"W.J.O.S. NEWS"

January 2021
Wanneroo/Joondalup Orchid Society (Inc)

WJOS Rules Approved 14 September 2018

Website: http://members.iinet.net.au/~emntee/

Please Note:
Meetings of the Wanneroo/Joondalup Orchid Society will be held in the 3rd WEDNESDAY of each month throughout 2021
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 20th @ 7.30pm, at the Warrandyte Park Clubroom, 89 Warrandyte Drive, Craigie
 As you will see above, we are starting 2021 at our new venue and on a WEDNESDAY instead of our usual Thursday.
 
These changes have all come about due to member dissatisfaction with the previous venue at St. Luke’s School hall, which was quite understandable as there were quite a few drawbacks with access and lighting there.
 
The Warrandyte Park Clubrooms were not available on our usual Thursday and we were offered the 3rd Friday or 3rd Wednesday.

The 3rd Friday would clash with some show setups during the year unfortunately.
 
We sincerely hope this does not create problems for members during the year.

Next Meeting - Will be held on Wednesday, January 20th @ 7.30pm, at the Warrandyte Park Clubroom, 89 Warrandyte Drive, Craigie

See maps here

Topic of the Evening
PowerPoint and demo on Mounting
Orchids with Tony W
Visitors and New Members always welcome

From the 5th December the WA Gov and the Joondalup City, (from whom we hire the meeting hall) require all of us to maintain contact registers for WA Health Department COVID-19 contact tracing. We are all requires to either Download the SafeWA app for scanning the QR code or fill in the mandatory contact register when we enter the hall. Both of which have been supplied by the Joondalup City Council. The Contact register must be returned to the JCC withing 24 hours.

We will also.....

. Undertake a general clean of chairs/tables and door knobs/switches on
entry and during setup for the meeting.

. Provide hand sanitiser for all members/attendees to the meeting

. All attendees to sign/write their names into our attendance book

. The Chair will remind all attendees to social distance and use sanitisers
provided or their own.

. Ask any attendee not feeling 100% to go home. This point will be made in
the newsletter sent to all members, ie; do not attend if not feeling well.

. Kitchen helpers to wear gloves etc

. Polystyrene cups will be used for tea/coffee. Not very environmentally
friendly but at least will keep us safe.

. Members may still bring a plate to share.

. Equipment, chairs etc to be cleaned on close of the meeting when being
stored away.

Please assist in this as we all need to be safe.

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Popular Vote Results December Meeting

Open & George Webber Memorial Trophy

Bulbophyllum kubahense 'Georgie' Owned by Gerda & Charly

Floral Art

A Xmas Wish: Gillian M.

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President - Tony; Phone; 0481 867 471 EMAIL

Secretary - Lynne; Phone; 9448 5840 EMAIL

Treasurer - Charly; Phone; 0409 005 606 EMAIL

Registrar - Chris; Phone; 9246 3189 EMAIL

Editor - Tony; Phone; 0481 867 471 EMAIL

P.O. Box 236, Kingsway, WA 6065.

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Membership Fees- Couple/family $47. Single $31. (Includes Badge)
Renewal - Couple/family $25. Single $20. Junior $7

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Floral Art

For January - A New Year Orchid
For February - Valentines Day
For March – Orchids in a Hat

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Wanneroo/Joondalup Orchid Society Calendar for 2021

January 31st - Xmas in January @ Bruce & Kaye’s
 
February 20 & 21 - Garden Clubs &
Societies Fair, Sth Perth
 
May 1 & 2 NDOS Show @ Kalamunda

July 4 Northern Orchid & Garden Fair, Mirrabooka
 
August 7 & 8 Inter Society Orchid Display & W/S. Hosted by SEOS
 
August 21 & 22 - Spring Orchid Fair, Aranmore School, Leederville (TBC)
 
September 1 to 5 - AOC Conference, Queensland (Postponed until 2022)
 
September 17 & 18, Nth Beach Display (TBC)
 
October 10 Northern Orchid & Garden Fair, Mirrabooka

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CLUB NEWS

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As you will see, I am trying a different format for a print friendly form of the WJOS News. This is designed to be printed in A4 size with pages either back to back or each page printed on a separate sheet. It is up to you.
 
Printed back to back, it will need the same number of sheets as the smaller version.
 
I hope you like it and I am sure that you will let me know if you are not.

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Pots - If you require orchid pots or fertiliser from the society, please ring John on 0418 854 732 and he will bring them to the next meeting

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Xmas Hampers
Our usual Xmas hamper free raffle went very well at the December meeting with many happy members taking home a Xmas gift.

Many thanks to all the members who donated goodies for the raffle and a huge ‘thanks’ to Mavis for organising them into the baskets. I think we ended up with about 14 all up.

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The WJOS Facebook page has been going gangbusters recently as members seize the opportunity to share pictures of their orchids with others. You are most welcome to join us there.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/858558147902909/

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The Attendance list for the Xmas in January at Bruce & Kaye’s on the 31st Jan will be on the Raffle Table at the January meeting. The Societies will supply the meat and sausages, members please bring along a salad or desert. And it is BYO.

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A roster for the Garden Clubs & Society Fair at Sth. Perth in February will be on the Raffle Table at the January meeting.

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Your Committee wishes you all the very best for the festive season and do be safe.

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And many thanks to the members who dug deep and helped out with the cleaning up and clearing the tables and chairs.

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Identification: Natural Enemies Gallery

Once the wet weather starts, the Museum often gets inquiries about small, brightly coloured "snakes", invasions of "leeches", unusual "slugs" and similar queries - all relating to an animal which is actually none of these.
The culprit is any of several species of terrestrial planarian worm. The most common of these is called the Blue
Planarian, Caenoplana coerulea. It’s about 6 cm long and a deep navy blue with a pale stripe down its back, bright blue underneath and a pink- or red-tipped head end.
After wet weather these exotic-looking flatworms can emerge in large numbers. Part of the confusion in the public mind is based on their appearance and partly on their movement. Being flatworms they move on a slime track like a snail or slug’s. I suppose if you have a good imagination they could resemble small snakes as they don’t contract and elongate as an earthworm does. Their long slimy shape and prominent stripe
superficially resembles land leeches but their action on land is very unlike the leech’s ‘inchworm’ or looper caterpillar action.
 

So what are they and what are they doing? These terrestrial planarians are related to the flatworms much talked about in biology lessons as ‘super regenerators’ – chopped into tiny pieces each has a good chance of regenerating into a new worm; slit the head lengthways and the worm will grow two heads, and so on. These land-dwelling relatives are larger than those in the biology lab but just as able – quite a few species seem to reproduce by fragmentation and subsequent regeneration.
Interestingly they are all predators, and the wet weather brings them out hunting. Blue Planarians use their viscous slime trails to trap small animals like slaters and millipedes. The planarian cruises along old trails and drowns any victims in slime before sucking out their insides with a mouth located on its belly. If this all sounds a bit ugly, consider that the planarian digestive system has only one orifice – all wastes must exit the same way the food went in, via the mouth.
So the next time you see this flatworm or one of its relatives you’ll know what it is, and you may wonder if it knows whether two heads really are better than one.

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Spider Mite Destroyer - Lady Beetle
Scientific name: Stethorus picipes
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Coccinellidae
Common prey: Both adults and larvae feed almost entirely on mites.
Commercially available: No
 
DESCRIPTION
The adult spider mite destroyer is about 1/16 inch (1.5 mm) long. It is shiny black with a very finely punctured surface covered with pale, minute hairs. Females lay tiny pale, oblong eggs, usually scattered singly among spider mite colonies.
The spider mite destroyer larva is dark gray to brownish and covered with numerous fine hairs. Pupae are oblong or oval and covered with short spines. Depending on maturity, pupae vary in colour from black to brown, gray, or reddish.
Adults and larvae each consume about one-half dozen mites per day. At warm temperatures the spider mite destroyer can
complete one generation from egg to adult in about three weeks. Females typically live one to three months, during which they lay about 100 to 200 eggs.

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I have seen these amongst my orchids and did not know what they were. The ones that I have seen are shiny black and dome shaped.

If you find some, look after them.
Ed.

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CASH FOR CONTAINERS SCHEME

As you would have heard at the last two meetings, your club has signed up for the 'Cash For Containers Scheme'. The purpose of this is to raise extra funds for the club which can then be spent to benefit the general membership.

Some of you are participating already and in less than a month we already have a balance of nearly $500.

Not everybody has direct access to the sorts of containers which can be cashed in but you can still help by enlisting the support of neighbours, friends and family. Don't think that you don't have enough to make it worthwhile. Every container is worth 10c so 10 a week is $1.00. Over a year, that's $52 and if 10 people do the same then it adds up to $520. Obviously every dollar helps and some of you will be able to contribute a lot more. At the rate we are going our balance should be several thousand dollars in a year.

You can either bring your bottles and cans to the monthly club meetings and give them to Charly or you can take them to a recycling centre yourself. The club has a special number code (copies available from Charly) which you quote and then the money goes directly into the club bank account. Recycling Centres can be found on the Cash For Containers website. Charly is our resident expert, so if you have any questions have a chat at the next meeting and he will be able to assist.

Obviously if we are using the money to benefit members your committee would love to hear your ideas of how this money could be spent to benefit the club. Please pass on any ideas to the Committee.
Lynne G

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There was no plant judging at the December meeting but mention should be made of the Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis that was on display. Owned and grown by Charly, it is a credit to his ability to manage this genus.

Charly and his extremely well grown Bulbo phalaenopsis

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Some 30 odd members enjoyed an interesting talk by Tony Bud about what makes a good orchid judging wise. You can see it all here.....

http://members.iinet.net.au/~emntee/What_The_Judges_are_Looking_For.pdf

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Here is an article on Growing Orchids in Shoes - in both Word and PDF

http://members.iinet.net.au/~emntee/Orchids_in_Shoes.docx
http://members.iinet.net.au/~emntee/Orchids_in_Shoes.pdf

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Charly's Article on his Bulbo medusae

http://members.iinet.net.au/~emntee/Bulbophyllum_medusae.htm

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Bruce's Growing Cattleyas in Perth

Growing_Cattleyas_in_Perth-1.docx

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http://members.iinet.net.au/~emntee/An_introduction_to_the_Genus_Masdevallia.pdf

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Pots - If you require orchid pots or fertiliser from the society, please ring John on 0418 854 732 and he will bring them to the next meeting

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New Club Badges
Clifton has arranged for us to have some new club badges which are very nice and a huge advance on our old ones.
(Not to mention our Very old ones)
The cost is $11 each and current members can acquire one for this cost if they wish. New member rates will necessarily change because of this.
New membership fees will be…….
 
Membership Fees- Couple/family $47. Single $31. (Includes Badge)Renewal - Couple/family $25. Single $20. Junior $7

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Members Please take note!!
The meeting starts at 7.30. Please make sure that your orchids arrive and are entered by 7.15.
Please be considerate of others

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The Importance of Water and Fertilizer.

http://www.waorchids.iinet.net.au/The_Importance_of_Water_&_Fertilizer.pdf

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Ezi-Gro Orchids
76 Evandale Rd, Darch
Western Australia
6065

Ezi-Gro Orchids are now CLOSED on Sundays

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PAPHIOPEDILUM CULTURE NOTES (JANUARY/FEBRUARY) by Trevor
 
The hot weather will be in full swing during these months but I still only water 3 times a week. If the forecast is for very hot weather over 4 days I will increase watering to every 2nd day but always only in the morning.
Keep your additional shade in place. If plants are showing signs of yellowing, it is probably because they are receiving more light than is required. If plants show any sign of burning add some extra shade for the next few months.
 
Any burning will cause a set back at this stage which will definitely affect our flowering season. If you have a variety of different size pots, you will need to ensure that the smaller pots do not dry out completely before watering. A simple solution to prevent the problem of some pots drying out more quickly than others is to double pot so the final size pots in the glasshouse/shadehouse are all the same size. By this I mean placing the smaller pots into a larger pot which is filled with compost which encircles the small pot. This way all the pots end up drying at the same rate.
 
Paphiopedilum growths should be promoted so keep the regular fertilizer program in place to ensure the growth mature ready for the flowering season ahead.
Let’s get back to looking after our plants
after our Christmas break to regular routine checking of:
 
(a) Good air movement
(b) If in Glasshouse misting will assist with maintaining humidity
(c) Weekly fertilising.
(d) Overcrowding our plants
(e) Check for pests and treat if necessary
(f) Keep area clean of dead and dying leaves or material
(g) Increase watering to 3 times a week or more often if plants have dried out.
(h) Check all plants to see if there are any signs of stress.
(i) Water in early morning before the sun is too high.
(j) Watch and control your shading. 

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Boisduval Scale - possibly the world's worst orchid pest

See all the pictures HERE

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Reed Stem Epidendrums by John P

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A message from The Water Corporation

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