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THE GROWER ON CALL FOR OCTOBER IS JULIE
RATHBUN, 843 - 0223
Growers with internet access are incouraged to
use the Questions and Answers link on OSA’s web
site. The URL for our web site is:
http://welcome.to/orchidsocietyaz
NEXT OSA BOARD MEETING: The next scheduled
Board Meeting will be Sunday, September 27, 1:00
PM, at the home of Lou Ann Remeikis, 237 N.
Corinne Circle, Gilbert, (see page 2, October
Program, for directions).
NEXT OSA SOCIETY MEETING:
The next regular society monthly meeting will be
Thursday, October 1st, 1998, held at the Valley
Garden Center, 1809 N. 15th Ave., Phoenix, Arizona,
(phone 252-2120). The meetng, open to all plant
enthusiasts, will start at 7:00p.m.
NOTE - The program speaker for November will be
Bob Dressler, noted author from Florida.
The Nominating Committee’s Slate of Officers and
Trustees for 1999
The Nominating Committee is pleased to present
the following list of candidates:
President - Catherine Nelson
1st Vice President - Lou Ann Remeikis
2nd Vice President - Norma Kafer
Secretary - Jane Heckel
Treasurer - Keith Mead
Trustee - Maura Roberts - term
expires Dec, 00
Trustee - Shirley Engberg - term
expires Dec, 00
We believe the slate we have proposed for the
upcoming election represents a strong,united, and dynamic team. OSA wishes to thank
the two retiring Trustees, Ann Cherny and Marga Lemaire, for their dedicated service.
Our other two Trustees, Kathleen Luther and Peggy Stejskal, will continue to serve until
their terms expire in Dec, 99.
Respectfully submitted by: Catherine Nelson
(Chairman), Julie Rathbun, Ann Cherny
REVIEW OF SEPTEMBER PROGRAM
OAS would like to thank Ron and Shirley Norman
for transporting Dennis Olivas from Tucson to Phoenix. We also thank OSSA for
sharing expenses for our speaker.
Program by Dennis Olivas---Dennis is any
mother's dream, he left his mother 6,000 orchids when he left Hawaii. It wasn't even
Mother's Day. Dennis loves to collect orchids.
He rather quickly reestablished a nice collection after swearing off orchids. I kinda
think he is addicted, but it's a healthy addiction.
Dennis talked about Paphs and Phrags. Some points of interest. Phrags don't like their roots disturbed,
transplant midspring or fall. Paphs can be transplanted at any time, though do best once a
year. Phrags are sequential bloomers and the blooms can last months. Dennis fertilizes
once a week with an 18-18-18 or 20-20-20
1/4 strength. He also waters first, then
fertilizes. He recommends for insects to use a
mixture of 1 pint alcohol, one pint 409 and 3
and 1/2 quarts water. Spray on & under
leaves. Spray again in one week.
Dennis then showed us slides which were very
interesting. We then had the silent auction.
It was an enjoyable and educational evening.
Norma Kafer
OCTOBER PROGRAM
WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THIS DEAD PLANT?
Your plant, as well as yourself CAN be immortal!
Come to the October meeting and we
will show you how this is done. Preparing
HERBARIUM SPECIMENS will be
demonstrated with a "hands-on" show. Natalie
Warford has kindly compiled a hand-out for
the meeting, complete with illustrations, so
that we can individually make this contribution
to orchid science.
Have you ever heard the expression, "every cloud
has a silver lining?" Preparing herbarium
specimens is a prime example of that expression.
We have all had, and will in the future
have orchid SPECIES that fall "victim" to our
care and devotion! Rather than toss the poor
thing out, why not take a small amount of time
and prepare a herbarium specimen. It is
easy to do, takes very little time, and is a
vital part of plant identification and range
documentation. When you produce the specimen,
you also provide some basic information
about the plant and provide your name. You are
credited with providing that herbarium
specimen to a collection for science-sake!
Our Society will also be hosting Kristin
Huisinga as a speaker to our group. Kristin, as
most of you know, is our scholarship recipient
from last year, as well as the recipient of
Arizona Federation of Garden Clubs'
scholarships. Kristin has been a very busy girl
this
last year. She has been working on her Master's
Degree at NAU as a result of our
assistance. She will soon be defending her
thesis, in October if I'm correct. Kristin has been
doing her field work in the Verde Valley, and
from what Willie has said, Kristin must
know every square inch of the Verde Valley! We
look forward to hearing Kristin speak of
her accomplishments!
An invitation has been sent to all members of
the Arizona Federation of Garden Clubs to
join in our monthly meeting because the AFGC has
also awarded Kristin a scholarship in
the past. It will give members of the AFGC a
chance to see and hear Kristin, and to be
proud of her accomplishments. Kristin's
accomplishments are also the accomplishments of
AFGC and OSA! Please make our AFGC guests feel
welcome!
I look forward to travelling with those of you
taking the San Diego trip. For those of you
who have never been on this trip - you will
really enjoy it. For those of us who have gone
before - we wouldn't miss it!
NEXT BOARD MEETING: Sunday, 09/27/98, at 1:00
p.m., at Lou Ann Remeikis' home.
Address: 237 N. Corrine Circle, Gilbert, AZ,
phone: 892-0263! Directions: Take
Superstition Freeway (US 60) east to Gilbert
Road exit. Right on Gilbert Road to
Guadalupe. Left on Guadalupe to Lindsay. Right
on Lindsay to Stonebridge Drive
(Stonebridge Lake Estates). Right on Stonebridge
Drive to Riata. Right on Riata, left on
Vaughn, left on Corrine Circle - 5th house on
left. It sounds confusing, but it's not too hard
to find. Travel with my phone number in case you
get lost! Lou Remeikis
THE OSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR 1998
PRESIDENT -WILELLA STIMMELL 947 - 8479
FIRST V P - LOU ANN REMEIKIS 892 - 0263
SECOND V P - NORMA KAFER 252 - 6197
SECRETARY - JANE HECKEL 839 - 6696
TREASURER - KEITH MEAD 496 - 5762
EDITOR - KEN GETTYS 548 - 9715
TRUSTEES -
ANN CHERNY 948-7944
MARGA LEMAIRE 596-1885
KATHLEEN LUTHER 840-0698
PEGGY STEJSKAL 957-3951
FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
Wilella Stimmell
A large assembly of members and guests at our
September 3rd meeting welcomed our
speaker, Dennis Olivas, owner of D & D
Flowers, of Daly City, California. Elsewhere in
this newsletter, [page 2 - ed], you will find a
summary of the main points from Dennis's
presentation. However, following our meeting,
Dennis shared with me a fact that members
might find surprising: There are plants with NO
name tags in his orchid collection, and
some of those are his FAVORITE orchids! [this is
called Murphy’s law - ed]
During his brief stay in Phoenix, Dennis enjoyed
a visit to our Desert Botanical Garden.
Upon seeing unusual specimens of cacti and
succulents, he decided that he had been
sufficiently tempted to purchase plants from the
Plant Shop. However, fate intervened: the
Plant Shop was closed!
After Dennis returned home, he sent an e-mail
message in which he said, "I really enjoyed
meeting members of both the Orchid Society of
Arizona and the Orchid Society of
Southern Arizona. I hope the members learned
much about growing phragmipediums and
paphiopedilums. If by chance they have more
questions, throw them out at me... I'll get
the (plant) list out ASAP.”(Dennis's e-mail
address is: doli@chevron.com)
An abundance of plants and orchid-related items
on our September raffle table was
donated by: Dennis Olivas (two flasks of
seedlings), and by members Deacon Bell, Joe
Civello, Suz Cramer, the family of Bernice
Ehrlich, Joe Freasier, Bob MacLeod, OSA,
Julie Rathbun, and me. Thanks to Dennis and to
our members for being so generous with
their donations and to all purchasers of raffle
tickets! (Note: Deacon Bell was not
mentioned as a donor of plants for our August
raffle table, and he did indeed donate the
divisions of his Lc. Jungle Elf 'Cheryl Isobe'
that were on the table. Sorry for the omission,
Deacon!)
MEET YOUR SECOND SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT! At
OSA's August 30 Board
Meeting,
Monica Lee Hansen, A senior in Botany at
Northern Arizona University, was selected to
receive the money that was donated in memory of
Bernice Ehrlich to the Scholarship Fund
of the Arizona Federation of Garden Clubs.
Monica was born in Texas and reared in
Tucson. At the age of 12, she moved with her
family to Indonesia. She stated on her
scholarship application that she would like to
return to Indonesia and help stop the further
destruction of the rain forests there.
The combination of Monica's excellent scholastic
performance and the "bond" between
Monica and Bernice from both having lived in
Indonesia, were the deciding factors in our
selection of the recipient for the generous
donations in memory of Bernice. We later
learned that when Monica lived in Indonesia, she
lived next to...an orchid nursery, and she
"loves" orchids!
Bernice grew her first orchids during her
residence in Indonesia, and she often told tales of
her gardener climbing trees to bring her orchids
to grow in her back yard. OSA's Board
Members unanimously agreed that Bernice would
want Monica to receive the scholarship
money.
When Monica telephoned to thank OSA for awarding
her the scholarship, she was told
about the "connection" between her receiving the
scholarship and Bernice. That
knowledge places the scholarship on a more
personal level.
OSA COMMUNITY SERVICE REPORT:
September 10, program at the Arizona State
Veteran Home, 4141 N. 3rd St., Phoenix -
Four OSA members who had not previously
participated in a community service program,
worked together to brighten the day of 20
veterans who had assembled in the Staff Dining
Room on the second floor of ASVH. Thanks to
Shirley Engberg, Richard Hendricks,
Norma Kafer, and Julie Rathbun for demonstrating
that the joy of growing orchids
involves sharing with others. And special thanks
to Erling Eaton, a former OSA member
and a neighbor of Richard's, for lending a hand.
We brought an assortment of blooming
plants for display, and then we got down to the
business of helping to repot the seedlings.
Our team was efficient and friendly, and ...we
cleaned up after we made the potting mess.
We think that the veterans genuinely enjoyed a
hands-on orchid experience.
Several of the veterans had "adopted" the
blooming orchids in 8" pots that we used during
our program presentation at ASVH last October.
At that time, those who hesitated to adopt
a large plant, requested another program
wherein we used smaller plants that would fit on
the windowsills in their rooms.
For this program, we used 20 phalaenopsis
seedlings which OSA purchased, 3" pots, and
our useful milk jug mini-greenhouses. Each
member of the audience received a plant. One
veteran who had not adopted a blooming orchid
last year, inquired how long it would take
for his new orchid "baby" to bloom. When told
that the time would be from one to two
years, he said that he didn't think he had that
much time left. We then asked him how old
he was, and when he said that he was 83, we told
him that he was a "youngster" and that
on his 93rd birthday, we would talk more
seriously about "time left". He truly seemed to
enjoy the jovial encouragement!
Thanks to Scott Emerson for providing many of
the milk jugs used during the program.
Prior to the program, he brought jugs to several
of our monthly meetings, AND
DELIVERED even more jugs to my house! Quite
modestly, he said, "I drink a lot of
milk." And we are so glad he does!
Other members also brought milk jugs to meetings
prior to the program, and all such
donations were greatly appreciated and used on
Sept. 10.
Members Doug Baldwin, Jack Callison, and Natalie
Warford donated film canisters which
we fill with fertilizer. In addition to the
seedlings we donate to groups receiving our
community service programs, we also donate
books and all potting supplies, including
small quantities of fertilizer. Thanks to Doug,
Jack, and Natalie for delivering and/or
mailing their donations of canisters.
Scheduled for October 6 - Programs at
Mensendick School, 5535 N. 67th Ave., Glendale
-
Beginning at 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, October 6, 9
classes of students in grades, 4, 5, and 6,
will be introduced to orchids! 150 students will
participate. Some of the classrooms are
separated by folding doors, and we will be able
to condense the number of programs to 5,
with the last program concluding at 12:30 p.m.
We have purchased 90 phalaenopsis
seedlings for use in the programs, and we will
also furnish pumice rocks that will be
placed in the bottom of the mini-greenhouses
that the students will make. After we help
the students repot the plants, each classroom
will have 10 seedlings to call their own. The
teacher in each classroom will be given a copy
of Bob Gordon's BEGINNER'S GUIDE
TO GROWING PHALAENOPSIS ORCHIDS. (Thanks to Bob
Gordon for donating the
books to OSA for use in our community service
programs and to Leith Plunkett for
donating AND DELIVERING the pumice rocks.)
Students and teachers have been saving
milk jugs and pickle jars for their
mini-greenhouses.
We need blooming plants for a display table on
October 6. If you would like to share the
beauty of your blooms with students who have
never seen orchids but you are unable to
actively participate in the programs, call any
OSA Board Member to arrange for plant
pick-up.
You might like to know that a few of our members
who have day jobs, have requested
time off from work so that they can participate
in the programs at the school! If only one
student at Mensendick develops an appreciation
for orchids and/or is inspired to become a
botanist, the programs will have been well worth
our efforts.
CALLING ALL CREATIVE MINDS AND STRONG BODIES! A
show planning
meeting regarding our upcoming November 14 &
15 event will be held on October 4, at 1
p.m., at Keith Mead's home, 12054 S. Appaloosa,
Phoenix. (Peggy Stejskal and Keith are
co-chairs for our show.) Please call Keith to
let him know that you will attend or...bring a
folding chair! Subjects sure to be discussed on
the 4th: GRASS SKIRTS and...PINA
COLADAS! Our show theme is:
A TROPICAL EXPLOSION OF ORCHIDS!
Our show flyers will be distributed at our
October 1 meeting. Suz Cramer designed our
colorful flyer before she departed for
Telluride. Thanks Suz! EVERYONE who has seen it
thinks it is outstanding!
OSA GREENHOUSE TO BE MOVED ON OCT. 17. The
"move"might also spill over to
the 18th, depending on how many problems we
encounter when we actually start work on
dismantling the greenhouse and moving it to
Norma Kafer's back yard. We need willing
workers! More details will be presented at our
Oct. 1 meeting.
USA PROPOSES TO CHANGE ORCHID IMPORTATION
REGULATIONS
Washington, Aug. 31, 1998 - "The U.S. Department
of Agriculture is proposing a
regulation change that would allow Phalaenopsis
spp. orchids in growing media to be
imported into the United States."
'Currently, these orchids may only be imported
with bare roots in an effort to prevent the
introduction of plant pests and diseases into
the United States,' said Alfred S. Elder,
Deputy Administrator for Plant Protection and
Quarantine with the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service, a part of USDA's
marketing and Regulatory Programs Area.
'However, after conducting a pest-risk analysis,
APHIS, determined that if the orchids
were grown in an approved growing medium, the
degree of pest risk is less than that
associated with bare-rooted orchids.'
"The orchids would be subject to certain other
growing, inspection, and certification
requirements. The proposed rule would add
Phalaenopsis spp. orchids to the list of plants
that may be imported in an approved growing
medium."
Thanks to OSA member, Alan Ladd, for calling our
attention to the proposed change in
orchid importation regulations and for
submitting the APHIS press release for publication
in our newsletter.
The full text of the APHIS document was
published on September 1 in the FEDERAL
REGISTER, Volume 63, Number 169 (Proposed
Rules), pages 46403-46406. Any OSA
member who wishes to view a copy of this
document, will find it available at our Oct. 1
meeting.
The following information is found in
"Supplementary Information", 'Background', page
46403 of the document:
"In 1997, the government of Taiwan requested
that APHIS consider amending the
regulations to allow orchids of the genus
Phalaenopsis...to be imported into the United
States under the provisions of Sec. 319.37-8
(e). Taiwan is the largest exporter of
Phalaenopsis spp. orchids to the United States,
exporting most of them as bare-rooted
plants... Several other countries, notably
Thailand and the Netherlands, also export
orchids, including Phalaenopsis spp. orchids, to
the United States. In its request, the
Taiwanese Government specifically requested that
we allow Phalaenopsis spp. orchids to
be imported into the United States established
in sphagnum moss, which is one of the
approved growing media listed in Sec. 319.37-8
(e).
The regulations in Sec. 319. 37-8 (g) provide
that a request such as that made by Taiwan
to allow the importation of additional taxa of
plants established in growing media will be
evaluated by APHIS using specific pest risk
evaluation standards."
Another section of the APHIS document , on page
46404, deals with Domestic (U.S.)
Production of potted orchid plants - statistical
data gathered by the National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) of the US Dept. of
Agriculture. Their conclusion appears to be
that the data at their disposal, which is
"aggregate data for all types of orchid plants"
(not
limited to Phalaenopsis spp. orchids as a
separate orchid type) is "of limited usefulness"
regarding the impact a change in this regulation
would have on commercial U.S. orchid
growers. Three additional reasons given why the
data is of limited usefulness: NASS data
is available only for the year 1996; it
includes only the producers with annual gross sales
of $100,000 or more; and includes only producers
in 36 states.
"The NASS data shows that there were 169 growers
of potted orchid plants in the United
States in 1996. These 169 growers sold a
combined 8.2 million potted orchids that year,
with an equivalent wholesale value of $42.7
million, for an average of $252,781 per
grower. Of the 8.2 million potted orchids sold,
5.1 million (62%) were less than 5 inches
in diameter. The average wholesale price of pots
less than 5 inches in diameter was $3.90;
the average wholesale price for pots 5 inches or
more in diameter was $7.30."
Continuing the mind-numbing statistics on page
46405: "The 8.2 million pots were
produced in a 6.3 million sq. ft. area, an
average of 36,982 sq. ft. for each of the 169
growers. Three states -- California, Florida,
and Hawaii -- accounted for 55% of the
growers and 92% of the pots sold in 1996.
Florida alone accounted for about 25% of the
growers and about 50% of the pots sold. ...The
American Orchid Society (AOS) does not
collect statistical data on the production of
potted Phalaenopsis spp. orchids in the United
States, but it estimates that about half of all
potted orchids plants produced in the United
States fall within that genus."
The USDA's Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS)
also collects and publishes statistical data,
but FAS includes both U.S. imports and exports
of orchid plants. FAS data is also
aggregate data and does not isolate figures for
separate orchid types such as Phalaenopsis.
"The FAS data shows that the United States is a
net importer of orchid plants. In 1996, the
United States imported 223 metric tons of orchid
plants worth $4.3 million; Taiwan,
Thailand, and the Netherlands together accounted
for 93% of those imports. ... In
comparison, the United States exported 52 metric
tons of orchid plants in 1996 ..." (Note:
the word "tons" not bolded in the document text)
Under the sub-heading, 'Effects on Small
Entities':
"The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that
agencies consider the economic impact of
rule changes on small businesses, organizations,
and governmental jurisdictions. Those
entities potentially affected by this proposed
rule are growers, retailers, and importers of
Phalaenopsis spp. orchids.
...Domestic producers would be adversely
affected if they lose plant sales to cheaper
foreign imports. Currently, Phalaenopsis spp.
orchids grown in Taiwan are sold in the
United States at or below the price of
domestically produced Phalaenopsis spp. orchids...
This proposed rule would likely enhance the
competitive positions of the countries
currently exporting orchids to the United
States...
Domestic growers are already competing with
imports of bare-rooted Phalaenopsis spp.
orchids, so the magnitude of any adverse
economic impact would depend on the extent to
which they rely on potted Phalaenopsis spp.
orchids as a source of their overall revenue,
the extent to which their sales of potted
Phalaenopsis spp. orchids are displaced by
imports, and the amount of any increase in the
overall level of orchid plant imports. ... The
number of producers who grow potted Phalaenopsis
spp. orchids exclusively...those who
could be affected most by the rule change, is
unknown. However, many producers appear
to be in that category, since the AOS estimates
that about half of all potted orchid plants
produced by U.S. growers are of the genus
Phalaenopsis.
The amount of lost sales would depend, in turn,
on the price differential between domestic
and foreign plants and on the volume of plant
imports, both of which are unknown at this
time. ...it is reasonable to assume that most of
the entities potentially affected by this
proposed rule are small, at least by U.S. Small
Business Administration's (SBA)
standards."
The purpose of this public notice of a proposed
change in the regulations governing the
importation of orchids is to give interested
persons a chance to be heard prior to the
adoption of the final rules. Comments must be
received on or before November 2, 1998, in
order to be considered. An original and three
copies of your comments (remember, this is
our government in action!) should be sent to:
Docket No. 98-035-1, Regulatory Analysis
and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD
20737-1238. State that your comments refer to
Docket No. 98-035-1. If you think there
are unknown economic factors that are equally as
important to consider as the criterion that
the proposed change presents no pest risk, make
sure your comments are received at PPD,
APHIS, before November 2!
SPONSORING OSA NEWSLETTERS
If anyone is interested in sponsoring a
Newsletter for a particular month, please contact
the
editor. The cost could be from $40 to $80
depending upon the desires of the sponsor.
Example sponsors in the past have generously
donated in the name of a deceased family
member. However the amount and reference is
strickly up to the sponsor.
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