With the Tauranga Orchid Show cancelled for the second consecutive year (darn Covid), I thought it might be nice to show some of the plants that may have been part of our massed display. The first person to pick up the challenge was John Edwards – winner of the Geof Webster Cup for the past 2 years (most points in the popular vote at our evening meetings).
Great to see that among John’s blooms are a couple of Pleiones, the bulbs purchased at the end of July from our OCNZ guest speaker Ross Bicknell. They’ve done well and come into flower quickly.
Dtps. Hsinying King ‘Happy Prince’ is grown in John’s warm cabinet all year round. A reliable bloomer, the plant, he believes, came from Tuckers Orchids. Doritaenopsis orchids are Doritis x Phalaenopsis.
Bulbophyllum plumatum is another that grows in the warm cabinet year-round. Spikes die off if it is not kept moist enough – John flowers it if it is sprayed every day.
Paphiopediulm Diversion ‘New Orleans’ AM/AOS x Inca Penn Valley HCC/AOS. The plant was bought from fellow club member Lawrie Dawbin.
Dendrobium Tomo Flakes is moved outside after flowering, where it gets sun and rain, then brought inside at the beginning of June before frosts start.
Coelogyne cristata is a reliable bloomer for John, flowering every year. After flowering, the basket hangs in a tree, being brought in to orchid house when spikes begin forming, to both protect the flowers from spoiling in rain and to control watering.
Pleione Calypso, bred by Ross Bicknell (RHS registered 2007) and purchased from him.
Pleione Maypole, bred by Ross Bicknell (RHS registered 2019) and purchased from him.
Phragmipedium Hanne Popow, purchased from Selwyn Hatrick, grows in John’s warm cabinet and is watered regularly to keep it moist.
Thanks so much for sharing your beauties with us John! If you’re a TOS member – near or far – and like to take part in the TOS (virtual) Display Table, let Sandra know.
Today (Sunday, August 1) just over 50 people gathered for the auction of the orchids belonging to Barry Curtis, our former president. As well as club members, bidders had come from Auckland, Waikato and the Whakatane area and there was spirited competition for plants with some good prices realised. The record for the day was $220 for Barry’s OCNZ awarded Bulbophyllum Elizabeth Ann ‘Buckleberry’, as seen in the 2019 Orchid Yearbook, while a beautifully grown specimen of Neolehmannia porpax sold for $150.
Thank you to the club members who made the day run so smoothly, particularly our president Conrad who has clearly missed a calling as an auctioneer, and to all those who turned out to support the sale. Unfortunately, Barry is having a stay in hospital so wasn’t present to see the pleasure the new owners were taking in his plants but his family was thrilled with the event.
Keen interest was shown by those viewing the orchids pre-sale. Photo: Sandra Simpson
A good crowd enjoyed a day that thankfully stayed dry and even warmed up for a bit. Photo: Sandra Simpson
Last Thursday (July 29) Tauranga Orchid Society hosted Ross Bicknell from Canterbury who gave a talk on Pleione orchids – many thanks to the Orchid Council of New Zealand for sponsoring Ross’ inter-island travel and arranging the short tour.
Ross Bicknell. Photo: Sandra Simpson
Ross is one of only a very few people in the world, and the only one in New Zealand, hybridising these terrestrial easy-to-grow orchids so his talk was of real benefit in opening up a new genera to us. The only downside to his hobby, he said, was the time it takes for new seedlings to flower so he can see what’s he got – about 7 years!
He has been aiming to improve plant vigour, flower size, flower count, flower colour, particularly clarity, and patterning, and even working towards lines that flower later (he had a photo a Pleione in flower at Christmas, normally they flower in September).
The key to success with these plants nicknamed ‘windowsill orchids’ is, he says, to remember what their natural habitat is like and mimic that – cold and dry in winter; hot and wet in summer (with spring and autumn being half and half). He emphasised that they cannot be over-watered or over-fed in summer, and that they are more likely to be upset by being too hot than being too cold (he has had bulbs encased in snow for a week and all was well) as their native habitat often features snow.
Oddly, the genus Pleione wasn’t initially accepted as belonging to the orchid family! And although the genus was first scientifically described in 1825, it wasn’t until 1966 that the first hybrids were registered with the RHS, and the early 2000s before plants were judged for awards.
Ross brought some bulbs from his own breeding programme for sale. They proved to be a popular purchase! Photo: Sandra Simpson
Thanks to the Orchid Council of NZ, Tauranga Orchid Society is hosting a talk by Ross Bicknell on Thursday, July 29 at 7pm in the Wesley Church, 13th Ave, Tauranga (please note, this meeting is in the church, not the church hall). All are welcome to attend with a $2 entry for non-orchid society members.
Ross is an orchid grower, breeder and judge who lives in Lincoln, Canterbury. During the week he works as a plant geneticist for Plant & Food Research, the Crown Research Institute responsible for providing scientific support to New Zealand’s horticultural and seafood industries.
Pleione Fan Jiang ‘Royal Robes’ has been bred by Ross Bicknell. Photo: Ross Bicknell
Ross has a particular interest in breeding Pleione orchids and is one of only a handful of breeders in the world working with this genus. He will provide a talk on Pleione orchids covering their origins, cultivation and current progress in breeding these plants. If time permits, and people are interested he can also provide a quick talk on another of his interests; fragrance in orchids.
Ross last toured on behalf of the OCNZ some years ago and anyone who heard him speak then recommends his talks as something special. On this short tour Ross is also speaking in Hamilton and at one meeting in Auckland.
Tauranga Orchid Society 