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O.N.T.
Newsletter for November 2005 Next
meeting: Date: 8 November 2005 Time: 19h00 for 19h:30 Venue: Dutch Reformed Church Hall Waverley Speaker: Mr. Nollie Cilliers Topic: Paphiopedilums Nollie Cilliers, one of ONT’s learner judges and a paphanatic, will give a PowerPoint presentation on Asian Ladyslippers (Paphiopedilum). He will elaborate on habitat, culture, hybrids and other technical issues, which should make growing this genus easier.
Next
Management meeting Date: 15 November Time: 19h30 Venue: Home of Christo Page, 606 Gerhard Marais Str. Constantia Park
Dear
Members We are rapidly nearing the end of the year and I would like to remind you to buy your year-end function tickets at the November meeting from Marietjie Houghton. The English Newsletter editor, Christian Giesel, has resigned from the committee, effective from the beginning of January 2006. This means that a new English Newsletter editor has to be elected at the November meeting. If you are interested and would like to be nominated please inform Herman Steyn that you are willing to take up the position.
Previous
ONT meeting (13
September 2005) Pieter
de Bruin, Vice president of ONT, lead the meeting as Herman Steyn was still
abroad. Malcolm Foster gave a brief
summary of the very successful Brooklyn show. Best
Africa Species: Aerangis
modesta Owner: Pieter de Bruin Best
Exotic Species: Paphiopedilum
rothschildianum Owner: Nollie & Tinus
Best
Hybrid: Paphiopedilum
Bengal Lancers Owner: Leon Steynberg Judge’s
Choice: Paphiopedilum Bengal Lancers Owner: Leon Steynberg Bruins-lich
Trophy nomination: Polystachya
johnstonii Owner: Riaan de Villiers Arrie
Arnold Wisseltrofee nominaton: Paphiopedilum Bengal Lancers Owner: Leon Steynberg
Congratulations
to the winners! The
plant table discussion was followed by an informative video presentation
illustrating the history of orchids at Kew Gardens.
New
Members The following new members are welcomed and we wish them a long and fruitful association with the ONT. Mr.
Hoffman (Koot) Mr.
& Mrs. Fouracres (Martin & Jenny) Dr.
Brummer (Henri, Anna Marie & Erlank)
Did you know: The smallest orchids are from one genus: Platystele from Mexico and Central America. A flowering-size plant will fit on a thumbnail.
Gauteng
Study group Date: 13 November 2005 Time: 11h00 Venue: Home of Henriette Stroh, Topic: Year-end party & raffle The year-end party of the Study Group will be in the form of a Chinese Braai. All food will be provided and you only have to bring your own drinks. The cost will be R30.00 per person and everyone attending should bring a plant (does not need to be an orchid) worth at least R50.00 and an additional R20.00 to buy a ticket, for a unique raffle where all are guaranteed to “win” a plant. The money collected will go towards the study group fund. Please phone Joan Elvin (083077790) to confirm your attendance. Remember that you can also bring plants for judging, bearing in mind to notify Christo Page at least 48 hours in advance. Contact Pieter de Bruin if Christo is not available.
Year-end
function
Reminder!!! This year, the ONT committee decided to have a three course sit-down dinner, with service. The date has been set for Friday 25 November 2005 at 19h00 for 19h30. The venue will be the hall across the passage of our usual venue. ONT will supply limited beverages (glass of sherry, 2 bottles of wine per table and punch). Please bring other or additional refreshments if you so desire. The entertainment for the evening will be a light after-dinner talk presented by Prof. Denis van Rensburg as well as an auction of orchid plants (most probably a Rhodesian auction and/or silent auction, which should prove to be quite entertaining). It will also be much appreciated if a few good plants can be donated to the society for these auctions (Contact Herman Steyn or Paula Copemen if you would like to donate a plant). Dress code will be smart-casual. Tickets can be bought from Marietjie Houghton at R25.00 for members and their spouses or R50.00 for non-members. Please RSVP before 15 November. This should be a great evening and we hope to see all of our members there - the more the merrier!
Library News
Did you know: Charles Darwin wrote one of the first major works on orchids, On the Various Contrivances by Which Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects. It was written prior to The Origin of Species and many of its theories remain valid today.
Dates
to remember November
25, 2005 ONT
year-end function Dutch
Reformed Church Hall Waverley September
4-10, 2006 13th SAOC National Show & Conference in White River.
Website
of the Month: Lots of people have asked for advice regarding the building of a greenhouse. Therefore, we will feature two websites dedicated to greenhouse construction and advice, with lots of free plans. Enjoy! http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/Extension/ExtPubs/PlanList97.htm#Greenhouse%20Plans
If you do not have access to the web and would like to get these greenhouse plans, contact Frikkie Marais.
ONT
Spring Show Prize
Winners (30th
Sept to 2nd October 2005)
Arial
view of Show
The Phalaenopsis
exhibition
The
Centrepiece exhibition
Grand Champion [(Dtps.
Fong-tien’s ‘Yellow Butterfly’ x Owner:
PLANTAE (Nollie & Tinus)
Reserve Champion Bllra.
Marfitch ‘Howards Dream’ Owner:
PLANTAE (Nollie & Tinus)
Best
Cymbidium Alliance Species Cymbidium
pumilum Owner:
Pieter de
Bruin
Best
Cymbidium Alliance Hybrid Cymbidium
Green Ice Owner:
Pieter
Godden
Best
Cypripedium Alliance Species Paphiopedilum
delenatii Owner:
Herman
Steyn
Best
African Species Ansellia
africana Owner:
Pieter Godden
Best
Cypripedium Alliance Hybrid Paphiopedilum
Berenice Owner:
Hennie
Peacock
Best
Laeliinae Alliance Hybrid BLc.
Haw Yuan Grace ‘Big Cat’ Owner:
PLANTAE
(Nollie & Tinus)
Best
Miscellaneous Species Arpophyllum spicatum Owner:
Carol &
Martiens Erasmus Best
Dendrobium Alliance Species Dendrobium aphyllum var.
giganteum Owner:
Carol &
Martiens Erasmus
Best
Dendrobium Alliance Hybrid Dendrobium
Golden Blossom Owner:
Pieter de
Bruin
Best
Vandaceous Alliance Hybrid Vascostylis
Viboon Velvet Owner:
Hennie
Peacock
Special
Award Phal.
Sogo Grape Owner:
PLANTAE
(Nollie & Tinus)
Best
Phalaenopsis Alliance Hybrid [(Dtps.
Fong-tien’s ‘Yellow Butterfly’ x P.
Chia Linn) x (Dtps. Mt Beauty x Brother ‘Lawrence’)] Owner:
PLANTAE
(Nollie & Tinus) Best
Members Exhibit Theme:
“From Pod to Plant” Owner: Jack Dippenaar
Best
Oncidium Alliance Hybrid Bllra.
Marfitch ‘Howards Dream’ Owner: PLANTAE (Nollie & Tinus)
Did you know: In their natural environment, each orchid species is dependent upon a specific type of insect to carry out its pollination.
General
Christo Page has recently completed the Access to Information Act requirements for the ONT. This was a huge undertaking to say the least and ONT would like to thank Christo for taking up and having the patience to complete this most tedious, but necessary task. The ONT committee would like to advise its members not to blindly act on a recent advertisement concerning the huge profits to be made by starting a Cymbidium cut flower business. Please feel free to first contact any of the committee members for sound advice before starting such a business.
How’s
this for membership? I
found this interesting piece of information on the Orchid Digest Guide web forum
and just had to share it with you. “Orchid
sales volume hits annual 100 bln yuan in China The
orchid cultivation industry has been enjoying fast development in China, with
annual sales hitting 100 billion yuan (about 12.3 billion US dollars), said
sources with the China Orchid Culture Forum held Sunday in a central China city.
China has so far set up more than 1,000 orchid associations at various levels nationwide, and orchid fans number some 5 million, said the China Orchid Association at the forum held in Yichang, a city in central China's Hubei province.
The
country has set up more than about 60 websites specializing in glorifying orchid
culture and boosting orchid trade.
They held that advocating orchid culture will help improve moral standards and the public's temperament”
Advertisement PLANTAE - Open Weekend Lots of Paphiopedilum plants for sale! Date: 3&4 December 2005 Venue: 510 Atterbury Rd. Contact: Nollie Cilliers - 084 7526 823
In- and around the greenhouseCulture
of Dracula spp. Orchids
The
genus Dracula is one of the more
interesting genera of orchids and was separated from Masdevallia
in 1978 by Dr. Carlyl Luer. The
genus was named Dracula because the
flowers looked like little dragons. The
first draculas were found by plant hunters in the 1870’s, and new species are
still being described. There are
now over 100 recognised species. Flower
colours range from white through shades of yellow, pink, blood red, dark maroon
to almost black.
Did you know:
The
roots need to be kept moist at all times with pure water, but must remain well
drained. A suitable potting mix can
be made by using a large proportion of sphagnum moss mixed with smaller portions
of fine pine bark and some perlite. Draculas
should be planted in baskets because they drain well and allow the pendant
flower spikes to grow through the medium and openings in the basket.
The plants should be grown under 60% shade and be misted down daily for
about one minute every morning. The
leaves should be relatively dry by nightfall.
Humidity should be maintained at around 90%.RH (use an ultrasonic
humidifier). Small fans will keep
the air moving continually. High RH
is important as it maintains the turgidity of the flowers, moving the plant into
a dry atmosphere will result in the flowers wilting within minutes, for some
species. Flush the potting media
once a month with distilled water or rain water to remove excess salts.
Plants can be fertilized with a ¼ strength fertilizer once a week.
The min. temperature should be maintained at 13-16ºC, but must never be
above 28 °C otherwise the roots and tiny buds desiccate and die. If the above conditions are met, draculas grow very well.
Greetings, Christian
Giesel & Frikkie Marais
Did you know: Terrestrial Orchids can lay dormant in the soil for up to at least 15 years before flowering.
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Please Note: The opinions & recommendations made in articles that appear on this website, are those of the individual authors, and not those of the Orchid Society of Northern Transvaal (ONT). The ONT neither adopts nor endorses such opinions & recommendations and disclaims all responsibility for them. This includes products advertised on this website. |
