2007 mailing list messages

2007 Archived Messages

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From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Good buys.
Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2007

As to Common Sense, well, I think it has gone out of the window, as you can see from the attachments that I had two very good orchids for just £11:68, that was after the 'Old Codger's' discount day.

The Cattleya I am especially pleased with, as I have been after a sort of 'Bob Betts', 'Bow Bells' for some time. I also like the progression of bulb size on this plant, and even though the three flowers are a bit crowded and marred, I look forward to next year with great excitement.

Lastly, I wonder if I had seen these two plants at one of the 'Orchid Fayres' what the price tag would have been on them ???

From: Sue Brinsko
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2007

Wow, Rocky, congratulations on your good buys. A great find is always a
pleasure. sue b

From: jan
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Mystery plant
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007

No, not really − Geoff suggested it might be an Eria, but unfortunately
I don't have any good reference on Erias, so I can't tell.

>> 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: Laura Peppiatt
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007

These are really good plants. I have got a phal that looks like yours and I bought it for £15 and it is called Pinocchio. It has been flowering for 10 month (sequentially) and I am very pleased with it. Cattleya is very pretty. Is it fragrant?

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Good buys.
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007

And thanks Gordon for the name. I thought that it might be, but was not sure, and looking it up on the Internet I can also write the name of the two parents on the back of the label.

this Sun Croydon O G have an open show at Diamond riding centre
woodmansterne rd Carshalton Surrey one not to miss
tom

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Good buys.
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007

Can I correct you on one thing..........and it is one that I am sure all of us make from time to time, and that is, we mean to type Paph, but we type in Phal..........welcome to the 'Club'.

Yes Laura, I now know that it is 'Pinocchio' and I have just re-potted it, and I was very pleased to hear you say that it had been flowering for ten months. I will just have to wait and see how long mine flowers for.

It had one of those 'normal' plastic labels attached to a little plastic stick, showing a picture of several Cattleyas. On the back is the instructions in five different languages. Below the picture is a web address, and why, when I try to access it does it says that it is unavailable. This has happened with other Dutch web addresses. Anyone have any idea why?

The address is: www.eijgenraamorchideeen.nl Woops!! Who's a plonker then..........three letter e's, not two.

From: Sylvain VAN DER WALDE
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007

Hello Laura.
Surely, you mean a _Paph_ Pinocchio. I used to have one, but I don't think that it flowered longer than 2-3 months.
Can I/we share your secret.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: a couple of pictures...
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007

The table display is one I did last week − the plants from top left,
clockwise, are Ascda Orangeade "hotlips" , Encyclia cochleatum album (
second flowering this year), BLC Copper Queen, Mtssa Olmec "Kanno" ( these
last two are either seedlings or divisions flowering for the first time ),
and finally a Phal species in the "alba " form − I have forgotten which one.

Usually I have a series of ivies, begonias etc with the orchids in a large
pan, but the guy who "looks after" my greenhouse when I am away seemed to
have gone astray this time, when I was in China for 3 weeks, and tells me he
didn't want to water anything because of the weather (huh ? ) so I am now
shopping for more foliage plants ! The orchids by and large seem to stand a
few weeks dry, even if they don't actually like it.

The other pic is the species Aerangis cryptodon − from Madagascar I believe.
Its vandaceous of course. Flowers − petals etc − some 4cm across, the spur
maybe as much as 15cm long . Lovely scent . The spike has been developing in
fits and starts since Autumn '06 , and was about 20cm long in August but
then elongating rapidly − no buds visible ! Then when I got back home at
the end of September the flowers were out.

From: Barbara Larimer
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] a couple of pictures...
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007

Geoff, I have a BLC Copper Queen and it is a good reliable bloomer − at
least twice a year for me. I like it as it doesn't require a lot of fuss.
I have had multiple flowers at a time, but one is the norm.

That Aerangis cryptodon is lovely − too tricky for me to grow I'll wager.
But I can dream...

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007

Actually, they , the successional flowering paphs − can flower for much
longer than that , several years in fact.( My 'best' was I think 20 or maybe
22 flowers over more than 2 years ).

When the first successional flowering Paph was found **, and plants were
sent to Fred. Sander ( who sold one by auction for some £2000 , and that was
in the end of the nineteenth century at least a hundred thousand pounds
sterling today) the collector told Sander that it was capable of having at
least 30 flowers , but only one at a time , and he must NOT say that it was
a 30 flowered Paph ( actually they were called Cyprepediums in those days,
if anyone wants to research it ) . Of course Fred just said the 30 flower
part and 'forgot' the caveat. I actually have in my collection part of that
original plant , but ( need I say this ? I only paid a 2 figure sum for it ,
some 25 years ago !

But they don't do this continuous flowering thing on small plants, young
plants, weak plants. And if you have one and it produces half a dozen
flowers one after the other and then stops , remember that all the time it
was producing flowers it was not growing , just getting weaker. Probably it
will produce a poorish new growth, and next time maybe produce only 2 or 3
flowers before it stops.

To see it at its best , let it flower (once) then cut the spike. It will
produce a strong new growth, and next time let it produce 2 or 3 flowers
before you cut the spike . After that, if and when it gets big enough and
strong enough to produce 2 new growths at a time, then you may think of
letting it flower longer.

Or , and ideally , pinch out the spikes without letting the plant flower at
all , until it is clearly bigger and stronger , but are YOU big enough and
strong enough to do that ?

Personally, I find the long old flower stem with the remains of each bract
left on the stem, which zig-zags all over the place ( these are not paphs
which take kindly to being tied up neatly) rather ugly , and I am happy to
cut the spike off completely long before it gets to that stage. Or not
grow it at all , there are better , brighter, bigger, successional flowering
paphs ( e.g. Envy Green is a smasher ! ) , although I admit that I can't buy
them for five quid off a street barrow..

** I am not talking species names, since there seems to be almost continuous
variation between each of several , I have read Dr Cribb's 'key' in his Kew
monograph , and applied it to plants in my collection and ended up
concluding that one and the same plant must be P.moquettianum,
P.victoria-reginae, P.chamberlainianunm etc etc etc..

From: Gordon Walker
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007

Very interesting and informative Geoff. Would/do you do this with your other plants to get them to grow stronger?
Gordon.

From: Laura Peppiatt
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007

Indeed I was talking about Paph. I have just move house and cannot think
clearly. Everything seems upside-down. Thank you for correcting me.
I have reported my paph into coco-moss-charcoal mix a few month ago and
it has two new growth.

I completely agree with Geoff that spike should be cut off and plant
allowed to grow but I am not so strong :) Or probably I do not have as
many flowering orchids as Geoff has and my dream about green house will
not come true for a while.

> Hi Laura, Can I correct you on one thing..........and it is one that
> I am sure all of us make from time to time, and that is, we mean to type
> Paph, but we type in Phal..........welcome to the 'Club'.

From: francis quesada pallares
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Orchid show
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007

I am planning to go earlier and help set up, but I am
not sure yet if I will be able to make it at all...
Hopefully, I shall be there, though.

> this Sun Croydon O G have an open show at Diamond riding centre
> woodmansterne rd Carshalton Surrey one not to miss

From: TONY GARTHWAITE
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: Buying while we can....Provado
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007

I've just got back from my friendly Village Garden Centre where I was
advised to "stock up with PROVADO as it is going to be taken off the
market"!!

As it has worked for me against Scale and Vine Weevil I thought I'd pass
on this information!

Interested to hear if anyone else has heard a similar story......I
wonder what the replacement will be if it's true?

Oh and Geoff, I've re-potted my....sorry, ...your.....Paph and am
encouraged by the recent discussion about successive
flowering.....however, I still live in hope of the appearance of a
flower spike! Reminds me of that song............"One day your spike
will come..."!! Maybe by Christmas!

From:
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Orchid show
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007

Hi Francis be nice to put face to name if you go
hope to see you there its in aid in of riding for the disabled they need all
the help they can get
tom

Thanks for the information regarding then possible 'Taking off the market' about Provado.

I immediately contacted my friend who is on the committee of 'Totton Allotment & Gardeners Society' as they have a large store that sells all garden products.

He tells me that Bayer who are the company who market/produce 'Provado' did in fact join forces with, or buy out BIO products, or a similar name.

He also thinks that they may now have to market it under a new name because them name 'Provado' was from the previous company [Bio].

Some up to date news on my dunking of all my orchids in Provado Vine Weevil Killer. Once I had dunked my plants, I stand them all in plastic saucers, and as you can expect the drops did accumulate in the plastic saucer. Just maybe half a millimetre or so. This will soon just evaporate away on a warm day, or be soaked up into then porous clay pot.

This morning when I had a nose around I was delighted to see three dead earwigs and two dead woodlice. Now woodlice are the worst culprits for chewing orchid roots, so maybe I have done something correct that will deter then little buggers.

From: Sylvain VAN DER WALDE
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007

Thanks for that interesting and enlightening message, Geoff.
My plant was not a large one. And it eventually deteriorated and died; so it can't have been healthy.
I will consider buying only well established orchids from now on.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007

Yes , I always have done , makes sense doesn't it ? ( But Ray Bilton used to
fall about laughing at the idea , but then a nurseryman knows that he can
sell a plant in flower for twice the price of one not in flower .

> Very interesting and informative Geoff. Would/do you do this with your
> other plants to get them to grow stronger?

From: Tony Watkinson
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007

That was a rather good article you wrote re the Paph Pinnochio. I was so impressed that I would like to include it in our Club newsletter if you don't mind?

Even a smarty like me learned something new. Not that I am a Paph grower, but finding stuff for a Club newsletter can be very trying at times so a gift like this which coming straight from the horses mouth, shouldn't be looked at!!!

No that doesn't sound right!! I'm on about the old saying regarding looking gift horses in the mouth.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007

One of the famous growers of the era when Fred Sander was 'The Orchid King'
was Joseph Chamberlain ( of the political family which included Neville ,
the PM who came back from Munich waving a piece of paper , in 1938 , and
claiming 'peace in our time' ). Joe was I think Foreign Sceretary around
about the end of the 19th Century. The family money came from making screws
- they sold screws to the whole world , all made in Birmingham (
Nettlefolds screws , the company eventually became Guest,Keen and Nettlefold
, GKN , which exists now). Which is how Joe came to be sufficiently well off
to bid for new orchids at the auction sales, against the likes of the Duke
of Devonshire etc.

Joe lived at Highbury (Mosely, in Birmingham , now an inner city area ) where he
had, I think it was 24 greenhouses , one for each group wanting different conditions .
A cattleya house, a Laelia
house , lots of Odont houses, and so on. Most were 22 footers,10 foot wide,
but some were 40 foot jobs with two aisles. He had fresh orchid flowers
sent up to London on the train every day , and always wore one in his
button-hole , I'm not sure if the younger generation will know what a
button-hole is ? , that little slit at the top of the coat collar lapel,
where they may wear their poppy on Nov 11th.

Joe had cork-screw moustaches , and Fred Sander, when he fell out with Joe (
which was silly, since Joe was one of the few people who could spend a
fortune on orchids ) named the new sensational successional flowering Cyp
(paph) as chamberlainianum , because the paph has twisted petals which he
said reminded him of Joe's moustache. Joe was furious, and never forgave
Fred , managed to stop him getting an honour in the Queen's Birthday honours
list , so it was said. ( The Queen wanted to give him one because of the
orchids provided for some Royal Wedding or other , Princess Alexandra , m.
Edward 7th ? ).

When Joe died, the collection of orchids went to Birmingham Parks department
, the Chamberlains were all Councillors, Aldermen, Lord Mayors etc.,of
Birmingham , as well as National politicians . I don't suppose there is much
left of that collection now after such a long time and various wars ( lack
of heating) cut-backs in expenditure etc., but my piece of
P.chamberlainianum , var. chamberlainianum, came out of the back door , when
it was divided up , or so I was told.

From: Roy Lee
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Complex Paph.
Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007

Hi all, thought this was a nice complex Paph. Only flowering off a small plant this time. The first time I flowered it as a seedling it was about 25 − 30 mm bigger but I think I'll keep it.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Old times!!
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2007

To carry on from Geoff's very interesting piece about Mr. Chamberlain and the orchids of yesteryear, have a look at the four attachments.

From: francis quesada pallares
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Orchid show
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2007

I will be there after all, so I will see you there.
Hoping to get there by 9am and help setting up before
it opens at 11.

> Hi Francis be nice to put face to name if you go
> hope to see you there its in aid in of riding for
> the disabled they need all
> the help they can get

From: Tina Stagg
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Joe Chamberlain's greenhouse
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2007

This is for personal interest only as I have not obtained permission from the publisher to reproduce.

This is another Paph from the same flask as the previous photo. I have flowered about 6 seedlings so far and all are around the quality of the previous pic. This one is not quite as good as on the first flowering but again I think it has a big future.
The cross is P. Good Vibrations x Paeony, one down is that the cross has a lot of paeony in it which tends to weaken the stems.

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Another Paph
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2007

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Old times!!
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2007

Interesting Roger − I was relaying tales told me − very many years ago -
both in the Orchid world, and in Birmingham − where I was born and bred..

And I think the "moustaches like screws" tale is repeated in the book
"Sanders, the Orchid King"

From: Geoff Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Joe Chamberlain's greenhouse
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2007

BTW I once went to Highbury − but long after the orchids had gone, and the
greenhouses too ! Not too far from the Edgbaston Cricket ground.

From: Tony Watkinson
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Good buys.
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007

Many Thanks Geoff. You are such a font of information. I am sure we all look forward to your postings on Orchid Talk.

I had great fun correcting your typo's with the help of MS Word's spell checker.

I shall use both parts and also Rocky's old pictures. Joe was a handsome devil wasn't he.

Many thanks for the pictures Rocky, and also to Tina for pointing out Joe's greenhouse (Greenhouse?? You call that a greenhouse??) in J N Rentoul's 'The Specialist Orchid Grower'

I do have J N Rentoul's 'The Specialist Orchid Grower' but had not opened it for a while. I note that in the front of the book, it states...

"This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the copyrights act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission."

I wonder if using that page in a web article is allowed under copyright rules? Maybe Geoff would have some idea?

This will give you some idea of what it would look like. This url is only being circulated to Orchid Talk members at this stage.

From: Tina Stagg
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Old times!!
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: The Moustache and Copyright.
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007

I asked my friend this morning if it was May or June as the weather is fantastic. Long 'May' it continue.

Yes Geoff, I did wonder about no hair on the top lip, but I will leave you to investigate this one, as you came from that area.

Tony, as to Copyright law, I am sure Geoff will put us right, but as most books say and as you have shown the wording, it is in my view O.K. as long as it is used for the benefit of like people and that it is used not to gain money etc.

When I produced a couple of booklets recently I did have a look on the Internet to do a bit of research on the so called 'Copyright'. Bloody hell, and there is no other way to describe it in my New Forest language, what I mind boggling lot of this and that, and whatever. In the end I just got on with it as I was not intending to use it in any other way than to interest people who enjoy our wonderful hobby.

From: TONY GARTHWAITE
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Provado the continuing sag!
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007

I paid another visit to the aforementioned Garden Centre today....6 bags
of assorted compost for the winter displays... and chatted further.
It apiaries that French farmers have been using Provado on their crops
to such an extent that the EU is concerned and is reviewing the
situation.
Now....this may not affect us in the UK as Europe is divided into three
zones, South, Central and North and all have differing sets of
pesticides that may legally be used, and I cannot remember if France is
South or Central!

However, I'm glad that Provado is useful against woodlice....I've a
large colony in my orchid section, so WAR TOMORROW!!!

P.S. On another topic....Belatedly, I did like Geoff's table display!
Admired the photo again this evening! Thanks for sharing it with us
Geoff!

> Thanks for the information regarding then possible 'Taking off the
> market' about Provado.

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	22-29
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

8—14 October