if the plant is healthy and has enough room in the pot for another year's growth. The plants I have in horse manure only get moved up to a bigger pot and some fresh Pooh added ( yes, FRESH ), if they are in good condition I find this does not disturb the growth and they improve and flower better.

Think about getting a supply of whatever compost you use .in the next month so that you will be ready to repot as soon as the weather permits. The compost the society has available is excellent particularly for beginners as it has all the necessary ingredients gathered from the forest, and mixed to a good brew ready for use.

August is generally too cold to start repotting, I recommend you wait until at least mid September and only then if it has started to warm up significantly.

More on reporting next month.

Just think, only a month until Spring and it can’t come quickly enough.

  I’ve been boasting that so far I haven’t seen any frost but woke up this morning (25 July) and the fish pond had frozen over.  This is an exceptionally rare occurrence.

  On the other hand it’s been quite a while since we’ve had such consistently cold weather, with snow on the mountain over an extended period of time.  This means that our growing areas and everything in them including the floor, walls etc. have become quite chilled.

  When we get some warmer weather it’s going to take time to create a comfort zone for the plants again.

I always look for an early Spring so that I can hopefully start potting some of the laelias mid-August but this year it’s going to take some time to shake the plants out of their torpor even with warmer weather.  I anticipate it will be at least mid-September before they show respectable new growth and vigour.  The oncidiums will be even later.

Talking of potting there are a number of things you can do right now.  Go through your plants and decide which need repotting this year and which can be left undisturbed.

  I always put the repot date on the back of my labels and this is a guide.  I pot every 2-3 years depending on whether the plant looks happy and has sufficient space for another year’s growth.  But – if the plant looks unhappy I automatically repot as soon as new growth appears, or in extreme cases then and there.

  If the roots have had it trim them well back but leave enough, even if they’re well dead, to stabilize the plant then pot in sphagnum moss in the smallest pot that will hold it and stake to ensure it can’t move.  Plants that are wobbly in their pots will not make new root growth.

Another thing, as I mentioned last month, is to ensure you have adequate supplies of potting material to hand.  My basic mix is bark and gravel.  The latter, washed, graded and bagged can be obtained from Horticultural Supplies, Crooked Billet Drive in the Brighton industrial complex.  The gravel I use is slightly larger than pea size.

Last month I also gave you information on the quality bark most of us use for our special plants.

Treasurer Barry has just assured me that he will still be taking orders at the August meeting as the second pallet is not yet filled.  Get it while you can.

More next month.

It was pleasing to hear that we will be having a Sarcochilus Show next year and the date has been set at November 24. This will give us a chance to check out the two shows up north earlier in the month and put some finishing touches on our show. John Whitney, whom you will remember gave a fine talk, slide show and demonstration on sarcochilus at the June meeting, has agreed to sponsor the show and we thank him for his support and generosity. Please bear in mind that sarcocilus are slow growers and if you do not have one and would like to obtain some for the show, then along with the wonderful seedlings that are on offer, it might be a good idea to get one or two established orchids. The important thing is that they are very easy to please and will put up with cold winter days and dry summer weather as long as they get some moisture and humidity at night. At this time of the year sarcochilus will take down to, but not quite, a frost.

The weather has certainly improved since those difficult days in early July and to cheer up the situation, flowering spikes should now be appearing thick and fast. Sarcochilus will often produce more than one spike from a node. Decide where the front of the plant is and face this towards the light. If you pick the orchid up to count the spikes make sure that is replaced in the same position. This will ensure that all of the flowers face in the one direction and you will not end up with a confused mess on a large plant. Large well-grown sarcochilus can produce dozens of spikes.

As the spikes appear it can be very frustrating though, because those that appeared early in winter, or even late May, tend to sit and not move until the weather warms up. Some looked like they had aborted their flowers a few weeks ago, but no, now they are slowly, but surely swelling. The flowers will still take a while to reach maturity. On the other hand the ones that opened in May are still going strong and their flowers have lasted well in excess of three months.

The days are getting longer. The shortest day was nine hours of light and we are now past ten hours. This is the magic figure when the heat coming in during the day is greater than the heat lost at night and everything starts to warm up. The days lengthen faster as we approach the equinox and the improvement is quite noticeable. What has this got to do with orchid growing? It is time to give the odd weak feed. Liquid fertiliser is the best. Complete ones containing nitrogen in the nitrate form are good. This can be taken up immediately. They may be hard to find and are generally more expensive. The problem with fertilisers based mainly on urea is that it has to be converted to nitrates before it can be absorbed. This occurs reasonably rapidly, but not fast enough for most it to be washed out by watering. Effectively most of the nitrogen is wasted. Why do fertiliser manufacturers put this in their product? The answer is the obvious one. Urea is cheaper. You cannot buy straight nitrate fertilisers anymore, because terrorists make bombs out of them. Calcium nitrate is available, but if you use that on its own, you will cause all sorts of problems with the calcium and magnesium balance in the plant. I am not a fan of organic fertilisers with potting mixes, because they are a bit of a pig in a poke as the nutrient content is rarely specified. Typically they are too low in nutrients, especially nitrogen and potassium.

The next instalment will be in September, just before the show. Some of the early flowers will be ready for this event, particularly if the warm weather keeps up. It is that minimum figure that holds them back!

August the last month of winter, plants are now showing some sign of new growth and as the days lengthen and hopefully temperatures rise we will see the first flash of spring growth.

Racemes will be showing on most plants that are going to flower this year. Therefore repotting can commence, use an open flee draining mix that will remain moist but not wet.

I water well after repotting and give the plants a dose of root hormone to encourage new root growth.

At this time it is important to be careful with watering. Cool days and cold nights can cause problems. When you water do it in the morning to allow plants to drain. Mounted plants may need extra attention as they will dry more quickly and may dehydrate on a warm day.

As new growth appears be careful of aphids and get them off before they destroy or distort the leaves.

This year I have made further changes to my repotting regime. It has come about due to changes I also made last year.

With the growing interest in the use of coco fibre, a decision was made to try it, but only on a few pans of Pleione that I have plenty of.

Using the product sold as coco fibre by Brunnings, that needed to be treated after first soaking it in water and then well rinsed. To this mass was added 50gms. of Iron Sulphate and of Magnesium Sulphate and again covered with water and allowed to soak overnight after which it was given a vigorous stir. The result was a balanced medium with a pH of around 6.0.

Further treatment was to get rid of the rubbishy bits and put the remainder through the shredder which produced a nice soft fibrous medium.

This year the experimental pans turned out better than expected with good bulb size and masses of roots.

Encouraged by this result, this years repotting has been modified again, now using the 2-5 mm. (smallest) OrchidMate which only needs to be soaked in water prior to use and has a pH of around 6.0 also. Certainly a lot easier to use.

Repotting now proceeds as, after the bulbs are cleaned up and roots clipped to about 10mm. they are dumped into a mix of Eco-Rose and Eco-Neeme solution as a prevention against fungi and insects.

Repotting consists of using the smallest possible pan that will accommodate the bulbs, smalls and bulbils.

Some of the coarse old mix is put in the bottom of the pan, then filling to half full with OrchidMate with my made up mix on top of that. Some fines are spread over to help settle the bulbs in. The bulbs are then nestled into this with the biggest and best in the middle and then the rest are spaced about 4-5mm. apart until the pan is full.Some fine quartz river sand is scattered over the top to help keep the bulbs in place until the roots become well established after flowering.

A light misting is given over the top of the bulbs prior to rebenching in a shady area.

Repotting of this genus can be done for a few weeks yet, but great care is needed to avoid damaging newly formed roots. Once damaged they are lost forever.

…the genus Cynoches can have both male and female flowers on a plant at the same time. Just like my pumpkins!

Editor Mr M White 72 Esplanade Margate 7054 Ph. 6267 1589

Greenhood can be accessed on the internet at http://www.tos.org.au/ where there are photos of many of the orchids tabled at meetings.