2008 mailing list messages

2008 Archived Messages

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From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Mother Nature's 'Jewel orchid'.
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008

What better to do than to try and get some good photos of this wonderful and intriguing little orchid, especially as it is so damned cold outside and blowing a hoolie.

I am just about certain that the top sepal and the two petals which form the 'hood' are not individual items as they seem fused together.

And then there is the rather strange lip which is bent backwards and has a twist in it. In some respect it looks like the tail of a great whale.

I did manage to remove the pollinia with the aid of a toothpick while holding a Jeweller's magnifying glass to one eye, BUT, I could not make out the stigmatic surface and other small items. Let's face it, that area is tiny and it is not so easy to identify shall we say as regards most orchids.

From: jean Lewis
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: attachment
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008

Ron sorry if this is a bit late but we've been up to London for the weekend and I've only just been able to read the digest. How very odd! I didn't attach anything to the reply to Rocky so I really don't know why it said there was an attachment. I am waiting for my sarcos to open their flowers before taking photographs so had nothing relevant to send. It's a bit worrying though if something or someone is trying to attach things that shouldn't be there. Perhaps someone else can figure out what happened there. Strange! Jean

From: francis quesada pallares
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Woodstock orchids
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008

I went to spend the day in Milton Keynes today, and
noticed on my list of UK orchid nurseries that
Woodstock Orchids is in Milton Keynes, so I decided to
try and visit.

The phone number was not recognised when I tried to
call, but I still went to the address to see if there
was anyone there. The address seems to be of a private
house, and although we got there in the end, the home
was empty and it looked as though it was all being
renovated (i.e. carpets outside; everything covered in
dust sheets and so on)... Of course, no one answered
the door!

Anyway, does anyone know what has happened to this
nursery? Have they closed down? Have they relocated?
No one in the area could tell me anything, so I was
just wondering!

From: PG Hieke
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Mother Nature's 'Jewel orchid'.
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008

Hi Rocky,
Your pictures are superb. I have never looked so close at these
flowers. You had me baffled at first. I could not recall what plant
this is. A little while later the penny dropped. Ludisia discolor
is the correct name of this orchid.
Kind regards
Peter from Bloubergstrand

From: Geoffrey Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Woodstock orchids
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008

Yes, I remember Woodstock well − in fact I was talking about "them" the
other day in connection with phals.
I can't remember dates, but they ( he, actually, it was a one-man band,)
appeared on the orchid scene maybe in the 80's . Bill was his name, can't
remember the other name. IMHO he was a proper know-all − he knew much better
than everyone else in the trade how to grow and sell orchids − in fact 99%
of the plants he sold were phals he imported as NFS plants, which he kept
for a few months until flowering , and then sold them.
But that didn't stop him telling everyone how to raise seeds,( maybe he had
never actually done it − but that didn't stop him being Worlds No.1 expert -
how to repot old plants ( he had never seen an old plant ! ) and so on.

Phals were of course a new arrival on the orchid scene in the second half
of last century. Before that , everyone thought they needed hot-house
conditions, and could not be grown here, and none were for sale . The first
time I saw one, at a Show − 1963 ? the only white phal at the show, got
best hybrid, best in show etc... the sort of plant you would buy at a good
garden centre today with little difficulty for say £20...

I visited him (Bill ? ) several times, buying plants, and his wife usually
invited me in for tea and biscuits − I thought that I knew him quite well.
He had been in some kind of engineering earlier , and he continued to do
some trade in heating systems for professional nurseries, and had an agency
for Hartley Botanic greenhouses. Again, typical of Bill − I asked him for a
quote for my new pit house when I moved to the Cotswolds in '96 , and he
wouldn't give me one, because "I couldn't grow orchids in a pit house" -
those members of this group who visited me, will laugh at that !

After a few years he left the trade, and I bumped into him when there was
BOC conference in North Wales somewhere − he had come to look , and
recognised me and took me for a drink somewhere. It appeared that he had
bought a caravan site somewhere − renting out holiday lets, , but was then
going into chicken farming ; typical Bill − he already knew more about
chicken farming than everyone who had been doing it all their lives ( so he
said) and was going to set the chicken world alight...

But he left Milton Keynes ( I can't remember the name of the exact place)
maybe 7 or more years ago.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Mother Nature's 'Jewel orchid'.
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008

Thanks for the kind words about the photos..........shall I tell you how I managed to get the nice shots????

You call it Ludisia discolor, which is the name that I often use, but many people are confused by the other name, Haemaria discolor. I'm not sure which one is best to use?

I have been on the lookout for the lovely leaved one, Macodes, but no luck so far.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Promote your Country's Orchids
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008

And why not; at least if you can walk up to them and have a good look at them, who better to pass on vital information about how they grow, and where they grow, and other needy information.

At least us U.K. members have it quite easy, as we have only about 49 different species. I do not expect people from countries that have hundreds of different species to be able to show us close up photos etc. But, if people in such countries can come up with some photos of the orchids growing naturally, wow, that would be so informative and the information would be great.

My photo today is of one of the U.K,.'s smallest orchids, the Autumn Ladies Tresses [ Spiranthes spiralis].

In some weeks time the leaf rosette will just die away naturally, so I will hope to take a few more photos showing just this.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Correct name.
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008

Way back, some twenty to thirty years ago, my friend in Oz sent me a small piece of Dendrobium x delicatum.

I have since grown it into several large pieces and are shortly to give some away, with my nice labels attached.

Thing is, I remember there being something said about the parentage of this plant.

I was told, and have always thought that it was a natural between Dendrobium speciosum and Dendrobium Kingianum.

From: Tricia Garner
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: Correct name.
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008

From: JIM MATEOSKY
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Anyone seen this before?
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008

From: Roy Lee
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Correct name.
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008

D.x Delicatum is speciosum x kingianum but also can be known as;
Den, Specio-kingianum. Stick to D.x Delicatum.

As far as the different names for speciosum and, forget it coz only the die-hards are using those names and the Dockrillia name has been dropped completely and the plants involved have gone back into Dendrobium.

My goodness, that is some website. Just goes to show how the modern world puts such information at ones fingertips in just a few seconds.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Anyone seen this before?
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008

Thanks for showing us a plant from Costa Rica. I had known of Ponthevia, but I was surprised to read that it extends from the Southern States of the U.S.A. all the way down to Chile.

Is the lip hinged at all??? It does look very interesting, especially as it sits waiting for an insect that might have been attracted by the lovely spotted sepals/petals.

The floral part that hangs straight down behind the lip.....is that a petal or a sepal?

From: Geoffrey Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Anyone seen this before?
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008

I have seen the pic in Jay Pfahl's encyclopaedia − probably when browsing
through a dealer's list, and then looking up the ones unfamiliar to me. But
I've never seen the plant. I must say that your pic makes it look much more
attractive than the Pfahl one. I suggest you send him your pic − I sometimes
do when I flower something and it looks different/better than the one he
shows.

From: JIM MATEOSKY
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Anyone seen this before?
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008

Good questions, basically I do not know the answers.
The floral part that hangs straight down behind the lip.....is that a petal or a sepal? My guess is a sepal but it is connected on both ends. It is not hinged.

The leafs are very very soft and furry , the certainly collect moisture, dew and all.

This was kind of an accidental find, it is in a part of my green house that is not on my normal path it was kind of in the corner where things get put to get neglected, or more like "lets see if grows there"...

> Hello Jim,
>
> Thanks for showing us a plant from Costa Rica. I had known of
> Ponthevia, but I was surprised to read that it extends from the
> Southern States of the U.S.A. all the way down to Chile.
>
> I wonder if all the tiny hairs are to catch any mist or fine dew???
>
> Is the lip hinged at all??? It does look very interesting,
> especially as it sits waiting for an insect that might have been
> attracted by the lovely spotted sepals/petals.
>
> The floral part that hangs straight down behind the lip.....is that
> a petal or a sepal?

I see that some of you were wondering about Woodstock. He moved to North Wales and I was glad to still have been able to order the best Cambark from him. I ordered the largest bag about 18months to 2 years ago. I'm not sure if he is still selling it now. I can't remember the name he is going under but I have a feeling it begins with 'G' and he had been advertising in either The Journal or the RHS Orchid magazine. That's where I found his new address and phone number. I'll keep an eye out and see if I can find it again. Jean

From: N & T Burgess
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Identity please
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2008

Could any of you please identify my plant? I have lost the label, I would appreciate your comments.
Norma Burgess

From: John J. Rupp
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: Identification desired
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008

I purchased this plant a little over a year ago. It was unlabeled with
no flowers, but the plant was very vigorous and the leaves were sort of
a gray-green color and quite broad. The first flower opened today and
is magnificent, photos attached. The flower is about 3 inches across
and very flat. The petals and sepals are really almost identical in
color to the lip, not having as much color difference as the photos
show. The inflorescence has emerged from the very top of the
pseudobulb, not from the base, is 31 inches long, branched and has
another 15 buds to open.

I believe it is an oncidium intergeneric, and I will appreciate any
suggestions for a name.

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

From: Geoffrey Hands
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Identity please
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Norma's plant.
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008

I think that your plant may be Epidendrum Stamfordianum alba. I have never owned an Epidendrum Stamfordianumm so I cannot be sure.

So, here goes: It sure is a very nice flower, and a very good photograph, and I would love to know where you bought the plant, how long you have had it, and how you grow it.

Now that you have 'surfaced', here are my other comments..........I don't have your details on the Clubs, 'Who and Where', so can I have your details please.....Name [got that] what you grow and any special details. Thanks.

From: francis quesada pallares
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Identity please
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008

Looking lat the flower alone, it makes me think of
either some epidendrum or an encyclia, although can'5t
really say much more.

From: JIM MATEOSKY
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Identification desired
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008

I have many oncidium hybrids that have similar characteristics. Grow very strong, similar star shaped flowers. Not sure the name though as there are many. I spent 4 years in Potsdam! But I now live in Costa Rica. I live on a mountain that the locals say is real cold it gets to the low 50s at night in the winter. I try to tell them that this is not cold....

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Norma's plant.
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008

He wrote: Sorry can't help − can only guess at the genus which you can do yourself. Geoff

Now come on Geoff, if you can't say anything constructive.....then don't say anything. What you did say was bloody useless and almost casting the person off who asked the question.

Never ever forget, that there are twenty something thousand species etc. etc. and no person knows it all.

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: John's flower.
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008

Your request is similar to some that I ask, as I also have a few of the Oncidium/Odontoglossum type 'thingies'. I had a good look on the Internet and found what fitted it best. Trouble is that there were so many that looked like it!!!

One thing I will say is that it is not uncommon to have a spike come from the top of the pseudobulb, but thirty one inches..........it's a lousy day here, chucking it down and blowing..........and you have to put the knife in, ha, ha. That sure is a great length for a flower spike of that type.

From: David Martin
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Identity please
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008

Norma & John
I checked with Phillip Cribb who said instantly that it was Epidendrum stanfordianum alba, will confirm after checking at work next week.
David

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk List
Subject: PLant name.
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008

Well, I am glad to read what you said as it confirms what I knew. At least it shows that my old brain is not that retired yet.

How about giving me your details so that I can include you in the 'Club's 'Who and Where' list.

It just gives a persons name, and states what they grow and any other interesting items.

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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
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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

2008 Archived Messages

March 22—31