June 2015
The President’s Column
June Picnic
Date: Sunday The 14th
Place: Coastal Georgia
Botanical Gardens
Time: 1:00PM
The Hummingbird's Orchid
The tantalizing bloom, her beauty rare,
That tempts the hummingbird to stop & stare,
With glist’ning desire upon her lips blush,
To bring a shady red in wanton flush.
Like hungered hearts the two at last combine,
In this, the place, that love and lust entwine.
Dark promises of more to come and yet
For now in pleasure their needs are met.
Oh sweet, the pink orchid that teases me,
Her hummingbird to set her passion free.
by Jemmy Farmer
Hello All,
June is here, the Redlands International Orchid Festival has past and our Society Picnic will be here
shortly. I would like to start off by sharing some interesting orchid info first. Dave purchased a Maxillaria honateana from Woodland Orchids on the last
day of the Redlands show. When Dave got back to
hotel he smelled the orchid and it had the fragrance
of coconut. After closer inspection Dave commented
that the orchid looked like Maxillaria tenufolia. This
parallels with ‘If it looks like a duck and quacks like
a duck etc.’ Dave emailed Linda Wilhelm at Woodland Orchids and asked her if the plant was mistagged. Linda replied back that no, the orchid was
not mis-tagged but actually a different species. In
Linda’s response to Dave’s email she further stated
that the honateana was identified by the Orchid Taxonomist Eric Christenson shortly before he died.
The American Orchid Society has information concerning Eric Christenson and his work on Maxillaria
species at http://www.aos.org/. The orchid currently
is at the greenhouse at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens (CGBG).
(Continued on Page 2)
In This Issue:
Oncidium
Popcorn
’Highland’:
From
Cristina’s
Garden
The President’s Column
1
Orchid Ailments
2
Annual Picnic
3
Letter from Greenhouse
4
Board of Directors Minutes
5
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June 2015 - Page 2
President’s Column continued from Page 1
Our Society Picnic is the 14th of June at 1:00 PM at the CGBG Pavilion. There will be the traditional picnic fare such as hotdogs and hamburgers, chips, picnic style salads etc. with the addition of ice cream and
pop (aka soda) so everyone can create their own ice cream float. We are also going to hold a large raffle.
If you have plants that you would like to donate please bring them in. For those of you who have not had a
chance to see the greenhouse, attending the picnic will be a good opportunity to do so.
I am not including a greenhouse blurb in this or future articles because
Jim is providing articles on the status of the greenhouse, however, I do
know that Dave is planning on scheduling a greenhouse workday
sometime in the very near future. More information to follow.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone on the 14th of June at the
CGBG Pavilion for our annual picnic.
Cheryl Holesovsky
From our Greenhouse
Orchid Ailments:
(The first of a series)
By Stanley Konter
Any sign of an ailing plant causes stress for the orchid and it’s owner. It could represent a problem
with it’s environment, or an injury, or a disease, or maybe a pest. Before you can begin to treat the
orchid, you must diagnosis the problem. Although in no way complete, we will look at many of
the common symptoms and their possible causes. I might even have some cures for you. The
longer you grow orchids, the more likely you are to encounter many of these problems.
Yellowing Leaves - If it is one or two leaves at the base of your
plant, don’t worry, this is normal aging. As new leaves grow, old
leaves and backbulbs will yellow and die. If newer leaves yellow
or soften, you have a problem. It could be too much light or lack
of nitrogen or even loss of roots. If roots are your problem, see
Drooping Leaves.
Drooping Leaves - If your orchid’s leaves are wrinkly and droopy,
this is usually a sure sign of a watering problem. God knows I have
experienced this first hand. The answer is simple, the solution a little
more involved. Your pot and medium are overly wet and soggy,
which frequently leads to root loss. With less roots, the plant gets less
water and the natural reaction is to give it more water. Oh, what a
slippery slope we slide.
(Continued on Page 6)
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Deep South Orchid Society Newsletter
June 2015 - Page 3
Please Come
Join us for
Some
Chilling and Grilling
At the
Deep South Orchid Society Annual Picnic
Sunday June 14th
1:00 PM
The Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens
(Formerly The Bamboo Farm)
2 Canebrake Rd.
Savannah, Georgia
At the
Carolyn W. Bryan Lakeside Pavilion
It is to the left of the main entrance
Please bring a covered dish of your choice to share.
The Society will furnish the hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and drinks
We will also have a raffle and auction, so please bring any of your
excess orchids
Don’t miss out on this fun and enjoyable event
Please contact Pat Keplinger at (912) 659-7971 or email at
[email protected] for any questions
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June 2015 - Page 4
InterviewattheGreenhouse!
This is from your friend, the Greenhouse at the Botanical Gardens. I got a good response last month from my
article, so I thought I would give it another try. The other morning as the sun was coming up, I noticed a wonderful fragrance coming from one of the hanging orchids. I was so intrigued I started up a conversation and
found that it was from the dendrobium family. It said its given name was anosmum. It let out a chuckle and
said that it's botanical name, anosmum means scentless. It guessed that some taxonomist probably had a sinus
problem when it was named due to the unique fragrance that it has. I asked where it's home was and it said the
family was quite wide spread throughout Southeast Asia from homes by the sea all the way up into the mountains as high as 5,000 feet, and that it did well in a broad range of temperatures.
I noticed that it was covered with beautiful flowers but no leaves and I asked if it was feeling well because
most orchids have leaves. It said that it was just coming out of it's dormant cycle which runs from late November to February and that during this time it requires very little water and very little food. It also had very long
pendulous canes. It said that it gets its flowers before it puts up new shoots in the April/May time frame and
after the blooming cycle it will produce new green canes and require a lot of food and water to prepare for next
year. It also said it likes medium sunlight because it is prone to sunburn.
I asked how it reproduces and it gave me some very good advice. During late June/July, you can remove the
old canes and cut them into four or five inch segments and put them in a tray containing equal parts peat moss
and perlite mix. They should be kept in a shady area to allow the keikis to emerge. I asked what keiki meant
and it said in Hawaii it is called a hono hono and that keikis are Hawaiian for baby. It all made sense. I asked
what type of fertilizer it liked and it said it liked fertilizers that didn't lower its ph levels, because it does not
like acidic environments. So I asked the anosmum what would be a perfect world for it and it said "water me
well, feed me well, and keep me warm and humid during my growing season", this will make my new canes
get as long as possible. But around Thanksgiving I like to go to sleep so lower my temperature and cut back on
my water. This will induce good flowering for the next cycle. Pot me in wire baskets or hanging pots, so my
canes can hang down. In closing, the anosmum and I have become good friends and now that we understand
each other I will do my best to take care of it.
Your Friend, The Greenhouse
(Written by Jim Keplinger)
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June 2015 - Page 5
Deep South Orchid Society Newsletter
Board of Directors Minutes May 26, 2015
The meeting was called to order at 6:35 pm. The following were in attendance:
Cheryl Holesovsky
Stanley Konter
Christina Negrea Pat Keplinger
Dave Holesovsky Jim Keplinger
David Jarrell
The minutes were read and approved as submitted
There was no treasurer’s report
From our Greenhouse
Greenhouse Update
 Jim has reminded that everyone is to write on the calendar when they are through working so the next person will know what
has been done
 All members are to sign in at the Visitor’s Center to sign the volunteer log
 Please clean the pots of weeds etc, when watering the plants
The Greenhouse is really looking nice, thanks to the volunteers who are working the greenhouse
Newsletter
 Please send all information to Stanley to be published
Jim is working on another greenhouse story for the newsletter
Old Business
 Our first meeting at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens went well
 We got 4 new members, welcome Hilda Sukman, Garrett and Elizabeth Ross, Elizabeth Jackson, and Kai Dinehart
 A big thank you to Jim Keplinger for presentation
 Cheryl will be appointing 3 active members to be on the nominating committee for our election
The Board agreed to continue our Board Meetings at the Savannah Mall on Monday evenings
Picnic, June 14th
 Pat will be sending out invitations by the 1st of June
 Members will be asked to bring a covered dish of their choice
 The Society will furnish, the hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and drinks
 Jim will bring the charcoal, ice cream, Reynolds wrap, and BBQ tools
 Christina will bring the condiments, paper products, soft drinks, tablecloths
 Cheryl and Dave will bring the Weber Grill
We will also have a raffle and auction, so members please bring your excess orchids
New Business
 A proposal was made to have a Mentor Program for all the new members joining the Society
 The proposal was voted upon, seconded and passed
 Jim, Christina, and David Jarrell will be mentors to our newest members from our last meeting
Pat will email the new members of their mentor
Meeting was adjourned at 7:35 pm —
Next Board Meeting will be June 29th at 6:30 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Pat Keplinger
Recording Secretary for the DSOS
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June 2015 - Page 6
Deep South Orchid Society Newsletter
Orchid Ailments:(The first of a series)
(Continued from page 2)
Sometimes the problem can be under watering. The first thing to do is
remove the orchid from the pot and medium. If the roots are mushy
and brown, its too much water. If the roots are grey and shriveled, its
not enough water.
For under watering, first soak the orchid roots in tepid water for 10 15 minutes, this will help it a little. Then, for both problems, cut off
the dead and soft roots and treat the good roots with ground cinnamon
(an antibacterial). Repot the plant in new medium, in a pot that fits the
new smaller root system, which means that sometimes you need to go
to a smaller pot. I water once to wet the new medium, but then put the
orchid in filtered light and DO NOT water for 10 days. During this
time mist the leaves regularly, thereby restricting water and generating
a high humidity. This will force the new roots to grow into the medium looking for water. After the 10 days, water regularly.
This regimen, coupled with talking to and fondling the plant (ok, that’s my own method), hopefully
will heal our little sickling. Unfortunately, the old leaves will not recover, but new leaves will be
wonderfully healthy (we hope).
Stay tuned, next month I will address more problems and their cures.
“You can get by on charm for about 15 minutes. After that, you better know something.”
H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Deep South Orchid Society Board of Directors
President : Cheryl Holesovsky
Vice Pres. : Christina Negrea
Treasurer: Bob Carson
Secretary: Pat Keplinger
Past President: Dee Van Meer
Newsletter Guy: Stanley Konter
Members at Large: Rosie Southard
Charles Breitenbach
Greenhouse: Jim Keplinger
Dave Holesovsky
Facebook: David Jarrell
Website: Kim Owens
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