Lend your orchids for Wisley's display at RHS London Orchid Show

RHS Garden Wisley is hoping to source some specific orchids in flower for its display at the RHS London Orchid Show, 1st and 2nd April.

If you might have any of the following which will be flowering in time for the show please contact David McLaughlin at RHS Garden Wisley, tel 01493 224234 (main reception, ask for Peter Jones/David McLaughlin) or e-mail: davidmclaughlin@rhs.org.uk

Miltonia Purple Queen (spectabilis x russelliana) 

Miltonia spectabilis ‘Moreliana’

Aliceara Peggy Ruth Carpenter (Aliceara Tahoma Glacier x Miltonia Purple Queen)

Aliceara Tahoma Glacier (Bratonia Cartagena x Oncidium Alaskan Sunset)

RHS London Orchid Show, 1st and 2nd April 2016

The RHS London Orchid Show will take place on 1st and  2nd April (preview 31st March) in conjunction with the RHS London Spring Plant Extravaganza.  For tickets and details of exhibitors please visit the RHS website: www.rhs.org.uk

The Orchid Show will be held in the Lindley Hall (Spring Plant Extravaganza in the Lawrence Hall).
 It is hoped orchid exhibitors in the Lindley Hall will include:

Akerne Orchids
A family owned business and the only Belgian nursery specialising in botanical orchids.  www.akerne-orchids.com, +32 (0)3 651 40 36

Aldo Airplant
Airplants and garden orchids.

Burnham Nurseries
A wide range of seasonal showy orchids on a similar theme to last year, displayed in a banked style for colour and impact. www.orchids.uk.com

Chantelle Orchids
A wide range of species and hybrids. www.chantelle-orchids.com, 02477 040337

Ecuagenera Cia Ltda.
A range of mainly South American species orchids, with some hybrids. 01494 863224

Just Airplants
A contemporary display of Tillandsia. 01183 243949, www.justairplants.com

KJ Orchids A large variety of mainly rare and interesting species, with some unusual hybrids. www.kj-orchids.com

Laneside Hardy Orchids specialist hardy orchid nursery in the UK with a range of over 200 species and hybrids. www.lanesidehardyorchids.co.uk, 01995 605537

Laurence Hobbs
Orchids are displaying a range of exotic orchids. www.laurencehobbsorchids.co.uk, 01342 715142

RHS Shop
Selling gardening and gift products.

Lea Valley Orchid Society
A group with members who have a wide range of experience, displaying amateur grown orchids. www.leavalleyorchidsociety.com, 01992 550897

Nüdlinger Orchideenladen
Orchids from South America and Asia. www.orchideen-beck.de

The Orchid Review
The RHS journal dedicated to the celebration and deeper understanding of orchids. Browse the current issue, and back issues, of the world’s oldest, most respected orchid journal. www.rhs.org.uk/orchidreview

Orchid Society of Great Britain
Furthering the knowledge, and conservation, of the natural habitat of orchidaceous plants by encouraging the cultivation of these plants. The display will feature orchids in a naturalistic setting with educational elements. www.osgb.org.uk

Orchideen Kopf
Specialists in orchid miniatures. www.kopf-orchideen.de

Peruflora
Andean and Amazon orchids, in a setting resembling their natural habitats. www.peruflora.net

RHS Curatorial
Displaying some of the highlights of RHS Garden Wisley’s orchid collection. www.rhs.org.uk/Wisley

Roellke Orchideenzuch
A family run business for 40 years, specialising in orchids and orchid sundries. Species from all over the world, mostly grown from seed in their own laboratory. www.roellke-orchideen.de

Tendance Orchidee
Real orchid flowers transformed into jewellery. www.tendance-orchidee.com

Vacherot & Lecoufle
Orchid company founded in 1886, still run by the same family and located in a South East suburb of Paris. Specialists in decorative, highly selected orchid hybrids. www.lorchidee.fr

Writhlington School Orchid Project
Combines specimen plants and diverse species grown by the pupils of Writhlington School in the context of natural habitats and supported by information about orchid conservation in Rwanda carried out over the past 12 months by Writhlington pupils. www.wsbeorchids.org

Talks
Talks take place in the annexe of the Lindley Hall

Friday 1 April
11am    Growing a Mixed Collection - Jacob Coles, Writhlington School
12pm    The Wisley Collection - David McLaughlin, RHS Horticulturalist
2pm      Orchids At Home - Helen Millner, RHS Gold Medal winning exhibitor
3pm      Add the Wow to your Garden by Growing Hardy Orchids - Jeff Hutchins, Laneside Hardy Orchids
4pm      Facts About Orchids Worthwhile to Know - Frank Rollke, Rollke Orchideen

Saturday 2 April 
11am   Orchid Care - Peter White, Orchids by Peter White
12pm   Practical Guide to Orchids for Beginners - Laurence Hobbs, Laurence Hobbs Orchids
2pm     Growing Easy Orchids in the Home - Sara Rittershausen, Burnham Nurseries

Correct date for Devon Orchid Society Show

Saturday 21st May is the correct date for the Devon Orchid Sociey 41st Annual Show (and not 14th May as stated in the February issue of the OSGB Journal).

The show will be held at Budleigh Salterton Public Hall, Station Road, Budleigh Salterton, Devon EX9 6RJ and is open from 10.30–16.30.

For further information please contact: Nicola Wakley, tel: 01404 850354, e-mail: nwakley@googlemail.com

April meeting at RHS London Orchid Show

Our April meeting will take place on Saturday 2 April, but not at Napier Hall. It will be held in the Conference Centre next to the RHS Lawrence Hall in conjunction with the RHS Spring Plant Extravaganza (which incorporates the London Orchid Show being staged in the Lindley Hall). The Conference Centre is up the steps to the right of the main Lawrence Hall doors.

The show will be open from 1 to 2 April 2016, 10:00–17:00 (preview 31 March 18:00–21:00). Tickets for the RHS show may be purchased in advance at a discounted rate (RHS members £6.00 and non-members £9.00); for further details please visit www.rhs.org.uk/london-orchid-show

Our meeting will consist of a lecture by guest speaker Phillip Cribb who will talk on Following in the footsteps of the great plant hunters in western China. Admittance to the lecture will be free on production of an OSGB membership card but if you would like to attend please book in advance by contacting Sam Hurley, tel: 07900 250247, e-mail: sam@ballyhurley.com.  

Guest tickets are available at a cost of £5.00 each, can be booked in advance through Sam Hurley and paid for at the door on the day. (surplus tickets will be sold to members of the public). Doors open at 14:00 and the lecture begins at 14:30; there will be no table show or raffle.

OSGB members will have to pay to enter the RHS show. Unfortunately there will be no refreshments available in the Conference Centre although there are excellent cafés within the RHS show.

The OSGB will be exhibiting at the orchid show which will be staged in the RHS Lindley Hall. If you would like to volunteer your help or lend plants please contact Val Micklewright, tel: 01293 528615, e-mail: val@micklewright.com

Alternative venue for January 2016 meeting

We are unable to hold our January 2016 meeting at Napier Hall due to renovation work.

However, we will be holding our plant auction at the nearby church of St Stephen's with St John, 38-42 Rochester Row, SW1P 1LE.  This is located at the northern most corner of Vincent Square.

For the church's location please visit: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Westminster,+London+SW1P+1LE/@51.4944694,-0.1365391,17.25z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x487604de128cb5b1:0x78ea65feb9a681a6

Doors open for plant and bidder registration at 1:00pm and the auction will begin promptly at 2.00pm.  Members may bring four plants each to be auctions, six per family membership and 10% of proceeds goes to the society.

Grammatophyllum speciosum flowering at RBG, Kew

A specimen of Grammatophyllum speciosum, believed to be the largest species of orchid in the world, also known as the ‘queen of the orchids’, is flowering at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for the first time since it was collected 32 years ago from Sabah, Malaysia in 1983.

Grammatophyllum speciosum flowering at RBG, Kew
(photo by Christopher Ryan) 

Visitors will be able to go behind the scenes of the Tropical Nursery to view this giant orchid, which has been lovingly cared for by horticulturists at Kew Gardens, ensuring it has enough space, warmth and humidity to grow and produce its stunning yellow blooms with delicate chestnut markings. Currently standing 1.5 metres high, the flower spike is growing around 1.5cm a day, with the spike expected to hit an astonishing three metres.

The ‘queen of orchids’ is grown in Kew’s behind-the-scenes Tropical Nursery and visitors will be able to go behind the scenes to view this giant orchid.

Free tours to see the orchid while it's in flower will be available on Wednesdays at 1pm and 2pm, starting at White Peaks café. Though tours are free-of-charge, there is limited space available and pre-booking is essential. To book your place, contact info@kew.org

Further information for visiting can be found at
http://www.kew.org/discover/news/largest-orchid-world-flowers-kew

and information on the plant at
http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/grammatophyllum-speciosum-queen-orchids

Gold medal at RHS Tatton Park Flower Show

The OSGB teamed up with the North of England Orchid Society (NEOS) and the Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Tourism to stage a Gold medal-winning display at RHS Tatton Park Flower Show this week.

 

The OSGB and NEOS display at RHS Tatton Park Flower Show 

The Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Tourism generously supported the exhibit with sponsorship and the display was organised by NEOS, revisiting the OSGB's Chelsea 2014 exhibit titled The Cosmopolitan World of Orchids.

The joint exhibit was sponsored by the Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Tourism

The NEOS team was led by Chris Burrows who got everything to site and even trialled the display in his barn to ensure final building went without a hitch. Val Micklewright and Sam Hurley from the OSGB helped to provide accurate labelling and place plants to maximum effect. Full marks from the judges made all the preparations worthwhile.

Sam Hurley, Chris Burrows and Val Micklewright helped create the display

Many thanks to everyone from the OSGB and NEOS who lent their plants, time and enthusiasm for this collaborative effort. NEOS is the oldest orchid society in the UK and was founded in 1897.  It is affiliated to the OSGB and holds meetings and shows in the north west of England.  For more information about NEOS please visit www.orchid.org.uk

A large-scale image of Eulophia guineensis, a native of the Sultanate of Oman, graced the rear wall and was framed by orchid hybrids including Paphiopedilum Clair de Lune, trees of Phalaenopsis, mountains of Miltonia along with cliffs of Cattleya and Anguloa. 

Eulophia guineensis is native to the Sultanate of Oman - a large-scale image of it graced the centre of the display

Bright pink Cattliante Secret Love contrasted with zingy yellow Anguloa clowesii and  Oncidesa Sweet Sugar

Unusual species were also featured on the display, such as the icy blue-coloured Cleisocentron merrillianum. And a row of Disa hybrids and species added a vibrant border to the front of the display. 

Ice-blue Cleisocentron merrillianum  and deep purple Zygopetalum hybrids

A row of Disa hybrids and species created a vibrant border along the front of the display 

Tatton Park, with its mansion, gardens, lakes and roaming deer, is a wonderful venue and well worth a visit at any time of year.  For more details visit: www.tattonpark.org.uk

Young deer in  the 1,000 acre deer park at Tatton Park