January 2024 Meeting

It was a cold January day but many orchids made their way to share with our members. We gave everyone a link for this new WordPress website, which we are slowly figuring out. Technology is not always our friend.

Juliette brought in her great idea for displaying tolumnia orchids and Anna brought in a grid for a similar purpose. Here are some photos to recap the meeting.

Our colourful Orchid Table

CN’s Anathallis linearifolia had dozens of flowers

CN showing his surprise bloom from a plant that was put out for the summer. He had to keep uprighting it after falling over (many times!) and yet she bloomed.

CN’s lucky cymbidium

Albert’s Blc. Maikai Mayumi

CN’s Epidendrum Black Comet. While it looks purple here, it shows as nearly black. A beauty.

Albert brought two Angreceums. This one is Angreceum sesquispedale, also called ‘Star of Bethlehem’ since it blooms at Christmastime.

Albert’s Angreceum bosseri. Both orchids have extremely long sacs with nectar on the bottom. It was found that there are moths with a very long probiscus (tongue) that can reach the nectar.

CN started this restrepia brachypus from a leaf! The larger leaf was from a recent workshop CN gave and it grew a whole plant that is now in bloom. Great work CN.

Juliette gave us this great idea for displaying tolunias. She hangs it in front of her kitchen window over the sink. It’s in a great spot and she can remember to give them some water every few days.

Anna brought her air orchids (2 blooming tolumnias) in to give a solution to a watering problem she had this summer. Going away for 3 weeks, she came up with an easy way for someone to care for her orchids, which need watering every 3 days. She put them on a frame with a plastic mesh and brought them to Lydia’s house. Lydia hung them outdoors in a shady spot and dunked the whole frame into her water barrel every three days. They enjoyed their summer vacation (as did Anna).