February 2009

This is a recovered text only newsletter originally hosted on the old Pan American Orchid Society website. Pictures were unable to be restored.

Pan American Orchid Society

Affiliated with the American Orchid Society

Dear
members and friends,

As
many of you know, our Club had a display at the Miami International Orchid Show
at the Tamiami Fairgrounds in last month. This is the second time that we have made up
a display and we were competing against about four other clubs. We are very proud that we were awarded the
second place prize and we will have photos on our website soon. Our special thanks go out to Carmen Segrera who was the guiding force for the assembly of the
display, and was the design team with Michelle Briois
and Carmen’s assistant Jose. Thank you
to all who organized the event and worked very hard to make it happen, and to
all the members who contributed their time at the membership table.

Many
thanks also to the following members who loaned their flowering plants for our
display: Gail Weber, Cathy Pariser, Sue Samuels, Michelle Briois,
Carlos & Carmen Segrera,Geo
Lester, Catherine Pendlebury, Jean Wilson. Many apologies I have omitted anyone.

Our
second prize was $300 and a beautiful pitcher with orchid flowers. First place next year!

Refreshments
for February: The following members
offered to provide refreshments for our meeting this month:

• Karen
  Bradley,
• Ghislaine Green,
• Doris
  Maguire,
• Candy
  McDonald,
• Magda Nicholson,
• Georgia
  Ruiz.

Thank you all for your
contributions.

Our Speaker for this month is Tom Kuligowski. Below is his bio:

Tom Kuligowski has worked with a camera or two either in his
hands or around his neck for over forty years.
After all of that time, he now spends it with either his students or his
subjects (orchids) they don’t talk back, they don’t
cry and most of all they stay in th’ position I put them in.

Living in South
Florida gives him an endless supply of tropical botanical subjects
– the majority of those being orchids.�
Through the last sixteen plus years he has started and cared for three
individual collections of orchids.� Thankfully learning from the early mistakes to build his present
collection into one that a professional grower would be proud of.

Over the last eight
and a half years, Tom has been captivated on growing the Angraecum
genera.� The main reason initially was
that it was the first orchid away from the traditional that he used as a
subject.� Learning that the plant was a
hybrid, he wanted to learn more of the parents.�
That search would lead him into well over six hundred species of angraecoids.�

Being the
photographer that he is, Tom has documented a wide variety of angraecums.� Talking
to various growers that spend a fair amount of time with the genera has helped
him grow numerous specimen plants.� Tom
does not state that he is a professional grower; but his experience over the
years has labeled him as an expert with angraecums.

Angraecums tend to be known
for their beautiful, showy flowers that are fragrant at night.� Some can even become fantastic specimen
plants in just a couple of years.� With
both species and several sought after crosses, the angraecums
offer some very unique shapes along with the most pristine white in any of the
orchids.� The amazing fact people aren’t
aware of is that they can thrive in South Florida’s
sub-tropical weather; if given the chance.

This lecture will provide society members with
fundamental guidelines to grow these beauties successfully and in turn, they
will grace you with years of enjoyment.�
Every image presented in this lecture is from Tom�s private collection
of plants.

Club News

At the January meeting we had the following people become members.� Please greet them and make them welcome:

Malevy Ilivesay, Adria Castellanos, Denise Guffanti, Mariana
Rados, Norma Davis and Nancy Edwards

Don�t
forget to sign up at our meeting for the breakdown at the Miami International
Orchid Show to be held February 27 � March 1 at Doubletree Miami Mart/Airport Hotel and Exhibition Center,711 N.W. 72 Avenue,Miami..� It’s always a lot of fun and the club
receives the �sweat equity” plants donated for
members� effort which are the mainstay of our auction.� In addition you all get the benefit of one
missed monthly meeting towards your Holiday Party orchid.�

Culture Notes – Tasks for February (from Dr. Motes� newsletter):

Spread snail bait lightly.
Spread again lightly in two weeks.

Spray for Botrytis using Fla. recommended fungicides or Bicarbonate of soda.

Begin
Spring potting.

Watch for mites.

See you all on
February 17,
2009 at 7:00 p.m. for Mirta�s class

or

7:30 p.m for the regular meeting

Photos from Jean
Wilson of January award winners and our display at the Miami International Orchid Show:

Paph. Wossner
Emercham x Paph. Deleratii –� Ivis &
Jorge Rodriguez

Paph. Wossner
Emercham x Paph. Deleratii � Ivis & Jorge
Rodriguez

Lc. Warpaint sunbulb cluster � Ivis &
Jorge Rodriguez

Baellera (inter Wonderland) � Eulalia
Meneses

Onc. Twinkle Yellow �
Lucy Ridgeway

Maxillaria Richii � Robert Birenbaum

Onc. Papilio
� Mirta Heineman

Eplc. Butterfly Kisses
‘Mendenhall’ AM/AOS � Mirta Heineman

C. walkeriana � Mirta Heineman

C. jenmanii semi-alba � Mirta Heineman

C. trianei � J. Morejon

Vanda lamellata var.remediosa
x self � Mirta Heineman 

Angraecum Veitchii �M� �
Maria Cerna

Zygopetalum Ryan Moonlight � Maria Cerna

Angraecum sesquipedale
�Big Star� x self � Maria Cerna

Miami International Orchid Show at Tamiami Park (building the display on Friday):