Feature :- Jim Smith will demonstrate repotting of terrestrial orchids

    Floral Art :- "Song Title"

April 3^rd. Orchid mix collecting at Bermuda south of Huonville.

April 4^th. Committee meeting 8pm at A&H Millward 26 Glenmore St. Rosetta

April 16^th.Mixing and bagging of orchid mix at Mike White’s Margate

April 18^th. Regular monthly meeting at Legacy Hall Macquarie St

    Feature :- Wayne Dawes will give a talk on the growing of Disa’s

    Floral Art :- "Autumn’s Beauty"

May 16^th. Regular monthly meeting at Legacy Hall Macquarie St

    Feature :- Autumn Show

    Floral Art :- "Posy for my Mum"

    Feature :- John Whitney to talk on Sarcochilus

    Floral Art :- "Winter Time"

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

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.

The Society has again had a very successful year.

The finances have been well managed by Barry Wilson and resulted in a profit in excess of $5000, well done Barry.

Our monthly meetings have been very well attended. Guest speakers Clive Halls, Masdevallias and John Whitney, Sarcochilus provided important information and new plants. General culture was a regular feature of our meetings where we were able to learn from each other and assist new members to understand growing orchids.

The variety and quality of plants benched monthly meeting has been excellent, each meeting is an orchid show in itself. Obviously members are heeding the information imparted to them.

The Ross meeting day was attended by 80 growers and many plants changed hands. The raffle of donated prizes raised $299 for the Australian Orchid Foundation.

The auction conducted by the late Rex Johnson and his wife Lyn raised $600 for the society. Rex was always good for a joke and laugh, he will be missed.

The number of members reached 130 at February, an excellent number, we must be doing something right.

Our Autumn Show was won by Odm. Stamfordiense owned by Bev. Woodward, a worthy winner.

The Spring Show provided a magnificent display to the public, $11,000 worth of plants sold. Grand Champion was Odm. nobile owned by David Atkins, well done David. Thanks to all the members who displayed plants and all the workers who helped to make the show the success it was.

The Society Registrar, Phyl. Nicholas and her helpers ensure the judging at meetings and shows is conducted successfully. Thanks everyone.

A large group of workers ensured the orchid mixing day a success, 264 large bags and 50 small, all of which have now sold. Well done by all the workers.

Plant competitions have been a means of getting new plants into collections, genera used during the year were Odontoglossum, Cattleya, Dockrillia, Cymbidiums and Sarcochilus. These competitions involve new members and assist them to build collections.

The workshop conducted in November was well attended and enjoyed by registrants and society members who participated in running the event.

Society members held a working bee at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens in November to repot some of the cymbidiums collection, 100 odd plants were repotted. The society also donated $500 to the RTBG to purchase essential equipment.

Thanks to, Jan Dicker, Mother Christmas in her red outfit was able to attend our December meeting and distribute gifts to everyone.

This newsletter contiues to be the best orchid newsletter around, Mike White has continued to produce a quality product. He was granted Life membership at the last AGM. Well done Mike.

The continuing success of the society results from a hard working committee and the willingness of members to assist whenever needed, e.g. cleaning up after meetings and functions. I say thank you everyone.

There is a need to advise of some changes to dates:

The orchid mix collecting at Bermuda will now be held on Sunday 3 April, meet at Huonville council chambers at 9.00am.

The mixing and bagging day at Mike White’s home , Margate, will be held on Saturday 16^th.April.

The Oncidium flowers Chris Nicholas showed at the last meeting along with the cultural information he imparted should give orchid enthusiasts the confidence to add some "Dancing Ladies" to their collections. Thank you Chris.

Thanks to all the barbecue attendees who shared salads and other goodies coupled with tasty well cooked meat. The weather was not quite what was hoped for but everyone appeared to enjoy themselves and caught up on culture and gossip. Growers from Burnie and Launceston were made very welcome.

A visit to four growers has been arranged for Sunday 27 March. See over for details.

Cymbidium growers would now be starting to notice spikes appearing, take care and train them as they rise through the foliage so they will be ready for displaying at meetings or our Spring Show. Plants must be owned for six months prior to a show for the flowers to be judged otherwise it is " Display Only".

March is our AGM when we discuss our past year and elect a new committee. I can advise that the year has been very successful and alol members of the present committee have decided to stand again.

Prizes in the Judging and Popular Vote will be presented.

Congratulations to Marcus Smith who is being elevated to First Division.

Enjoy you orchids.

Contributors are required for Greenhood. You don’t have to contribute every month, one off articles are welcome. If you are interested in a particular group of orchids why not write about them either on a regular basis or casually. Groups for which contributions would be welcome include Masdevallias, Odontoglossum alliance, Sarcochilus and terrestrial orchids to name some. Rob Connor is no longer able to contribute to the Cymbidium column due to ill health and the Cymbidium column is currently be recycled so a fresh contributor would be welcome.

The newsletter is being upgraded on a trial basis, so colour photos can now be included with any articles. If an article refers to any orchid recently tabled at a meeting then I almost certainly have a photo of it on file and can include it. Other photos are welcome.

Completed Nomination Forms, Notice of Motions and other items you wish to have placed on the agenda must be forwarded to the Secretary prior to the meeting. Please use the nomination forms inside your newsletter and keep the ‘business’ end ticking.

A tour of members’ orchid collections has been organised for Sunday 27^th. of March. Starting at 9.30am, the order of visits are :-

Cymbidium Hyb.<=90mm.      1^st Marg. Thiessen                     15 points

Laelineae Sp./Hyb.                 1^st Marg. Thiessen                      29 points

Odont. & Allied                      1^st Bev. Woodward                    44 points

Oncidiums                               1^st Marg. Thiessen                       23 points

Masdevallia Alliance              1^st Marg. Thiessen                       45 points

Other Species                         1^st David Atkins                           21 points

Other Hybrids                        1^st Mike White                              28 points

Sarcochilus Alliance               1^st J&B Smith                               24 points

Australian tuberous                1^st. J&B Smith                              15 points

Australian Native                   1^st J&B Smith                                41 points

Popular Vote                           1^st Bev. Woodward                       26 points

                                                 2^nd. G&G Chequer                        21 points

                                                 3^rd. Mike White                             16 points

Cymbidium Hyb. <=90mm.     1^st Wayne Dawes                          18 points

Laelineae Sp./Hyb                  1^st M. Smith                                   21 points

Odont. & Allied                      1^st M. Smith                                   26 points

Oncidiums                               1^{s t} M. Smith                                   18 points

Masdevallia Alliance              1^st B. Davidson                               20 points

Other Species                         1^st M. Smith                                    47 points

Other Hybrids                         1^st B. Wilson                                   16 points

Sarcochilus Alliance                1^st B&L Davidson                           56 points

Australian tuberous                 1^st Barry Wilson                             21 points

Popular Vote                           1^st Marcus Smith                             35 points

                                                 2^nd A. Millward                               22 points

                                                  3^rd. B&L Davidson                         11 points

Floral Art                                 1^st S. Jackson                                  40 points

Floral Art                                  1^st S. Jackson                                  40 points

The RTBG Conservatory have on display the last of the Masdevallia, veitchiana and colossus, Encyclia cochleata and Miltonia spectablis of which there seems a later variety with a darker pink flower. as yet unnamed. I have popped in the new Stanhopea baskets in place in the bays. They are easier to move when just in bud before the flowers develop however they won’t be flowering this month. This species looks like Stan oculata but I would be glad to have that confirmed. 3 early Laelia are placed in a bay. One year I watched the petals split open and it was an incredible sight as well as scent. Members are invited to bring their chairs to watch this event. The first of the Oncidium excavatum are flowering with many more flower stalks to follow.

The Gardens are having a spectacular installation Power Plant as part of the Ten days on the Island. This will be something quite different.

Reminding members about the book from the UK, just let me know. My work phone number is 62363082.

Email address is margot.white@rtbg.tas.gov.au . Members are welcome to get in touch so that I can send them news of what’s happening at the RTBG or visit www.rtbg.tas.gov.au

Neither do we, but we can still grow lots of great orchids; cymbidiums, dendrobiums, sarcochilus, masdevallias, oncidiums, pleiones, disas and more.

Wayne Dawes won the popular vote and judges’ vote at the last meeting with a magnificent Stanhopea. When asked where he grew it, he replied that it hangs in an apple tree. With a little care outstanding results are possible. There is an excellent article by Wayne Turville: "Do you have an old orchid under a gum tree?" in the current edition of the "Australian Orchid Review". This contains good growing advice for orchids outside.

Orchids are generally classified as warm-, intermediate- and cool-growing. You may sometimes see the conditions given as cold-growing. If an orchid is to spend the full year outside, we can forget about warm-growing (minimum temperature above 12^oC) and intermediate (10^oC – 12^oC - perhaps a bit lower), but cool-growing will generally thrive. I find that most will do quite well at lower temperatures than indicated, but very few will tolerate frost on them. I think that the reason a minimum of 4^oC is specified is because a frost will form on the ground in low lying pockets below this figure.

Cymbidiums look great in a pot outside and in a well-prepared garden bed, as will a lot of the native dendrobiums such as Dendrobium kingianum, D. speciosum and many of their hybrids, including D. delicatum. Most cultivated sarcochilus are based on Sarcochilus hartmannii and S. fitzgeraldii and these along with many of their hybrids will do well. Masdevallias vary in their temperature requirements, so do some homework first, as the cool growers will do well for you, but the intermediate and warm growers will usually not like the cold. Disas are easy, given the right conditions. There are less oncidiums that will grow outside, but some will and they can look quite spectacular. Chris Nicholas showed a slide of Oncidium cordatum (syn. Cyrtochilum cordatum) and it does fine and flowers well, as does Oncidium ramosissimum (syn. Cyrtochilum ramosissimum.) An oncidium in the fork of a tree with the flower stems twining their way up is a bit different. Pleiones are quite hardy, preferably in a frost free spot. These spectacular ground orchids are well worth having in pots that can be moved where you want them when they flower. We can plant them out like daffodils in the right area. You may be lucky enough to come across some ground orchids, such as cypripediums, dactylorhizas and bletillas, which will grow quite happily in the right garden bed.

Where can we grow orchids outside? Dappled sunlight or light shade is best. Very few will tolerate long periods of sun in the summer. An east-facing direction is best as it avoids late afternoon sun and heat. If you have a frost free area under a tree or some structure, it will do the job. A verandah is fine, or under the eaves of the house. The main thing is to avoid frost and, if in doubt, grow them next to the house wall for the first year.

Now that daylight savings is drawing to a close I hope you have used the extra daylight to clean and tidy up around you plants, and you probably found all those flower spikes that you hoped you would have. So now is a good time to start using a few stakes to train the spikes so that they go in the direction that you want them to. Use Bamboo or similar, put a piece of styrene or cork, if you have it, on the top to protect your eyes.

As the weather cools down you will need to reduce your watering, plants can be left safely, for four or ten days between watering as it gets cooler, particularly if your plants are outside and in bark, a good test is to pick your plant up if it is heavy don’t water, small plants in fresh open mix may need to be watered more often.

Remember more good plants are lost because of over watering than not enough water, if they are dry the roots will go looking for water and only grow longer.

The plants are now entering an almost dormant stage, so any fertilizing

program should be greatly reduced. If your plants are in a glass house, top fertilizing with a quick-acting, short lasting fertilizer, strong in chemical urea, will benefit plants and fatten flowers, adding to width and purifying the colour, but on the other hand fertilizing plants now will speed up growth, which in turn will shorten the life of the flowers. I personally don’t believe in fertilizing once the temperature drops below an average of 16 C, as you need the warmth to activate the fertilizer.

Start preparing your plants for Winter, because it won’t be long now before the cold frosty nights are upon us, your plants will need to be protected from the frost particularly if they are outside.

The end of March and April is a good time to repot and divide any plants that you missed in spring.

Keep an eye out for slugs and snails as they will appear with the Autumn rain and they love a feed of your flower spikes and are capable of destroying them in one sitting. Rob Connor , Claremont

What started out to be one of the best growing seasons for many years just faded out.

That gentle summer with occasional rain was perfect for the development of new growths even though in many cases they were a bit slow getting under way.

Unfortunately the onset of autumn in mid summer has caused some plants to start to terminate new growths even though in many cases they are only half developed.

Laelias generally seem to be an exception. Mature Laelia anceps plants look really well with large strong growth and flower spikes well advanced. Smaller plants may wait until next year.

Similarly the autumn flowering forms look well. L.fidelensis is breaking into bloom whilst the first L.pumila is doing the same, albeit a couple of weeks later than usual. The growths on L.pumila are smaller than usual but this could be because they were all repotted this year.

How the later varieties will fare is hard to determine as they’re still making up their growths.

Oncidiums are not so lucky. Their generally late start has meant that most growths aren’t even half made up but already they’re forming bulbs.

If the winter we’re having (2 March) instead of autumn persists we could be in for a gloomy year so we can only hope we get a late burst of sunshine which may help a little.

The foregoing of course relates to where I grow my orchids. Some of you lucky people may have had a better summer.

How does all this affect our culture? Firstly I’ve cut out my early morning misting as the growing area is not drying out by noon. This will now be done on an as needed basis on fine warm days.

The flow-on effect from this is that I will have to dunk my wood mounted plants more often which is a real time consumer.

My bench watering every 3-4 days will now become 5-6 days and definitely early in the morning; there is not the drying in the atmosphere now. Of course this will change if we get a burst of hot weather.

Spray fertilizing which has been carried out every 7 days or so during the active growth season will now drop back to 10 days as growth diminishes and bulbs make up.

Come Easter and the advent of cold weather I will cease fertilizing until the Spring.

I remarked in February’s notes that orchid growers’ lives are controlled by the weather and this is a classic example of that statement. Through the summer we just moseyed along without a care but the situation has changed completely, literally overnight.

These notes have not been designed to alarm you but to show how you must be very aware of the changing seasons and weather patterns and adjust your orchid culture accordingly. Chris Nicholas

Most cultivated sarcochilus have Sarcochilus ceciliae, S. fitzgeraldii or S. hartmannii in their parentage. These are shade-loving lithophytes, which grow in pockets of natural compost like material on rocks. They are suitable for growing in pots, but must have an open free draining mix to allow air at the roots. All of the other species are epiphytes and do better grown on mounts hung in the shade. Most crosses between lithophytes and epiphytes do well in pots.

All sarcochilus should still be growing in March, producing strong leaves and many healthy looking roots. Keep fertilising regularly with a weak solution of complete liquid fertiliser; less than half the recommended strength on the packet. The fertiliser will dry on plant parts in the air and it will concentrate as the water evaporates. Do not worry if the roots go up into the air or make a tangle. It is probably because one of the epiphytic species is in the parentage and epiphytes typically hang down, so their roots have a tendency to go up to hang on. Water when the mix has dried out to the just damp stage. The best way to test is to stick your finger into the pot or feel the weight. Pots should not dry out completely or remain saturated. Sarcochilus will take it quite cool and they will do fine in an unheated shade-house or on a verandah. Protection from frost is important. Depending on the parentage, some will still be sending out flower spikes, but flower development will be very slow.

Barry Davidson

Although autumn, as defined by the Government. has officially commenced, days reaching 30^oC can still occur, on the other hand a high of 15°C can also occur.

The days are shortening and night temperatures are dropping, an indication that autumn is upon us All that new growth we saw through spring and summer has to fully develop and harden off. Therefore take care with watering from now on. Carry out watering early in the morning to allow plants to dry and drain by evening

Mounted plants will still continue to require water. Be prepared to water paths and under benches when sudden high temperatures occur. Continue to clean and tidy plants ready for benching at Shows and meeting

Aphids are still about and will attack any soft new growth Don't let them ruin a plant Either wash or brush them off. Only use pesticides as a last resort. A little care and attention now will pay off in due course.

The annual cycle for this genus is moving towards dormancy, which will become more evident about the end of April when the leaves begin to turn yellow.

Although we have bad an exceptional growing season, some of the cultivars arc showing signs of cultural limitations, such as our few days of high temperatures and in my case massed watering when they really needed it earlier that day. Never water in the heat of the day. Water early and roast at might. The leaves are browning at the tips and are looking a bit jaded on some clones.

However, the majority are doing very well with nicely formed bulbs of good size already. Culture now and until the leaves turn yellow is water as required and weekly applications of a fertiliser that is low in total nitrogen but higher in phosphorous and potassium.

Phostogen Soluble NPK 10:4.4:22 plus trace elements is good. CamphelI's Yellow should be better as the NPK is higher 1 l :13:16 and also has the trace elements The purpose of this change in fertiliser is to ripen the bulbs for next season's flowering.

The only autumn flowering species are Pleione praecox and its close relative Pleione maculata If you are lucky enough to have any of these or their crosses Pleione Barcena, you may have some nice blooms for the Autumn Show. It is nice to have flowers so early and extends the season from late autumn to late spring with a bit of a gap in between .

It is a good practise to pick up each pan occasionally and make a thorough inspection for evidence of aphids slugs and snails. Treat each accordingly.

Also you may find, as I did, an occasional growth in a pan had suffered from fungal attack. Carefully remove what you can without doing too much damage to the remaining roots and apply a suitable fungicide drench as a preventative measure for the rest of the pan.

The Norwegian municipality of Snasa has Cypripedium calceolus in its coat of arms.

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