September 2020

It is with great pleasure that I write to you all today, a newsletter with some exciting, legitimate orchid news! Much important information will be conveyed here, so please pay careful attention and stay tuned for an entirely separate email with a ZOOM link for you to access Peter Lin’s live, online presentation on Sunday, September 20th.

Yes, you read that correctly. Peter Lin will be speaking to us on Sunday, September 20th at 2:00 pm EST. We had an issue with scheduling Peter, so we have decided to first have our monthly meeting this Sunday, September 13th at 2:00 pm. We will gather online via ZOOM, NOT in person. 

Below is a link to our September WNCOS Zoom meeting, which is scheduled for 2:00 pm, Sunday, September 13th. If this is an entirely new world to you, please do not worry as it is simple and user friendly. You might consider hopping online ahead of time and doing some simple research on ZOOM and online meeting etiquette. We will make some announcements, give everyone a shot at getting acquainted with the experience, and allow folks to ask questions.  We figured this would be wise to have a “soft opening” for the society with ZOOM, and will prepare everyone for our special guest the following Sunday, September 20th at 2:00 pm EST.

So, this upcoming Sunday at 2:00 pm, hop on your desktop computer, laptop computer, iPad, or smartphone and click on this link below. If you are on a desktop computer, it will need to be equipped with speakers or a set of earphones. If you want to speak to the group during the meeting, your earphones or headset will need to have a built-in mic. Most iPads, laptops, and smartphones have these features built-in. 

This is what a Zoom Meeting invitation looks like. You will receive an email invitation like this for the Peter Lin program, scheduled for 9/20/20 at 2:00 pm.

Axel Graumann is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: WNCOS September 13th Monthly Meeting

Time: Sep 13, 2020, 02:00 PM Eastern Time (the US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting (Just click the link below. It will walk you through to the meeting)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87381034983?pwd=L01mMlpVeFBMVlh0T3pGT3EvcWdSdz09

Meeting ID: 873 8103 4983

Passcode: 443856

Looking for something to do? Our friends at Ironwood estate Orchids in Hickory, NC are having their annual Open House event and we wanted to be sure to inform everyone of this. Go to their website, www.ironwoodorchids.com for all the important information. The dates are this upcoming Saturday, September 12th thru Sunday, September 20th, 9 am-5 pm daily at their nursery in Hickory. Don’t forget to take your mask!

We previously mentioned that the Carolina’s Judging Center has officially moved their headquarters to Stowe Botanical Gardens in the Belmont/Gastonia area, on our side of Charlotte. This is wonderful news all around, and they are going to be conducting our region’s first open judging event on Saturday, September 19th. I suspect several WNCOS members will be attending and supporting the CJC and AOS on the 19th. Graham Ramsey and I will be driving our vehicles down, and I’m sure members Marc and Bob will be in attendance as judges. 

Beyond September, we do not have much to report just yet. We are working on it and have noticed the newest trend for orchid societies is having guest speakers present online, live. Many of these folks are still encouraging plant sales online and are offering society discounts or specials. Peter Lin of Bigleaforchids.com has a new list of phalaenopsis, which also includes some other orchids like the latest cattleya hybrids coming out of Taiwan. Peter is offering our members a 10% discount with a $50 or higher plant purchase. See the link to this new fall plant list.

See you all soon!

Mike Mims

President, WNCOS

PETER LIN PROGRAM INFO BELOW……………………………

Program – How to Grow Novelty Phalaenopsis and The latest hybridizing of novelty phalaenopsis for their color and fragrance

Peter Lin

Hybridizer, Big Leaf Orchids, P.O. Box 92841, Southlake, TX 76092, USA

Novelty phalaenopsis are increasingly popular among orchid hobbyists looking for flowers that are different than standard, large-flowered types commonly sold at garden stores. Novelty phalaenopsis are primarily interspecific hybrids of subgenus Polychilos, where species are fragrant and more colorful than their large-flowered cousins of subgenus Phalaenopsis. For example, Phalaenopsis bellina has a sweet lemony fragrance and Phalaenopsis violacea has a spicy cinnamon fragrance. The large flower complex phalaenopsis hybrid derived from Phalaenopsis amabilis and aphrodite has no detectable scent. 

All phalaenopsis grows best in a subtropical climate with a temperature range at 78-80F. Standard, large-flowered phalaenopsis can be induced to flower by lowering night -temperature to 68F for four weeks. Novelty phalaenopsis bloom in late spring to summer when days are longer and nights are shorter. They start flowering when the temperature is warmer in the 80s F and should be kept at 70 F minimum year-round.

Speaker Bio -

Peter Lin is an orchid enthusiast who has been growing orchids for over 25 years since he was 10. Originally from Taiwan and came to the United States at the age of 12, Peter found his passion for collecting and hybridizing with phalaenopsis orchid. Peter graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and worked in the Information Technology industry for 12 years. To pursue his passion to expand and to upgrade his phalaenopsis collection, Peter turned his orchid growing into hybridizing and Big Leaf Orchids - a family-owned mail-order operation in Southlake, Texas. 

Named after the pretty and round leaves of phalaenopsis, Big Leaf Orchids specialize in phalaenopsis, with emphasis on novelty which includes flowers that are fragrant, waxy, and multi-colored.  Peter makes frequent trips to Taiwan to see in person the latest phalaenopsis development, and to learn from Taiwanese nurseries and phalaenopsis hybridizers. 

To date, Peter has made over 300 crosses and registered over 200 phalaenopsis hybrid. He received two AQ awards for his phalaenopsis hybrid Phal Pylo’s Sweet Orange and Phal Pylo’s Eagle Passion.

ZOOM Link for September 20th, 2:00 pm EST.

 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89955602900?pwd=SXc2NmVtdVlndTJrL2l5RDE3dXovZz09

Peter Lin

817-754-0465

Cheers!

Mike Mims

President, WNCOS