2020 SAOS Newsletters
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December - Christmas Auction
Auctioneer Sue Bottom
Our annual Christmas auction was a great opportunity to eat, drink and be merry with our orchid friends, and we had a very lively group of bidders!
November - Bingo for Orchids
We decided to have fun and play games on Election Night. We played Bingo for Orchids, with Charlie Rowell as our Disk Jockey.
Deborah Green and Sue Bottom donated plants for the Bingo prizes, and we had a couple of laughs!
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our November Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
October - Transitions and Adaptations
Linda Stewart, St. Augustine Orchid Society
Linda Stewart, a much-valued member of SAOS, talked about “Transitions and Adaptations”, and she described the lessons she has learned while moving to different residences. When you move, you will likely lose some orchids, and will probably also need to adjust your growing medium, your water, and your fertilizer. But the good news is, the majority of your orchids will adapt and within 6 months they’ll be ready to bloom again!
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our October Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
September - Backyard Orchid Growing
Walter Muller, St. Augustine Orchid Society
Walt grows his orchids in a shade house make out of galvanized pipe from Haymarket for about $200. It has a fitted plastic covering with a roll up door and one window to use during cold weather. After installing the new structure, he added a layer of 60% shade cloth over the outside of the structure. He uses halogen lights for heating in the winter and on the coldest nights plugs in a space heater. He also demonstrated his very interesting potting technique using a shallow bed of sphagnum and charcoal in open net baskets.
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our September Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
August - Brazilian Catasetums
Francisco Miranda, Miranda Orchids
World renowned taxonomist Francisco Miranda gave us a guided tour on Brazilian Catasetum species. Their distribution and habitats were discussed, many from the Amazon, to help us understand where and how the plants live where they do. He also discussed flower dimorphism, a
very interesting feature of the genus, showing both male and female flowers.
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our August Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
July - Potting and Mounting Orchids
Tony Millet, Boutique Hybridizer
Good-Time Tony entertained us with his lively program on potting and mounting orchids. He talked about his Pound Cake mix, a basic potting mix containing about equal parts of aliflor, sponge rock and tree fern. Then you can add caramel or chocolate chips to the basic mix, like a little chopped sphagnum for more moisture retention or charcoal to keep the mix fresh. He told us about all the nifty things you can buy at this store where things only cost a dollar. Such fun!
Courtney told us some bedtime stories for our July Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
June - Corona Hat Trick
Courtney Zooms the Show Table
We zoomed into Cyberspace with Courtney at the wheel. Here's a link to the Virtual Show Table Presentation. Members sent in pictures of their blooming orchids and Courtney told us stories about them, their heritage, how they grow and more. So many members sent in photos, hope they'll bring their blooming orchids to the next meeting in the Church Hall!
May - Wuhan Corona Redux
Courtney Zooms into Cyberspace
Covid-19 has caused the cancellation of our May events, so we decided to have virtual share and scare tables. Courtney told us some bedtime stories at the virtual Show Table presentation, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Mid-month we had a virtual Scare Table presentation using pictures of problem plants sent in by members.
April - Wuhan Corona
Courtney in Cyberspace
Covid-19 has caused all April events to be cancelled, worldwide. We decided to have a virtual Show Table presentation via Zoom in lieu of our regular meeting. Lots of us sent in pictures of blooming orchids so Courtney Hackney can show the pictures while he weaves his orchid tales in Cyberspace. Here's a link to Courtney's Virtual Show Table presentation we had in lieu of our April meeting.
March - Growing and Showing Specimen Plants
Bill Thoms, Bulbophyllums.com
Bill gave an entertaining and informative talk on growing your orchids into specimen plants. His talk is chock full of a variety of useful tips to help you grow your orchids more betterer. He encouraged all to get the most pleasure out of their plants by making sure the leaves are clean, flowers staked and the plant placed in an attractive container.
February - Rare and Unusual Orchids
Arthur Katz, Hobbyist and AOS Judge
Arthur talked about rare orchids, which are often rare because they are so difficult to cultivate and die outside their natural habitat. He also talked about unusual orchids, which you can learn to grow if you mimic the sometimes narrow range of conditions in which they thrive.
