Cym. Lovely Nymph, first bloom-finally....

Below are pictures of Cym. Lovely Nymph (Herbert George Alexander 'MOL', 4N x Wood Nymph 'Ruby Lips', 4N).


























I originally purchased seedlings of this cross in 2005 from George Hatfield, and it has finally(!) decided to bloom. Seedlings of different crosses purchased from George at that time bloomed for me two years ago (previously discussed on this blog) so this plant was on the short list of being discarded at the end of Spring. It is a vigorous vegetative grower--greater than any other Cym I have, and sending out several pseudobulbs each year--but this likely has contributed to the delayed flowering.

While I like the overall shape and form of the flower, and it does produce a modicum of fragrance, the asymmetric coloration patterns on the tepals are its downfall. It may also be that because the flower buds developed under moving, artificial lights, they aren't as well colored as they would be if blooming under natural light. I expect (hope) that better examples of Lovely Nymph exist out there in the Cymbidium world, but I haven't seen any.

While it's a fun gedankenexperiment to think of how one might improve one or more attributes of Lovely Nymph, this is one the larger sizes of an intermediate-sized Cymbidum (I could envision someone growing a nice cultivar to Cym. lowianum or Cym. tracyanum specimen size.), and I don't have the orchid growing space to pursue such ideas.

NCOS Fall Show 2009, part 3

Below are pics of individual flowers from the show that captured my attention.

Cym. Kusuda Beauty (Kusuda Shining x Red Beauty), exhibited by Carter and Holmes


















Cym. Solar Flare (insigne x dayanum), exhibitor unknown


















Sophronitis (formerly Laelia) perrinii, exhibited by Carter and Holmes














Guarianthe (formerly Cattleya) bowringiana 'Augusta', AM/AOS, exhibited by Carter and Holmes














Lc. C.G. Roebling 'Sentinel', exhibited by Carter and Holmes














Paph. Sander's Pride, exhibitor unknown


















Cycnoches Jean E. Monnier, exhibited by Chryss Mavrides














I'm still experimenting with a few Cattleya Alliance hybrids, so anymore of this section will have to wait until I can reliably bloom the few that I have. Instead, I may try a couple hybrids or species of the Cycnoches Alliance for 2010. Their deciduous nature and winter rest period is attractive for one who must bring orchids indoors to overwinter.

NCOS Fall Show 2009, part 2

Below are pics of some of the horticultural exhibits from the Fall Show and Sale.

Individual exhibit by Gene Schurg and Jeff Johnson














Vendor exhibit


















Vendor exhibit














Vendor exhibit


















Individual plant displays by NCOS members














Flower arrangement in the design of National Capitol O.S. logo, exhibited by Martha Knight

NCOS Fall Show 2009, part 1

The National Capitol Orchid Society hosted its annual Show and Sale during the Columbus Day weekend in October at the U.S. National Arboretum. This year, the show comprised ten commercial vendors and ten orchid societies. There were fewer vendors than last year because of a new vendor supplying a smaller tent.

Members of the Lord Fairfax O.S. setting up their exhibit.














Members of National Capitol O.S. setting up the Sales Tent.














Horticultural exhibits were judged by the American Orchid Society.




























Public attendance through the sales tent ebbed and flowed all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday.














In addition to the orchid plant sales tent, the show also featured three artists: one emphasizing paint media, one emphasizing textile media, and one emphasizing ceramic media.

June NCOS: Virus testing

An esteemed member of our club, Joe Francis, led a discussion at today's meeting on orchid viruses. Joe has an extensive collection of 1,500+ orchids, and began virus testing in early 2009. Presently, his data comprises about 760 tests from his own collection, from hobbyiest colleagues, and from demonstrations at the talks he's given at our regional sister orchid societies.

Joe brought in two demonstration Cattleyas: one showing virus-infection symptoms (CymMV/ORSV double positive) and one that had no visible blemishes (ORSV positive). The bottom line--you can't tell whether an orchid is virused just by looking at it.














I performed 11 on-site tests at today's meeting. Some members brought in leaf samples for testing, but I also asked those who brought in plants for the show table if I they would volunteer a plant to be tested.

Laelia purpurata var. carnea 'Lady Godiva', exhibited by Jeff Johnson. (tested clean)














With the Agdia test strips, Joe's data indicates an overall infection rate of 29%: 16% CymMV, 11% ORSV, and 2% CymMV/ORSV double positive. Presently, the overall Cymbidiums infection rate is 52%, and the overall Cattleya Alliance infection rate is 22%.

Joe then discussed cultural practices to reduce mechanical transmission of virus, e.g. using clean, sanitized and sterilized tools with each plant, using clean, fresh gloves when handling plants for re-potting, using a fresh layer of newspaper as a surface cover when re-potting orchids, cleaning the grow benches, and avoiding water drip from a first plant onto a second plant.

There was also a discussion of how one may clean plastic and clay pots for re-use. It quickly became clear that each person had his/her own way of cleaning pots prior to re-use. I also know of other growers who only use brand new pots. I can see the advantages of this latter strategy, but I haven't yet performed a cost/benefit analysis to decide which solution to practice. I really prefer to minimize the amount of trash I contribute to the landfill. But, if the plastic is recyclable and I can find a source of plastic pots for a reasonably cheap price, then I may switch over to this strategy altogether to eliminate a variable.

All in all, the members appreciated hearing about orchid viruses and how to avoid them. They also wanted to know how to access the testing kits. Joe provided the contact information, and our club will begin providing a testing service and/or virus testing workshops.

Cattleya Marjorie Hausermann 'York', AM/AOS, exhibited by Gene Schurg. The green lip is visible via camera flash, but appears white to my eyes.














Paph. Helvetica, exhibited by Sharon and Eric Butler














Stanhopea tigrina var. nigro violacea 'Predator', FCC/AOS, exhibited by Terri Windlan (just opened up this morning)














Blc. Everything Nice 'First Love', exhibited by Charles Little (began opening yesterday)

State College, PA Orchid Show

This last weekend was spent in State College, PA to attend their local orchid show, for which our society contributed a display. Their season is about three weeks behind ours, as can be seen by the trees and shrubs coming out of winter dormancy that have since completed their blooms in our neighborhood. Similarly, many orchids for us that have recently finished blooming or whose flowers are in decline are now reaching their peak for our PA neighbors.

There were some nice Cattleyas in the show, such as Laeliocattleya Park Ridge and Cattleya forbesii. The C. forbesii was screened for AOS judging, but previous cultural awards have set the bar quite high.




























Cymbidiums were also represented.
Leprechaun 'Goblin', HCC/AOS


















lancifolium


















atropurpureum (?)
This plant was labelled as canaliculatum, which it is clearly not. Remembering photos from Kobsukh's and DuPuy and Cribb's books, I think it is atropurpureum. It has a nice coconut-type fragrance. It appears that the grower was first presented with this plant as Cym. dayanum, so it has a history of being mis-labeled. Despite this, the plant was pulled for AOS judging against previously awarded atropurpureum, and received an AM/AOS award--pending taxonomic identification-- because the flowers measured larger in size than the previously awarded Cym. atropurpureum.

April NCOS Show table

Today's speaker was Allen Black, visiting from the Virginia Orchid Society in Richmond, Va. He discussed orchid hybridizing for the orchid hobbyist/enthusiast perspective, how to pollinate orchids, setting up a flasking/re-plating system in the home, and growing the seedlings to their first-blooms. Below is an example of his work, Lycaste About Time. See also http://ablackorchid.com/.















We had a nice turnout of member's plants, examples shown below.
Phal. Brother Supersonic, exhibited by Bob Smith














Cymbidium Little Black Sambo 'Black Magic', AM/AOS, exhibited by Joe Francis














We had three varietals of Cattleya skinneri today. Tina Wood exhibited 'Casa Luna', AM/AOS, and var. alba 'Debbie', FCC/AOS, both shown below. Bonnie Cobos exhibited var. coerulea; however, I did not have the opportunity to photograph the flowers. It was a nice opportunity to compare the color-forms.