Cultural Tips for August

The dog days of summer are upon us. If you grow outside, it's hot, sunny and wet. What to do??

Keep all but the heartiest hot growing Vandas and the like out of full sun. A few hours of morning sun are great, and mid day sun if filtered will be OK. Remember midday sun can hit 13,000 foot candles. Cats like 2500, so that sun is hot!

Next, try to keep the roots from rotting. All but mounted plants and basket growers need to dry out between waterings. That's hard to do when it rains every afternoon. Keep a close eye on them and move them under cover if you must.

Also remember that too much heat can cause metabolism to shut down, so hold back on some of the fertilizer when it is consistently over 90. Less works well, but don't quit entirely if your plants are use to being fed. Quitting entirely is like going on a bad diet. You get very hungry and grouchy. So do your plants, and they won't do what you want them to do - grow and bloom.

If you grow inside, remember that the air conditioning drys them out. That means water frequently. Check regularly. If it's a Cat and you think it needs water, wait a day. If its a Phal and needs water, you're probably right on today. If it's a Phaph, you're probably a day late. Check those windowsill growers daily.

Good growing.

For the Good of the Society

In order to get orchids in the hands of our members inexpensively, and help pay the rental on the meeting place, we have always held a raffle. We are out of plants for this purpose. If you would like to help alleviate this problem please donate those plants that you no longer need, those duplicates that are taking up bench space needlessly, even those that you no longer like, someone will be happy to have them. You benefit by having more bench space, and the satisfaction of knowing you helped. The society benefits by being able to keep the program going. Call Roger today at 746-2617

Roger