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Mary and Martin Motes were erudite and charming as they entertained and educated us at our August meeting. Martin described much of his breeding around Renanthera in an illustrated succession of generations of crosses. He started with the crossing of R. storeii – “the most spectacular flower in the world” and R. philippensis, with its dense multitude of flowers, and then proceeded through a succession of crosses and recrosses. Make sure to read next month’s newsletter for Dot’s comprehensive discussion of his talk! If you missed the signup sheet for his newsletter, you can sign up at http://www.orchidworks.com/redland/motes.html.
He also provided a wonderful raffle table and a sales table full of gorgeous plants at very reasonable prices. We thank them so much for visiting us!
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Martin Motes will be our August speaker! Martin is an internationally known Vanda grower who is also a very erudite and humorous speaker. Many FLOS members own and follow recommendations from his book, Florida Orchid Growing Month by Month. We feature his recommendations on our website quite often, including the month by month task list. Be sure not to miss this talk!
Click here for meeting location and driving directions.
It was fun seeing Wendy again so soon after our ramble visit. I definitely left my watering system on longer this morning after she told us how much vandas looooove extra water. She gave lots of growing tips. Dot will have a full rendering, no doubt, in next month’s newsletter. I’ll sprinkle some tidbits here and there 
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Wendy Griffin from Indian River Orchids in Vero Beach will be our speaker on June 14. The Griffins have been an important vendor at our shows since 2004 and she last spoke to our society in 2007. She’ll be talking about growing vandas and cattleyas better, two of the plants in which they specialize. She’ll also have lots of plants for sale and on our raffle table.
If you want to order any supplies or plants they will be delivered at the meeting. Their phone number is 1-772-563-0070.
Click for directions
Dr. Ruben Sauleda of Ruben in Orchids gave two talks in one night! A presentation on flasking and deflasking included info on the early stages of propagation. Pollination, germination, fertilization. Rinse, repeat. Then came a Powerpoint with fabulous photographs of his favorite orchids, many taken in situ in Columbia (his wife’s homeland.) Lots of funny stories too. Great night. Thank you very much Ruben! Be sure to visit his website http://www.rubeninorchids.com/
=== announcement ===
Dr. Ruben Sauleda of “Ruben in Orchids” will give a two part talk. The first part will cover flasking and desflasking. The second part will be “My favorite orchids” where he talks about his favorites for growing in South Florida.
Ruben will also provide plants for our raffle and will have plants for sale. He grows many native orchids along with his specialty Cattleya and Encyclia species and hybrids. You are bound to find something new that will thrive in your collection.
Click here for meeting location and driving directions
Biography
Dr. Ruben P. Sauleda began growing orchids at the age of 12. At the age of 16 he established Ruben In Orchids. Almost half a century later Ruben In Orchids is recognised internationally and is the oldest orchid business in Florida.
After graduating from Miami Senior High School, he attended Miami-Dade Junior College where he received an Associate of Arts. He was the first biology student in the first graduating class to receive a Bachelor of Science at Florida International University. He was then accepted to Florida Atlantic University where he received an Master of Science in biology working on the orchids of the Bahama Islands. During this time he was asked by Dr. Donovan S. Correll to collaborate on the Flora of the Bahamas by contributing the treatment of the orchids. After graduating from FAU, he was accepted to the University of South Florida, where he received his Ph.D. in Orchid Taxonomy. He has held positions as a Research Associate at Fairchild Tropical Gardens, Florida Atlantic University, the University of South Florida and several other research institutions. He has taught classes at Florida international University and Miami-Dade Junior College.
Dr. Sauleda has written several books on orchid culture and has written over a hundred articles in scientific journals. He was Chairman of Education for the 2008 World Orchid Conference in Miami. His was responsible for arranging all the lectures, overseeing all the photography and was the editor of the proceedings. His speciality is flasking and is presently the leader in reproducing Encyclia, Cattleya, Schomburgia and Tolumnia species and hybrids.
Ruben In Orchids
22585 S. W. 187 Ave.
Goulds, Florida 33170
Visit his website at http://www.rubeninorchids.com/
Join us at the next Fort Lauderdale Orchid Society meeting on March 8, 2010. Our speaker will be Tariq Sheikh of Beau Monde Orchids in Loxahatchee, FL. Tariq is a noted speaker and grower specializing in the tribe Vandae, including Vanda, Rhyncostylis, Ascocentrum, and Rananthera.
Click for directions
Pictures from this event are on our Facebook page.
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Our April 3 bus ramble still has a few seats left. The last one sold out so send your check for $25 per person to our post office box. Call 954-772-4836 with questions. We leave the Cardinal Gibbons parking lot at 8AM and return by 5PM.
We all enjoyed Segundo Cuesta’s talk at our April meeting. He told us about five or six of his latest hybrids, some of which had bloomed for the first time within the past few weeks. These plants were four to six years old and he timed the blooms perfectly for our meeting!
He also spoke about feeding, pests, and disease control. I took a few notes on some of the brands he likes:
Orthene
Sevin
Rubbing alcohol – 70% – spray it on anything that moves
Thrips – he likes Conserve
Malathion is also good (response to a question)
Physan applied once a month or so, 1 to 2 tsps per gallon, also very good. He recommended this for seedlings coming from a compot every couple of weeks.
He said he feeds his plants whatever he can get that is inexpensive! White bread is better than starvation 
He was a big advocate of changing up foods, pest controls, and disease controls. Variety strengthens plants and keeps resistance from building up.
Segundo was a very entertaining and engaging speaker. He had beautiful plants for sale as well as on the generously supplied raffle table that Quest provided. Our thanks to him and his lovely wife for gracing our meeting.
Be sure to pay them a visit if you are roaming around South Florida.
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Join us to hear Segundo Cuesta of Quest Orchids speak on “Growing Cattleyas and keeping them healthy”. Quest will supply the raffle table plants and will also be selling plants.
Quest is famous for frequently blooming, long lasting, red orchids which will bloom in South Florida. Often an Slc. has Sophronitis coccinia as a close relative. This little red beauty is cool growing, so near-relatives don’t bloom often here. Segundo has produced red orchids that will bloom here by putting several generations between coccinia and what they sell at Quest.
Segundo graduated from FIU in 1980 with a degree in a phase of plant science. After graduation he became infatuated with orchids and opened their commercial business in 1994.
We always appreciate Quest’s big and beautiful displays at our show, and Quest is one of our favorite ramble stops. Segundo has not spoken to us since 2003 so we owe him perfect attendance since he and Yolanda provide so well for us.
Click for directions
What a fun talk! Jeff spoke about phalaenopsis culture in a most accessible way, that included tossing pots, giving away plants, peeling leaves, and breaking stems full of beautiful flowers. The man knows how to grab a crowd and not let go!
He also provided a fabulous raffle table with some fantastic plants and some excellent sale plants. We were fortunate to win a Paph. Delrosi (Paph Delenatil x Paph Rothschildianum).
Quick pointers I took away
- If you want to grow them in trees, tie them UNDER a big branch so they will be protected from direct rain, falling debris, and other natural hazards.
- Time release fertilizer is great but it breaks down rapidly in South Florida. Use half the amount twice as often! (ie instead of one tablespoon every six months, use 1/2 tablespoon every three months).
- Use small pots!
- After flowering, cut back the stem to let the plant rejuvenate. Yes, phals will often put out more flowers on an old stalk. However, the plant will be stronger and bloom better next year if you don’t let it overdo it this year.
- How to take off a yellowing leaf? Split it in half the long way and then it will pull off easily. A little cinnamon on the rip and you’re good.
- Use high quality sphagnum moss and prepare it properly. Soak it in a disinfectant like 10% algaecide from Home Depot, or Physan, or RD-20; I think he soaks it overnight. Then he dries it in the sun and stores it dry.
- Jeff repots with 1/3 peanuts, 1/3 lava rock, and 1/3 dried (as above) moss. He packs these very tightly in layers with the moss on top. This is a technique he invented that is used by many growers now.
- Clear pots don’t last more than a year. Don’t try to reuse them.
- Keep your phals moist in low light conditions. They like some direct light every day – either early AM or late PM is terrific.
- Plants respond to stress well, don’t be afraid to pack them tightly in the pot. Did I mention they like to be packed tightly in the pot? While packing new potting material press down next to the pot, not near the stem. Don’t break off the new roots!
So, what else did he say? Add a comment with gems that I missed
=== announcement ===
Jeff Adkins could describe ice melting and you would laugh and learn. His topic this time is Phalaenopsis. His workshop will deal with repotting and general care and the main program will cover current breeding trends and why you should want to own better plants.
Jeff will provide the plant raffle table and will have a sales table of mixed genera that will thrive here. Jeff is a third generation orchid grower, an accredited AOS judge, and a life member of our society.
Website: http://www.adkinsorchids.com/index.html
Click for directions
Also at our next meeting we will be electing our new slate of officers. Be sure to attend and cast your vote.
We were able to work out a deal with our bus company and this trip is now a GO!
We will be going north and our probable stops are Odoms Orchids, Krull Smith, EFG, Indian RIver and Adamsons. The bus cost will be $75 per seat and the modest motel and food costs will be extra.
We will leave the Cardinal Gibbons student parking lot on Saturday at 8 AM and return by 5 PM on Sunday.
Members are welcome to bring visitors on this ramble since the bus will not be crowded. If you have questions or need to mail your bus money in, call Bob Henley at 954-772-4836
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