2007 mailing list messages

2007 Archived Messages

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From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] The nearest relative (to coelogyne) is Pleione
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007

Greetings to all − I have now left mainland China after 6 cities, 5 flights, two riverboat journeys , and reached the land of hedonistic sophistication ( Hong Kong to you) . The only orchids I saw were in hotel lobbies − renanthera and oncidium, apart from a painting dated about 1175 ? of cymbidium siamense ( probably) which I will hope to attach.
The answer to the question in the heading − maybe already answered whilst I was travelling and unable to get on-line − is that there is a Kew monograph on Pleione − written by Ian Butterfield and Phil Cribb − splendid book if you are interested , similar to the other Kew monographs on Paphs, Cyps, Cyms and I think ( although I haven't got this one, phals ).
I know that people have tried intergeneric hybrids between Coleogyne and pleione many times, and Ian has from time-to-time told me that something is growing , but I never heard any more. I guess that it is going to need the kind of cytogenetic transfer ( have I got the right words ? ) which have made unlikely intergeneric combinations possible elsewhere, but I've never heard any good of them in the orchidaceae...
And what's all this about no-one can grow Coelogynes ? Sounds like a lot of nonsense to me. I won't go any further , as I may be getting the wrong end of the stick , and as these 5 star hotels seem to know how to charge for on-line time I can't read all of the mail which has built up ; maybe I'll catch up when home towards the end of next week.
Copying pictures from file via webmail doesn't seem to work, neither does attach , so since the meter is ticking , I'll send them when home in a week.

> So no one alse has had much success with coelogyne, It doesn't make me
> feel but just a little less crazy.

> Dennis Read brought up another interesting question: The nearest relative
> (to coelogyne) is Pleione. I have Robert Dresslers book on taxonomy but
> he doesn't go into the Asian species much. Any ideas where Is there agood
> refrence on the nearest relatives (to coelogyne)? any on the web?

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: difficult pollination
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007

Having read a few more e-mails I see that I was off the mark − its not difficult culture, its difficult pollination.

A suggestion − Goodale Moir ( who was a very well known hybridist , often working with new genetic combinations rather than just crossing one cym hybrid wirth another cym hybrid) told me many years ago that he always made his crosses in the first days of the new moon ; it was important that the moon was waxing rather than waning . No, he didn't know why , but his records clearly showed the difference.

I have never done enough hybridisation or kept accurate records to be able to confirm from personal observation − its always been a fun, impulse, hobby thing with me. But you might care to try it ?

From: JIM MATEOSKY
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] The nearest relative (to coelogyne) is Pleione
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007

As far as no one being able to grow, that is not true they grow like weeds for me. The issue is how the heck do you get a Pandarata to pollinate? I have successfully pollinated Coelogyne Massangeana & Dayana The seeds are fine.

From: PG Hieke
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] KAGAWARA
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007

Hi Nancy,
Thanks for the info. This is exactly what I was looking for.
Kind regards
Peter from Bloubergstrand

> Hi Peter -
> This site has fairly up-to-date hybrid abbreviations
> and lists the genera that go into each
> http://www.orchids.mu/Glossary/Glossary_A.htm
> Kagawara Kgw − Ascocentrum + Renanthera + Vanda
> Regards − Nancy (in Lafayette, LA, USA)

From: Kenneth Bruyninckx
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: OSGB back issues
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007

In order to complete my set of OSGB journals I'm looking for the following
volumes:

Does anybody have these for sale ? Or does anybody have a lead on where I
might find them ?

From:
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] The nearest relative (to coelogyne) is Pleione
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007

Yes, Pleione is a relative of Coelogyne, but not a really close one
according to the molecular studies by Gravendeel and de Vogel,
including the synopsis of their more detailed work published in
Clayton's book on Coelogyne. According to them species of Pholidota,
Dendrochilum and at least five of the other smaller genera of
Coelogyninae are much more closely related to various species within
Coelogyne than are species of Pleione. If this is true then species
of Pleione would be one of the last choices to try and hybridize with
any Coelogyne. Based on DNA affinities, the first choices would be
selected species of Pholidota and Dendrochilum. Though I usually have
considerable pause with molecular analyses, because they are usually
done by lab coats and not field biologists, Gravendeel's works are
generally of excellent quality.

Many species of Coelogyne are easy to hybridize. A quick perusal of a
list of registered hybrids reveals, for example, that C. speciosa is
easy to hybridize with a wide variety of species, even by people that
have only a passing and serendipitous interest with the subject.
Personally, I have found C. speciosa to have the least degree of
species fidelity of any of the Coelogyne. In contrast, possibly,
would be the C. pandurata example that initiated this thread; another
difficult one is C. barbata.

Can anybody tell me what this is? I have had it for a long time and now
it has suddenly decided to go all flowery on me. The plants are moderate
sized, but the flowers are almost miniature; there is no scent that I
can detect.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Cattleya re-potting.
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007

My Cattleya 'Bob Elliot' which has scented our conservatory for the past weeks was in need of re-potting, so I thought that I would post a few photos to show you just how easy, clean and quickly it can be done using rock chippings.

As the attached photos show, I de-pot it, then soak it in soapy water for a few minutes. Most of the rock chippings just fall away, except one. Then I cut off any old roots and also with some very fine pointed tweezers I pull off the now quite soft husks as I call them to expose all of the eyes that I can see.

Then just position it in then pot at the correct position and pour in the rock chippings. A gentle but firm tapping down with the aid of a suitable stick/utensil, tie on the label and all is complete.

How very true, but how much longer will us hobbyists be burdened by the unfair rules which after all are in complete contrast to what CITES first started to tell us about.

From: PG Hieke
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Paraphalaenopsis labukensis
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007

I just want to show the beauty from Borneo in all its glory.
Regards
Peter from Bloubergstrand

From: Ron Newstead
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Cattleya re-potting.
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007

> Mornin' all,
>
> My Cattleya 'Bob Elliot' which has scented our conservatory for the past
> weeks was in need of re-potting, so I thought that I would post a few photos
> to show you just how easy, clean and quickly it can be done using rock
> chippings.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Mystery plant
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007

It loks like an Eria. I am away from home and don't have access to my library to suggest a species, but that's where to start I thinl .

I have one plant with rather smaller and yellow gflowers but bulbs and leaves almost identical ( joined my collection a year or two ago and I can't think of the specific ) and there is another with flowrs much more similar but thinner, taller canes − which the old London firm of Simmons used to sell, imported − I think − from India − Roger might remember the name ?

If you don't get other suggestions , remind me in a week when I'm home again and I will have a look around.

> Can anybody tell me what this is? I have had it for a long time and now
> it has suddenly decided to go all flowery on me. The plants are moderate
> sized, but the flowers are almost miniature; there is no scent that I
> can detect.

From:
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Paraphalaenopsis labukensis
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

Hello Peter,
This is Janet in Boynton Beach, Florida. Your plant is just magnificent.
Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
Janet Fabricant

From: jan
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Mystery plant
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

Eria, you say? Hmm, perhaps − the only clue I have − though is in't much
of a clue, apparently − is that it was labeled 'Calanthe puberula' and
originally came from Kunming in China. I think it must have been bought
in the flower market there; did you go there on your trip? I've been
several times, and it is very tempting to try to smuggle something home
- you can generally get away with a bunch of orchids for about 1 − 3
pounds, only I dread to think of getting caught in the airport. And of
course, you never really know what you are buying.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: This message intended to have 4 pics attached- problems − so re-sent with 2. The other 2 to follow.
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

The last time I was in HK I visited the flower market and saw a lot of species of many genera, including paphs - some of which looked to me to be wild collected plants , although the dealer clkaimed they were seed raised - they included the one which grows ( or did) on Victoria Peak on HK island. I was of course tempted to buy - but having no permits it would have been illegal, and anyway I was not going back to UK directly and plants don't do well in a suitcase for a week I think.

This time I visited the flower market yesterday, and like everything in HK
every time I come, it was different - about twice the size, much cleaner and brighter etc. Those who have been may remember the nearby bird market which when I first went was a real old chinese den - a narrow street with birds hanging up outside premises and old guys with coolie hats smoking long pipes...that is now a garden! A wide street with proper stalls one side, trees and flowers everywhere, like some modern idealistic urban park!

But to return to the orchids; no species (well amost none - I saw one box full of Cycnoches (?) with buds ready to pop, all identical plants, maybe meristem but if not, certtainly seed raised from Taiwan(?) just like the Orchis plants we see at Shows). No paphs anywhere. Phals yes - lots and lots - the kinds we see, although good plants - I would certainly have bought them at home especially at these prices. Sometimes they had 6 plamnts well arranged in a handsome pot with a bit of fern etc - a table arrangement - at anything between 800 and 1200 HK$ (and the rate is about 15=£1 like £50-£75 for the arrangement. Individual good plants $80-$150 for the less usual markings. Saw these at maybe 15 or so shops (the street stalls are all gone here). Otherwise a few of the tip-bearing dendrobes also cheap - the miniature ones which the Thai firm with a 2 letter name ( KB?) pioneered selling as cheap as $25 wih two or three spikes.
I'll add a few pics just to get you dribbling !

One thing I did notice was the very good colour, then I spotted that the lighting in the shops was two parallel rows of light tubes - one probably warm white, the other bright pink! It shows up in the pics too - no wonder the colours are so good. Damned clever the Chinese!

But the absence of species and of paphs especially did set me thinking. One of my complaints about CITES was that it was so rigorously enforced at home, and I heard in USA too, but it seemed that in the Far East no-one took any serious notice of it. When I suggested that it was because Singapore etc., had not (maybe) ratified the CITES Treaty so it was not actually the law there, that was pooh-poohed. Perhaps it just took longer for them to get heared up to doing it?

From: Beccy Holmes
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Another non-orchid mystery plant
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

Please, can anyone help me with this one found growing on a friend's compost heap??

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Order of photos !!!!!
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

And for that matter, anyone else who did not quite see or understand what specific order the photos were in..........and when I look at my 'Sent Items' folder to see what Ron was on about..........neither did I ???

Maybe Tricia, or some other person who is well up on computer knowledge will tell us all how to make sure that the order that we have the images stores in, appears in our E-mail that we write in the correct order.

Second one shows the plant almost touching the edge of the pot, and I like to re-pot as next years growth and roots will be over the edge.
Third one shows the plant out of its home and still clutching hold of some of the stones.

Fourth one shows the plant after any old roots [not mushy rotten ones] have been removed and the plant has had a good wash and scrub with a toothbrush, note the soapy bubbles.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Para-whatever!
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

Now I really know what a love hate relationship is really like. I just loved seeing your photo of your Paraphalaenopsis labukensis, and then of course in a humorous way I just hated you for doing so well with it.

And am I correct in saying that looking at your photo, there is no moss or other 'gunge' between the roots and the cork bark.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Mystery plant
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

Sorry about all the spelling mistakes − webmail seems rather more difficult than ordinary e-mail.

I have made several attempts to send you messages about CITES/Hong Kong and the Flower Market here − and all seemed to have been rejected. I thought it must be the size of the images , but sending them one-by-one seems to be no better ...Still , I'll be home by th end of the week − DV...

> It loks like an Eria. I am away from home and don't have access to my
> libra ry to suggest a species, but that's where to start I thinl .

> I have one plant with rather smaller and yellow gflowers but bulbs and l
> eaves almost identical ( joined my collection a year or two ago and I
> can't think of the specific ) and there is another with flowrs much more
> similar but thinner, taller canes − which the old London firm of Simmons
> used to s ell, imported − I think − from India − Roger might remember
> the name ?

> If you don't get other suggestions , remind me in a week when I'm home a
> gain and I will have a look around.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Mystery plant
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

Of course I'm tempted Jan − who can be a serious orchidologist and not be tempted ?

Imagine the headlines if it was reported thaat a National Collection Holder ( no less ! ) was found with illegal plants... I can't stand that !

From: Tricia Garner
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: Order of photos !!!!!
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

> And for that matter, anyone else who did not quite see or understand what
> specific order the photos were in..........and when I look at my 'Sent
> Items' folder to see what Ron was on about..........neither did I ???

> Maybe Tricia, or some other person who is well up on computer knowledge
> will tell us all how to make sure that the order that we have the images
> stores in, appears in our E-mail that we write in the correct order.

I think the best way is to put the numbers at the beginning of the label
e.g. '001 Cattleya re-potting.jpg' rather than 'Cattleya re-potting
001.jpg' to make it easier for the recipient to decipher the correct order.
For some reason attachments are often not displayed in the order sent. I
expect there's a good reason why but I don't know it :-)

When you do things right, people won't be sure that you've done anything at all.

From: Tricia Garner
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: Another non-orchid mystery plant
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

> Please, can anyone help me with this one found growing on a friend's
> compost heap??

Not trying to be difficult but my email client did not recognise the files
and I had some problems displaying them. Got there eventually, but please
could peeps remember to send only JPEGs or GIFs if possible.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Order of phots.
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

So you don't know either, well, well, well, Tricia does not know, I'll have to rib you over that one when we next meet up.

To be serious though, this is a peculiar item which one would suspect has an easy answer. But then it is a Microsoft item.

From: Ron Newstead
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Order of photos !!!!!
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

From: Ron Bower
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Another non-orchid mystery plant
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

Hibiscus Rosa-sinenis is a stove or greenhouse shrub and has a crimson flower with a long protruding Stamen, also the leaf is wrong shape. There is a Hibiscus Trionum, the flowers of which are white with a generally coloured center. It is a annual and grows about 2 feet high is white with generally a maroon centre. although the shrubby species common in India and China reaches up to 10 feet to 25 feet. According to Sanders Encyclopaedia it grows in America as well as other places.
It does look familiar but I can't put a name to it. I don't however think it is a Hibiscus.
Perhaps I should know, but are you in the UK

From: Alex
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Cattleya re-potting.
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

Are they granite chippings Rocky? sort of stuff used for roads? and doesnt it make for frequent watering?
Regards
Alex Scott

From:
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Another non-orchid mystery plant
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Another non-orchid mystery plant
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

Well I recognise it- which is not to say that I remember the name ! A shrub − will grow to several feet across but flowers on the new growths so I have seen it it in flower in markets looking more like a herbaceous plant ( as one does with say hydrangeas).It is a long time since I had it in a garden.

Abutilon Bluebird comes to mind but I am not able to look at my books for a few days yet.

The other thought which came to mind was that I threw it out of my garden because it seemed to be a magnet for thrips or whitefly or some-such.

Can I give you a tip about sending pictures ? If you crop to say 500pixel maximum − as height or width , depending on whther it is landscape or portrait format , and save as jpg − or jpeg − that will both upload and download and open so much faster and easier. Especially for anyone without broadband.. And if your message is difficult to read or photos difficulkt to open , many readers will go on to the next message and maybe never come back for another try.

From: jan
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Another non-orchid mystery plant
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

To me it looks like something from the nightshade family. The calyx
looks familiar, and the leaves aren't all that improbable. I'm not sure
about the genus − could it be Physalis? Or perhaps Withania, though I
don't think so; but I haven't got a picture of them.

Beccy Holmes wrote:
> Please, can anyone help me with this one found growing on a friend's compost heap??

And what a glorious morning it is here. Nice and damp overnight and cooler by some degrees, just what then orchids like, and boy do the roots grow, and the spikes emerge.

Reading what other members have just said over the past few days about CITES not working etc. I would like to ask this question.

Does anyone know who I could contact to have a heart to heart talk, E-mail whatever, on the subject of just quite plainly why I and other people should pay CITES for buying, NOT IMPORTING in our meaning, of orchids that 1, are definitely not endangered nor species, and 2, that are hybrids and are produced in a laboratory/nursery.

And by the way, I did once have a short chat with a chap from DEFRA, but he just had no idea what I was on about. So, maybe someone from the higher ranks might the person who I would love to talk to, and would that person be surprised to know about orchids!!!!!

From: Esther Koh
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Another non-orchid mystery plant
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

Being one without broadband, I heartily second Geoff's recommendation on resizing pictures.

From:
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Another non-orchid mystery plant
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

its a beautiful plant with a wonderful colour flower when fully open save the
seed for next spring (unusual seed pod)

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Stone, rock chippings.
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

I have often been asked this question, and the best answer that I can come up with goes like this:

I would call the medium that I normally use these days as Granite rock, also Basalt is another word that is used. I buy them in see through plastic bags from Garden Centres.

I have seen them in other Garden Centres under a different supplier and name, but for all intense and purposes they are the same.

I also have a few experiments on going in which I have used other stone/rock chippings. I have a couple of orchids growing in Purbeck stone. I should say here that we locals always call it Purbeck stone, but of course that is useless to anyone who does not live within reach of Swanage in Dorset. Should say limestone of a type. Then I have a couple of orchids growing in another similar type of rock chippings to the Granite/Basalt which I saw again in a Garden Centre.

To be honest it does not matter that much what type of material is used as long as it does not give off anything detrimental, is nice and heavy, and has plenty of air space.

As to watering, and your question about frequent watering, the answer is no. Depending on what you mean by frequent.

Have you ever looked at a cross section of an orchid root through a home microscope..........a most wonderful honeycombed structure that can suck up moisture so easily and store it. And when the outer portion of the root, [the velamen] turns greyish white IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT REQUIRES MORE WATER, there is plenty still stored by the root for a long time.

Now on to my set-up. Aluminium staging. Closed benching. Capillary matting on the bench, which is always kept moist, less in the Winter. The plants which are all in clay pots stand on inverted plastic saucers. I normally water with a pump-up sprayer which is filled with rain water and fertiliser. Normally I just spray the top of the stones for a few seconds. Maybe once a week or twice I spray overhead, BUT NEVER WITH TAP WATER. Our water comes through the chalk hills so is very hard and leaves nasty marks.

As I am retired I can just stroll around the garden and into the greenhouse when I feel like it, so if I want to water once a day, I may do so. Twice a day in a hot summer day. Last weekend we were away from Friday morning to Monday morning so they got nothing.....no problem.

If my plants were in the house I would stand the pot in a saucer with just a few millimetres of water so that the clay pot could stay just moist. Something like that, no hard and fast rules but at least I don't have any soggy, rotten foul compost surrounding my roots.

From: PG Hieke
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Dendrobium spectabile
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

I just want to show this beauty. It is the most bizare/weird looking orchid
flower of them all. I grew this plant from flask which I bought 11 years
ago. It flowers for me every year. It is not easy to grow as it needs lots
of light und heat.

From: Beccy Holmes
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Another non-orchid mystery plant
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

Just to let you all know I did actually resize my pics, they were muich much bigger before, but I will try harder in the future. Thanks for all the ideas on the identity.

From: Ron Bower
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Emailing: DSC01075.jpg
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

With regard to Rockies method of growing in stones. This Phal has been in this pot for 3 years.The stones are beach or river bank type pebbles.. The spike is 24 inches and has 23 flowers on it.The first one in early July and the last 3 are just about to go over.It was Rocky who converted me from bark and I water once each week with rainwater and fertilise every other week.
As has been commented upon, the downside is the weight of the stones, the upside being is they don't fall over and don't need repotting. I do still have a few Phals in bark that need repotting and it is a hell of a task getting them out of the pot then getting all the old bark out from the mass of curled roots. Should anyone have a easy method, I would be pleased to know of it.

From: Barbara Larimer
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Dendrobium spectabile
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

On 9/25/07, PG Hieke wrote:
>
> I just want to show this beauty. It is the most bizare/weird looking
> orchid flower of them all. I grew this plant from flask which I bought 11
> years ago. It flowers for me every year. It is not easy to grow as it
> needs lots of light und heat.

From: Ron Newstead
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Emailing: DSC01075.jpg
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

I have a feeling that Paphs are not suitable for this type of potting
material. Right?

> With regard to Rockies method of growing in stones. This Phal has been in
> this pot for 3 years...

From: Ron Newstead
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Dendrobium spectabile
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007

What a spectacle!
But it sounds as though it would be difficult to grow in the UK?

From: francis quesada pallares
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Dendrobium spectabile
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

I had one a while ago (which costed me a small
fortune) and I looked at how to care for it on every
book and website I could find, as I really wanted to
see it flower. However, all it did was to slowly turn
into yellow and die... A very sad end for it! There
was nothing I did that made it better...

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Orchids in stone-Paphs.
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

You are absolutely correct Ron, the orchids that I do not pot in stone are Paphs and Cymbidiums, and any other terrestrial or like types.

The reason that I do not pot Cymbidiums is rather obvious..........anyone who has ever tried to split and re-pot a large Cymbidium will know about the pot packed with roots. Just imagine trying to cut through a mass of roots and stone !!!

My six Paphs are doing much better than I have ever known. One of them is showing a new flower bud.

In a few weeks time, if all goes as well as it is going I will tell you all what I use as a potting compost and the mix. That is if I have not already told you..........seventy years of information sometimes goes amiss !!!

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Orchids in stone, the Downside and the Upside.
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

Thanks for telling the members about your Phalaenopsis and the very clear photo.

Ron-Bow, you mentioned the 'downside' as being the weight, but when we think about it, we have for too long been used to very lightweight plastic pots and extremely light, fluffy composts.

In the old days the pots were much heavier,m and in fact in certain parts of the World they still use clay pots today.

Yes, what you said about the stability is 100% correct, but there is another added bonus, I hardly ever need to stake a flower spike.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Buying orchids from a non E.U. Country.
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

I sometimes look at orchids for sale from Orchid Nurseries from all parts of the globe, and I wish that I could but them with NO HASSLE.

If the nursery that I wanted to buy them from had the ball placed firmly in their court, then I see no reason at all, [ARE YOU LISTENING CITES PEOPLE] why they could not put a sticker of declaration on the outside of the box, for the customs people, with a duplicate inside, and the same declaration posted to the buyer with his or her receipt.

The CITES people would then have no case to answer, and they would of course know who to prosecute if they had to.

But at least it would be Fair Trade the world over, and we supermarket shoppers are seeing more of these 'Fair Trade' labels these days.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Dendrobium spectabile
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

It is not difficult in UK − I can recall seeing plants put up for awards,
and e.g. Burnham Nurseries used to have them in flower quite often, on their
show stands.

But it is a plant which needs to be grown really well , otherwise ( as when
I tried many tears ago) it merely looked like a plant which had been
attacked by some bugs which had caused the flowers to distort

From: PG Hieke
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Para-whatever!
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

Hi All,
thanks for the flattering remarks about my beauty from Sabah in Borneo.
I got it from a nursery in Port Elizabeth via a nursery in Australia.
I believe it was grown from seed in Australia. When I received it I just
tied it on to that piece of cork oak. Yes, with nothing between the
bark and the roots. Actually it is a hollow branch of cork oak.
I hung it in a medium light spot in the centre of the hothouse and never
changed it's position. It flowered after one year and then every year.
Temperature in summer up to 40º C. and in winter down to about 10º C.
on some nights. It needs lots of water, preferably daily and high
humidity, and that is all. To-days temperature was 14 in the morning
and 38 in the afternoon, and this is only spring, not summer yet.
Kind regards
Peter from Bloubergstrand

> Now I really know what a love hate relationship is really like. I just
> loved seeing your photo of your Paraphalaenopsis labukensis, and then
> of course in a humorous way I just hated you for doing so well with it.

> And am I correct in saying that looking at your photo, there is no moss
> or other 'gunge' between the roots and the cork bark.

From: PG Hieke
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Stone, rock chippings.
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

And I thought you pick them up next to the roadside!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hi Hi Hi
Regards
Peter

From: Tricia Garner
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Dendrobium Spectabile
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

Geoff Hands wrote:
> It is not difficult in UK − I can recall seeing plants put up for awards,
> and e.g. Burnham Nurseries used to have them in flower quite often, on
> their show stands.

> But it is a plant which needs to be grown really well , otherwise ( as
> when I tried many tears ago) it merely looked like a plant which had been
> attacked by some bugs which had caused the flowers to distort

From: PG Hieke
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Paraphalaenopsis labukensis
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

Hello Janet,
Is Boynton Beach near the WOC Conference site. I'd like to meet you when I'm
at the WOC next January.
Kind regards
Peter from Bloubergstrand

> Hello Peter,
> This is Janet in Boynton Beach, Florida. Your plant is just magnificent.
> Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
> Janet Fabricant

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Choice descriptions.
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

Tricia wrote: I too can recall plants from many tears ago! What a crying shame! Like the nursery that I once visited that held the National Collection of ..........Mealy Bug !

Why don't slugs ever just home in on some of the more quite pathetic looking flower spikes, and leave our best ones alone?

From: PG Hieke
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Dendrobium spectabile
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

Basically, it can be grown anywhere if the conditions are right and the biggest
problem in the northern hemisphere is the winter. If the minimum temperature
can be set to 12-15º C and additional light provided, then it should be no
problem to get it to flower.

> It is not difficult in UK − I can recall seeing plants put up for awards,
> and e.g. Burnham Nurseries used to have them in flower quite often, on their
> show stands.

From: Alex Scott
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: Stone, rock chippings.
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

Thanks, very full reply. I did try a D. kingi in brick chips once and it
grew well but didnt flower but I didnt know much about them then. i will
give stones a try soon.
Alex

> Hello Alex,
>
> I have often been asked this question, and the best answer that I can come up with goes like this:...

From: John Stanley
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Another non-orchid mystery plant (time rummaging in friends' compost heaps )
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

"ps. Do you normally spend your time rummaging in friends' compost heaps ?" says Geoff
"Maybe when they're very much richer than I, if they compost orchids that are still better than mine or if their emails aim for my spam box!" Says I!
John

From: jns tropic
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Paraphalaenopsis labukensis
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007

Peter, I live 6 miles south of the WOC Conference in
Coral Gables. I would like to have an open house one
afternoon or evening for our group. Ron Newstead will
be our house guest. You may want to talk to him. Who
is going to the conference?
I have a blog that posts a picture from Coral Gables
every day.
Check it out: http://togofcoralgables.blogspot.com/
And my site shows what I have in bloom: http://togofcoralgables.com/default.aspx

From: Barbara Larimer
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: new species discovered in Vietnam
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/photogalleries/Vietnam-pictures/

From: Sue Brinsko
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: newbie frustration and/or stupidity
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007

Sigh! It appears that the "flower spike" I thought my phal was finally
getting the first time I emailed you'all is not a spike at all, but another
root. This same plant is now getting a new leaf, so I guess that means no
flower spike in the near future. Very frustrating! Sue B newbie

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Answers to today's E-mails.
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007

Great to read the first hand information on how you grow your Paraphalaenopsis, and to hear that this one was nursery grown.

Pick them up next to the roadside!!!!, to tell you the exact truth Peter, I have used almost the very same items. Some years ago I was walking along a disused railway track and found a pile of stones, so I picked up a couple of handfuls and used them when I potted an orchid. No problem, as long as they do not give up anything detrimental to the plant.

Don't use brick pieces. They do use them in Malaysia, but here, our bricks are to porous and crumbly and when they soak up water, especially in Winter, they stay wet far too long and start growing mould etc. Try broken clay flower pot pieces, they work a treat.

Your plant sounds as if you are doing well. New leaf coming, new roots, just be patient. Well done.

Hi Peter,
Boynton Beach is not far from Miami where the WOC will be held. We plan on
spending several days visiting the show and attending the preview party and
closing dinner. Do you have hotel reservations? I've heard that most of
them are completely booked. We did not plan to stay in Miami because we
have a dog at home. It would be very nice if could meet.
Regards,
Janet

From: Sue Brinsko
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Answers to today's E-mails.
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007

Thanks for the moral support and sound advice, Rocky. This may
sound sarcastic, but in fact I'm serious when I say "patience" is probably
the one thing I haven't tried (chuckle). Maybe I'll revise my goal ....
instead of wishing to see flowers "today" I'll wish to see
them.....hmmmm.... sometime in the next 5 years...........or......at least
once in my lifetime? Love ya, Sue B

From: John Stanley
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Re: Stone, rock chippings.
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007

Excuse my leaping into this issue (this email was diverted to my spam box
which I was emptying when I found it) but, whatever the merits of 'stone',
'rock' or whatever you call it, there is a chalk-and-cheese difference
between 'granite' and 'basalt'.
The differences may not matter to orchids but, if they don't, then the
qualities of the different rocks can't be very profound.

For the record; Granite is coarsly textured and is made up of crystals of
quartz, feldspar and mica and is high in silica (silicon dioxide either as
quartz or in composition in feldpar − with Al, K, and maybe Na and in mica).
Granite is, by definition, low in Fe and Mg.

In contrast, basalt is finely crystalline (it is a quickly chilled lava) and
is low in silica and high in Fe and Mg.

More will be leached from basalt than from granite. Maybe surprisingly,
calcium and /or iron carbonate often forms on the surface is repeatedly
wetted and dried.

Be very wary of rock-names used by monumental masons, sculptors and garden
centres. They are often wrongly applied in a geological sense and so give
rise to confusion by often differing from scientific text descriptions..

This is not to poke fun or insult these trades and skills. They use rocks
for a different purpose from geologists but be aware that both of these rock
types are commonly misnamed from the viewpoint of investigating them in a
scientific textbook. Be especially wary of the terms granite and black
granite (the latter is more like a coarse basalt or gabbro), marble is
chemically similar to limestone so confusion between them doesn't matter
much to orchids. Granite is a term often used simply to convey an impression
of toughness and durability. Tuff is a (usually)siliceous volcanic dust.
Tufa is a precipitated carbonate-rich deposit and is very different. 'Tuffa
rock' is a nonsense term used in the aquarium trade by those who seem not to
be aware of the tuff-tufa distinction!

Another confusion is over sand and sandstone; some sands and their
indurated/solidified tougher representatives can be almost pure quartz and
therefore almost inert for orchid purposes. Some sands and often the cements
in the pore spaces of their solid derivatives can be very calcareous and may
be described as carbonate sands. They dissolve just like limestone and
marble. A small clay content may render them more water retentive.

There are experts in this forum who can advise on the qualities of different
rocks (and synthetic rocks like pearlite and rock-wool). Generally, rock
rich in silica will tend to be inert, carbonate rock (marble, limestone and
shells-sand) will yield lime to plants requiring it. My suspicion is that
the qualities for drainage, water retention and aeration are as important as
the subtleties of chemistry (except for carbonate) but, no doubt, others
will jump in too.

Incidentally, for practical purposes brick fragments are like
chemicallyintermediate igneous rocks and are usually pretty inert but more
water retentive than (say) basalt or granite.

Gravels and pebbles and cobbles in garden centres are labelled to convey
artistic qualities.

If any readers are masons, sculptors or garden centre managers; I am really
not being critical of terms you use. Sometimes our interests overlap
(qualities of building stones for example) but often it is marketing versus
science and it might not sell crunchy gravel to label it with a chemical
analysis!

> Thanks, very full reply. I did try a D. kingi in brick chips once and it
> grew well but didnt flower but I didnt know much about them then. i will
> give stones a try soon.

From: Gordon Walker
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: John Innes seed and cutting compost.
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007

Does anyone know if the above compost contains lime?
I bought some of ASDA's seed and compost and it is listed in the ingredients.
Would lime be a hazard to any type of terrestrial orchid tuber?
Gordon.

From: epric@tiscali.nl
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: new orchid cd roms
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007

We ahve added the lindenia cd roms and the cd rom about BC, BLC and LC hybrids to the webshop. If interested feel free to visit: http://www.epric.org

From: Alex Scott
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: Answers to today's E-mails.
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007

Thanks Rocky − I have a boxful of potshards for crocking other things.
easier to break than bricks too.
Regards, Alex

> Hi Alex.
>
> Don't use brick pieces. They do use them in Malaysia, but here, our bricks are to porous and crumbly and when they soak up water, especially in Winter, they stay wet far too long and start growing mould etc. Try broken clay flower pot pieces, they work a treat.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] John Innes seed and cutting compost.
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007

You can find the John Innes compost formulaes on the web − just google the
term. However from memory lime is not added.

As to harming terrestrials , I recall that a large proportion of the UK
natives are found in Kent, which is more or less a large lump of lime (
white cliffs of Dover , etc.)

From: PG Hieke
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Re:WOC
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007

Hi Janet,
Yes, I have hotel reservation at the Sheraton. I booked already in March.
I'll be in Miami from 21-01-2008 to 03-02-2008 and have registered as
a full registrant, so I'll be at the show or lectures every day of the
conference.
Kind regards
Peter

> Hi Peter,
> Boynton Beach is not far from Miami where the WOC will be held. We plan
> on spending several days visiting the show and attending the preview
> party and closing dinner. Do you have hotel reservations? I've heard
> that most of them are completely booked. We did not plan to stay in
> Miami because we have a dog at home. It would be very nice if could
> meet.

That would be nice to get all together at your place.
Who else will be in Miami for the conference?
Regards
Peter

jns wrote:
> Peter, I live 6 miles south of the WOC Conference in
> Coral Gables. I would like to have an open house one
> afternoon or evening for our group. Ron Newstead will
> be our house guest. You may want to talk to him. Who
> is going to the conference?

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re-potting a well rotted plant.
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007

Can't quite remember who asked about re-potting, especially if the roots were all tied up in a bark or similar compost.

I have always found that the trick is to completely submerse the plant and its container in a bucket of slightly warm soapy water, and then leave it overnight.

When morning comes and you take it out of the bucket of water, you should see to your delight a vast improvement. In fact most if not all of the compost should have been washed free from the roots.

From: Peter Fowler
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] John Innes seed and cutting compost.
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007

Did a Google to John Innes Institute and ground lime is added to adjust the
pH because peat is a constituent.

From: Sue Brinsko
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Re: Stone, rock chippings.
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007

John, I ,for one, found your reply fascinating. Geology is one subject that
is both hugely under-publicized and hugely revealing. I've not had much
chance to actually study it myself, but on the rare occasion that I've had
the chance to hear the results of someone else's study I've been fascinated.
For example, I once took a tour of a gigantic cave in Oregon State. The
guide explained a number of things that had been learned by studying the
various types of rocks in the cave one of which was that the entire area,
now a tall mountain, had once been deep under the ocean! I also remember
seeing a public television special on the geology of (if I remember
correctly) Wales...explaining how several geologists over several decades
had studied some wierd/unusual giant ripples on the land and figured out how
they were formed. Sue B

From: Tricia Garner
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: Re-potting a well rotted plant.
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007

> Can't quite remember who asked about re-potting, especially if the roots
> were all tied up in a bark or similar compost.

In case anyone new to this lark is mystified why any one should want to
re-pot a rotten plant, I think that subject should read 'well rooted' :-)

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Woops ! With TWO 'o's,
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007

Thanks to 'Old Eagle Eye' [Tricia] she spotted my mistake and has said what I meant to put as my heading. To be sure, who would want to re-pot a ROTTEN plant.

As you know, I do have a couple of orchids potted in broken pieces of 'Purbeck Stone'. Can you please tell all that you know about this type of rock. Especially, does it have anything that an orchid might like even in very minute form.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Re: Stone, rock chippings.
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007

In my stay in China I spent some time in Guilin , travelling some 60 or so
km along the river through this amazing landscape of vertical-sided
mountains − I think Averyanov illustrates something similar in his Orchids
of Vietnam book, and Dr Cribb shows slides of the same area, just a few mile
of Guilin in his talk on the orchids of SW China..

Now the point is that these mountains are made of Karst limestone − which in
some places is superficially as hard as glass , although a limestone . I
assume it is almost or quite metamorphic , which I assume to be the
explanation for marble too − also a limestone.

( The great difficulty with geology is that a simple word like limestone -
or granite for that matter − covers an enormous range of rocks which can be
quite different from one another , from place to place − e.g. I used to live
in the Cotswolds at Minchinhampton, and the hill − of oolitic limestone,
provided stone suitable for roof tiles ( easily split into slates, by the
action of frost) at a hamlet called Crackston , and only 3 miles away, in
the same hill, provided perfect "freestone" ideal for carving into intricate
sculptures ; immediately below my house − another mile on , as we
discovered when trying to dig a hole for the greenhouse foundations, the
stone is what they call quoinstone − as used at the vertical corners of
houses which are otherwise built of ragstone − coming from the other side of
the common , 2 miles away, too poor to be cut like quoins − and all these
are different varieties of oolitic limestone in one hill .)

Getting back to the Karst − on which most of the brachycepalous paphs grow,
and most of the "new Chinese paphs" too − micranthum, armeniacum,
emersonii, bellatulum, niveum etc.. − I also visited an amazing cave system
in Guilin − it appears that however hard Karst looks, it is just as soluble
as any other limestone and in particular − according to my guide -
especially soluble along fracture lines, but less so where the old surface
is covered by lichens etc. ( The caverns extend for a very long way , some
of them are as big as an aircraft hanger, and the measured rate of
stalactite growth is the highest I have ever heard − cms per hundred years
). This was news to me, that Karst is perhaps especially soluble, despite
its hardness !

Now, at last I can see how P.bellatulum could get a good root system in the
Karst where I saw it growing in a location in North Thailand − it appeared
to be in a mere chink ( fracture , a mere few cms long and a few millimetres
wide; but the stone may ( I surmise) have dissolved away out of my sight,
effectively inside the outcrop , affording any amount of space for the roots
system.

From: Ron Bower
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Re-potting a well rotted plant.
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007

It was me, and I have just left my orchids and had looked at some plants, in bark, with gnarly great root masses which will have to be repotted and I must say that I am not enthusiastic, but will give your method a try. Another problem is how much root to remove, or can safely remove without affecting the plant. It is often very difficult to replace in the same size pot, and the next size up, filled with stones exacerbates the weight problem.
Why don't I just stick with Geraniums?

> Can't quite remember who asked about re-potting, especially if the roots
> were all tied up in a bark or similar compost.

From: Ron Bower
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Re-potting a well rotted plant.
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re-potting an orchid with several long roots.
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

Hold the plant over the pot so that its roots touch the bottom of the pot, then nice and carefully, twist either the plant or the pot so that the roots travel round the side of the pot in a spiral fashion, lowering the plant all the time.

You may be surprised how efficient this is, and the end product looks very tidy.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Rockology.
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

As our 'resident' rockologist, excuse the label, can you please tell me what you know about Vermiculite.

I am very interested in this mineral as it does appear to have some excellent properties when used in general gardening.

From: Andy
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Re-potting an orchid with several long roots.
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

I find that repotting very long roots − or the depotting that it first involves − is likely to do lots of damage and cause some root death. I dont want rotten roots in newly potted plants and so I shorten long roots − often rather drastically- when repotting. If the plant is healthy it will recover in no time and roots with the ends removed will generally branch.

The only exceptions to this have been plants like Cattleya bicolor which will only produce new roots from the new growth − I found this out by experiment! With others on occasion I have removed all back to the rhizome without problem. With a species cymbidium I depotted in about june of this year I found the root ball as a congested mass and that among the roots were some very rotten smelly ones. After some time of gentle snipping and realising it was going to take for ever and bruise the heatlhy roots I took the lot off, stood it on some perlite in a pot just big enough to support it. It lost some leaves but had a whole new set of roots in about a month − it now has a flower spike.

> The trick that I use when re-potting an orchid with long roots goes
> like this...

From: Andy
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: stenoglottis longifolia
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

I have a nice big clump of this and it currently has 6 flower spikes. I
think though that I would like to split it at the end of the season. Does
anyone have any tips for doing this?

From: Andy
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Hydrofoggers and funerals
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

I was interested in this discussion but did I miss it's conclusion? Were Tina and Ronbow talking about different devices?

> In connection with recent discussions from Tina and Ronbow re; foggers.
> Forgive me if I am saying the obvious but it is my impression that you,
> Tina, are talking about the white and green upward tapering job with a
> small ball-valve (refilled automatically from a tap or gravity source) in
> which the 'fog' is generated with the aid of a fan in the lower guts of
> the device. Ron Bower), in contrast, (I suspect) is talking about an
> ultra-sound micro-droplet generator often used for generating decorative
> whispy water 'smoke' and seen in garden centres often associated with
> indoor water features. If I am wrong read no further!

From: Andy
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: pollinating coelogyne
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

In the week this issue was addressed I had just pollinated C tomentosa
(massangeana) and C fuliginosa so I was waiting to see what happened. Looks
like the C fuliginosa has "taken" but not the C tomentosa. I have failed
with this several times in the last couple of years. What's the secret of
success? I have several plants but they are genetically identical − do I
need to have pollen from another source? If so any offers?

From: John J. Rupp
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: Re-potting an orchid with several long roots
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

I have used the procedure described by Rocky many times. It indeed
works fine. However, I usually soak the roots in water for a while
before winding them into the pot. Soaking the roots softens them, and I
have not ever had any roots crack or break during the winding and
packing into a pot. This soaking then packing method also works well
with getting the aerial roots of phalaenopsis into a pot when re-potting.

Dr. John J. Rupp
Emeritus Professor of Chemistry
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY 13617

From: Ron Bower
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Hydrofoggers and funerals
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

Andy,
The conclusion from my side was that I decided that my greenhouse electronics were some what geriatric and that it would be unwise to have them subject to such a high degree of humidity especially if unattended. You are correct in your assumption, I was interested in the type of generator sold by Maplin, Tina uses the green and white unit. I continue to mist manually as and when it is necessary and I am available.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Karst mountains
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

I was talking about those remarkable mountains − Karst limestone − home of
many orchids in SW China..One picture is worth a thousand words.

(sorry quality is not brilliant − the weather was sunny , but visibility
very poor − as I found everywhere in China. Humidity ? Smog ? − a bit of one
and a lot of the other I suspect. So this is a photo of a bought photo.)

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: Re-potting an orchid with several long roots
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

And even with Vandas − with their thick roots ; in fact it is a standard
procedure for me . However , I do wonder if I am kidding myself , and when I
have gone away , roots so treated will quietly die, and I would have done
just as well, or perhaps better, to have taken the knife to them...

> I have used the procedure described by Rocky many times. It indeed
> works fine. However, I usually soak the roots in water for a while
> before winding them into the pot. Soaking the roots softens them, and I
> have not ever had any roots crack or break during the winding and
> packing into a pot. This soaking then packing method also works well
> with getting the aerial roots of phalaenopsis into a pot when re-potting.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] stenoglottis longifolia
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

I think you will find that if you give it a dry rest , then simply cut
through and dust the surfaces of the almost tuber-like roots with sulphur or
something when you repot, you will have no trouble. IT seems cast iron
unless too wet or too warm

From: Tina Stagg
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Hydrofoggers and funerals
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007

Sorry, I don't think I saw John's comments or the conclusion as I went off to Greenland round about that date. I don't know where the funerals come in either. I think I do have the device that John assumes I have. It's a big machine, green and white, with a yellow centrifugal dome inside to split the drops of water into fog. Without its directional cover on the top the 'plume' of fog is about 10 inches wide and about 10 feet high.

> I was interested in this discussion but did I miss it's conclusion? Were
> Tina and Ronbow talking about different devices?

MONTH	DATE	DATE	DATE	DATE	MONTH	DATE	DATE	DATE	DATE
January	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31	February	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-28
March	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31	April	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-30
May	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31	June	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-30
July	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31	August	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31
September	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-30	October	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31
November	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-30	December	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31

2007 Archived Messages

22—30 September