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Please feel free to submit articles, hints, tips, etc. to the editor: newsletter@niagarafrontierorchids.org OR pastor_renee@yahoo.com OR Renee Engels, 160 Handy Road, Elma, NY 14059

I want to thank everybody that helped at the show... again, it was a great success!! People really stepped up to the plate with the sales table, raffle table and judging!! Even registration was a lot smoother this year... We couldn't do it without all of you!! And as usual, the food was delicious-- thanks to all who brought their special dish in to share-- it was all very appreciated!! Sue Charles

Upcoming Dates:

12/8: Christmas Party at Protocol All meetings are held at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 7 p.m. in Greenhouse #10 unless otherwise noted

ORCHID STUFF… From: Orchids Limited (orchidweb.com) (submitted by John Kociela)

How To Grow Phrags:

How to Cultivate a Phragmipedium Plant to Perfection and Get It to Flower Regularly!

First and foremost, growing Phrags is all about the water! The water has to be pure or low in mineral content. Rain, distilled or reverse osmosis water is best. Some cities, like New York or San Francisco, that have water originating in granite reservoirs, have really good water for Phrags as well. Just a small amount of limestone is added to prevent corrosion of municipal water pipes. Water pH of 6.2 to 7.5 is ideal.

Secondly, Phrags need water and a lot of it! It is really difficult to overwater a Phrag as most, if not all, of these plants come from areas that receive lots of rainfall or have water trickling down or moving continuously over the roots. Some plants can be under water during flooding for long periods of time. Phrag besseae for instance and Phrag fischeri are often found growing in or in close proximity to waterfalls. Phrag boissierianum and wallisii often can be found growing together in wet crumbly volcanic clay covered by moss. Phrag popowii or caudatum can be found growing in cloud forests with light moss around their roots. The water is always on the cool side at the roots even though for brief periods the temperatures can reach into the 90's.

Thirdly, Phrags like a well-drained potting mix that has good aeration and yet the ability to retain some moisture. The mix should contain Orchiata Bark from the Classic to the Power size and have some Growstone or perlite mixed in. For some Phrags like besseae, the addition of small amounts (5%) of peat moss will help hold moisture. Change the potting mix as it breaks down.

Clear pots like Rand's Aircone Pots work really well for the hobbyist as you can see through the pot for moisture and rooting activity. These pots were designed by Ray Rands (R.J. Rands Orchids) to be tough and long-lasting and to grow orchids like Paphs and Phrags to their ultimate. The pyramidal slopped bottoms move water out and away from the central part of the pot while the aircone in the center extends up into the mix quite a ways to provide excellent aeration. We do notice really good root development when these pots are used for Phragmipediums.

Watering should be done as the mix approaches dryness but the mix should never dry out completely. Err on the wet side if anything. Watering at least twice per week is usually the best choice for most Phrags. Another method is to grow Phrags standing in a saucer of water about an inch deep. Fill the saucer by watering the plant from the top, letting the water drain through the mix and filling the saucer. Allow the water to be drawn up by the plant until the saucer is just empty and then water again from the top, filling the saucer.

Feeding should be done every other week, flushing the mix out well with clear water in between. Use a feed designed specifically for plants that are to be grown with clean water like our own Green Jungle Orchid Food, developed by Jerry Fischer along with 2 horticultural scientists with PhD's in plant physiology and a lot of experimentation and research into what orchids get in the way of nutrition in the wild.

Temperatures for best results shouldn't exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer daytime and ideally the night temps should be in the upper 50's to low 60's especially in spring, fall and winter months. This will insure good growth and proper flowering. Phrag besseae and its hybrids for instance, will get light colored flowers of not such good shape when bloomed under warm summer conditions. The cooler the temps, the better the shape and colors for all Phrag species and hybrids. Florida would not be a great place to grow Phrags for most of the year unless you have air conditioning.

Light levels are important as well. Most Phrags do best in lower to medium light as for Phalaenopsis or Paphiopedilums and do not want to have hot leaves in full sunlight. Remember that in winter the sun is a lot lower in the atmosphere and therefore doesn't have the hot punch it has in spring through fall months. One should always make sure that Phrags have adequate water available to the roots when in somewhat stronger sunlight. This will help prevent leaf burn.

We are sure that if you follow the guidelines above, you too can succeed at growing these stunning plants!

Thanks to Arlene Hassenfratz for the following link and information. This information is from greenmethods.com! Luring Thrips with Extracts For a long time we’ve known that thrips are attracted by scent as well as visual stimuli such as color. But now there may be a way to utilize this scent-attraction to help thrips trap themselves, thus removing them from the crop. One new way to do this, even though this still requires some more experimentation, is to soak plain old cotton balls in vanilla or almond extract and place them in the crop. Apparently thrips are quite attracted to these scents and will actually make their way into the cotton balls looking for the source. The good part is once they burrow into the cotton balls they find it nearly impossible to extricate themselves. This is a novel, inexpensive approach that can help reduce thrips numbers simply by way of trapping them.

Trapping Gnats with Potatoes Need to scout for or trap fungus gnat larvae? Here’s a novel method: Use ¼" slices of raw potato to catch them. Here’s how: Place a slice of raw potato on the surface of the media on at least one pot per section for monitoring purposes, or place one slice on the surface of the media per pot (or several on beds). Allow the slices to rest undisturbed for one week, then flip them over to check for signs of life. The gnat larvae are attracted to the slices and will burrow inside of them, feeding as they go. The inspecting scout will be able to see the holes if not the actual larvae within the slices. If larvae are present, simply throw the slice away, being sure to do so in such a way that the larvae will be destroyed or at least not emerge in the environment from which they’re being removed. In any case, due to spoilage, be sure to change the slices weekly. Easy, inexpensive, yet effective.

There were several AOS Awards given at the November Orchid Show. Miwako Leising received an AOS Award for Cymbidium erythrostylum 'Miwako's Dream', her first ever award!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! (Picture by Laurie Gallivan)

November 2015 NFOS meeting minutes

11/3/2015

Board Meeting: Attending: Joe DiDomenico, Susan Charles, Russ Miller, Tony Achtyl, Peter Martin, donna Lipowicz, Barbara Domagala, Al Baran

Motion by Sue Charles to resolve vendor issue; charge 15% or a flat $500.

November we will self vendor. Unanimous vote on 15% of sales and payment due

at end of show on Sunday. Donna will speak with Marlow and Piping Rock Orchids about February 2016 show.

Regular Meeting: Susan Charles gave treasurer’s report. Approximately $7,000 in bank. Expenses

for plants for November show.

December meeting at Protocol Restaurant. See Diane DiDomenico for forms. Sign-up book for show work schedule available for signing. Carol (Artwork) and

Hertel Hydroponics as vendors.

NFOS will be using the Botanical Gardens credit card system for sales; they will be paid a fee for this service.

Show sign-in for judging is 7:00 am and Judging is 8:00 am Saturday. Clean

plants, no leaf shine. Stake spikes so flowers can be seen without bending down to them. Greenhouse 11 will be an orchid display for the Botanical Gardens-

plants in-site. Donna L. is overseeing. There will also be three educational displays and our club table.

Elections:

Recording Secretary: Peter Martin

Treasurer: Laurie Joyce

MORE SHOW ACCOLADES! The judging went quite well during our fall show. Thanks to all the members that participated in the ribbon judging, it is an interesting activity and you can learn so much from the judges. The AOS judging also went well, there were three quality awards given. Two NFOS members received AOS awards, congratulations to Joe DiDomenico and Miwako Leising. GROS also received an AOS award in their display. The Botanical Gardens display in house 11 received the AOS Show Trophy for the best exhibit in the show. The judges hung around until after 3 pm which is much longer than they typically spend, so I guess we gave them lots to look at. As we prepare for MAOC next fall consider volunteering to clerk for the judging, it will be even more interesting with judges from all over the USA and Canada. Donna Lipowicz

Presidents’ Report – The November Judged Orchid Show Our November show was a great success! The displays from our members were excellent and the Botanical Garden display in House #11 was outstanding and received an AOS award. Miwako Leising and I were fortunate to also receive AOS awards as well. This is the first time our society has received more than one AOS award at a show as far as I can recall! The judging went well and the catered lunch for the judges was well received by all. The food and drink throughout was excellent as always and thanks to those who cooked and helped out in any way.

The raffle table and sales table did well as usual and financially we did about as we expected. It was another profitable show which will allow us to bring in speakers in the coming year. Finally, our shows would not be successful if we did not have the support and participation of our membership. The board, officers, and I want to thank each and every one of you who helped out to make this another successful show. Happy Holidays, Joe DiDomenico