June 19, 2022 Meeting

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Date: Sunday 06/19/2022

Location: Phipps Garden Center in Shadyside
1059 Shady Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15232

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Mini-class: - Habenaria and Related Genera

By Timothy Choltco

Time: 12:30pm

Please join myself and the O.S.W.P. for the mini-class for June. The topic “Habenaria and Related Genera”. The presentation will be a discussion of culture.

Habenaria is a wonderful genus of about 880 species found in tropical and subtropical areas of every continent. Related genera that grow similarly are Bonatea (13 species), Cynorkis (60-70 species), Pecteilis (8-9 species), Stenoglottis (8 species), and others. Cynorkis, Habenaria, and Stenoglottis species and hybrids have become increasingly popular for their colorful flowers produced in late summer through early winter. While the first Habenaria hybrid was registered in 1910, the majority of hybrids were produced after 2010. Recently hybrids between Cynorkis, Habenaria, and Pecteilis have added additional colors, shapes, and sizes. The future of this group is NOW. Work is being done by several growers and breeders, including myself, to bring more to the orchid buffet. These plants, unlike the majority of other orchids REQUIRE a warm (or sometimes cool to cold) dry dormancy. Not a rest period. These plants lose their leaves and become completely dormant like spring Narcissus and Tulipa or summer Dahlia. Failure with these plants is often with the misunderstanding of the dormancy period. Some species are forgiving of watering at the “wrong time”. For some species it is a death sentence. But, in the end it is a matter of listening to your plants and being patient.

Though I did a similar presentation in 2021, over the past 2 months I have received many emails, texts, etc. concerning what, when, and how to treat these orchids now that they are waking up from their 3-5 month dormancy. This will be a truncated culture only presentation. Please join myself and the rest of the O.S.W.P. for this presentation prior to the regular O.S.W.P. meeting.

Timothy Choltco
2nd Vice President and all around decent sentient being.

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Topic: Bulbophyllum

By Edgar Stehli

Time: 2:00pm

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Our speaker for our June meeting is Edgar Stehli. Edgar along with his wife Kim are the owners of Windswept in Time Orchids and are faithful vendors at our shows.

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Edgar’s interest in orchids began when he was just six or seven years old. He found a plant growing in the roadside ditch near his house in North East Ohio. When his father got home from work, he dragged him over to see his discovery. He said “Oh! That’s an orchid.” Edgar’s first orchid find was a Spiranthes (probably cernua). A few years later his family drove to Alaska and back. On that trip, he found a Calypso bulbosa in Wyoming and several other orchids in Alaska and Canada.

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In his final year at Case Western University, he met Kim Sante who was working at the Cleveland Garden Center, now known as the Cleveland Botanical Garden. Eventually Kim and Edgar were married in Kenya, Africa. Shortly after they were married, they built a sunroom on the corner of their house. This of course allowed his orchid collection to get a little out of hand. Finally in 1999 Edgar and Kim began selling their plants to area florists, and then through the orchid shows. They called their new business – Windswept in Time Orchids. They now attend close to fifteen shows a year, where their plants and exhibits have won many awards.

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Edgar will be speaking to us about the genus Bulbophyllum. Bulbophyllum is a huge group of orchids found throughout the tropics. They are quite varied in shape and size. Some are fragrant, and some not! They are generally easy to grow once you know the tricks. There have been lots of taxonomic changes in this group, but we will not be overly concerned with the nomenclature, and just consider them all Bulbophyllum, or whatever their label says. The presentation will cover a brief history of the group, and its distribution around the world. There are pictures of many of the more commonly grown species, and lots of cultural information as well. Edgar has received many awards on my Bulbophyllum plants, and many of these are featured in the presentation.

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If you are an OSWP member with an email address the Zoom invitation should already be in your inbox.  If you can not find it, you may contact kikidecker@gmail.com, quail1@verizon.net, or msnsan@gmail.com for a repeat mailing.

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