Newsletter  February 25, 2008

Is it spring yet??? 


Paph. (wenshanense x Hsinying Sceptre)
 
The Phrag. besseae bridge and Phal schillleriana tree

Paph. (Winston Churchill x vietnamense)

Had to include one dog picture.
Kona has gained 8 pounds in just 2 weeks, he is going to be a BIG doggie.

    Is it spring yet?   Well,  not really, but on a couple of recent sunny days the greenhouse temperatures have risen into the 90s and we have begun to add shade cloth to protect the plants.   Another harbinger of spring is the Philadelphia Flower Show which takes place at the PA Convention Center from March 2 - 9th.  I want to remind you that we will NOT be a participating vendor at the show this year.  We decided after last year's show that our ten year run at the show would be enough for us.   However, we have decided that there is no reason we can't continue to have our Post Flower Show Sale!   This will take place daily from March 12th to March 16th.  There will be lots of great plants on sale.  A mailing and email will be sent around the first of March for more details.
     John and I attended the World Orchid Congress in Miami back in January and it was a fun and satisfying experience.  The show was spectacular and the exhibit by Frank Smith from Krull-Smith Nurseries was the finest orchid exhibit I have seen in the past 20 years (see Phrag besseae bridge and Phal schilleriana tree above).   It was completely artistic and the plant selection was remarkable.  We have included a few pictures at the top of this letter to demonstrate.  I have never seen such high quality and well grown Paphiopedilums and Phragmipediums in my orchid lifetime.  I am so glad we did not miss this experience.  Of course, there were other great exhibits and exciting plants throughout the large exhibit center.  Lectures were interesting but most of all we visited with many, many friends from all over the world.   It was sometimes difficult to look at the show and sales area because every time you turned around there was someone else from Taiwan, Ecuador, Colombia, Hawaii and Europe to greet.  I felt that this event was a big success for the United States and that the organizers should be very pleased with the result of years of planning and organization. 
     John is off to Taiwan on March 4th for a week.  He will be giving a talk at the Taiwan Orchid Show and Symposium.  His topic will be The Business of Biodiversity:  Orchid Conservation.    As a new member of the AOS Conservation Committee, this is a timely topic for John to be learning about.     While there he will also be searching for interesting plants for our nursery and he has visits scheduled at several nurseries in Taiwan. 
     On April 5th, I will be speaking at the American Orchid Society Headquarters in Delray Beach, Florida.  ( I like my trip better as there is a LOT less flying involved).  The AOS offers a series of educational classes at the Headquarters and I will be speaking on The Latest trends in Intergeneric Oncidinae and their culture.  Many are being bred for their tolerance to warmer temperatures, so this will be a good topic for southern Florida.  If you're in the area, consider signing up for my class.
     Also in our future schedule, we will be participating in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Orchid Society Show at Longwood Gardens in Wilmington, DE on March 28 to 30th.   We certainly hope to see many of you at that show.  Longwood puts on an orchid exhibit throughout their Conservatory and Greenhouses at this time of year, and the event culminates in the Orchid Show at the end of the month.   It is not to be missed. 
     That's all from me for the moment, but I will ask John to sign off with a short paragraph about the Paphiopedilum Forum he attended.  This event is sponsored by the National Capital Orchid Society in Washington, DC and is always a great day.
     The Paph Forum as always was a wonderful day for Paphaholics, a big thanks to  Bill and Lynn and their faithful volunteers . There were about 10 Vendors with many interesting plants. Lots of AOS awards were given out including or Paph. (wenshanense x Hsinying Sceptre) pictured above. It received a 78 point HCC.  This hybrid was bred by Ching Hua Nurseries in Taiwan. They will be registering the hybrid soon. They also produced a Paph. (bellatulum x Hsinying Sceptre) which should also be very dark but more purple in color. I heard one of the best talks yet on "Natural Variation of Paphiopedilum Species in Vietnam" by Leonid Averyanov, Ph.D. from the Russian Academy of Science. It was a very in depth and thorough  discussion of this topic, with an incredible collection of pictures to illustrate. I can't imagine what Dr. Averyanov had to do to get these pictures. 

All the best,    Tom and John @ Parkside

To view old newsletters click here:  September 2007November 2007January  2008

 
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