April 9 – COS Monthly Meeting –

April COS monthly meeting:
Wednesday April 9th, 2014 – doors open 6:30 pm
Farmington Senior Center
321 New Britain Avenue, Unionville, CT

Orchidarium Set-up and Culture
Growing orchids indoors? You can boost your humidity levels and decrease maintenance time by setting up an orchidarium. Talk covers tank selection, set-up, lighting, air movement and watering systems. Learn how easy it is to create an orchid spa right in your home.

Bio
Sasha Crotty is the President of the Massachusetts Orchid Society. She has been growing orchids in small Boston condos for 8 years. With only 1000 square feet of living space, orchid real-estate was hard to come by. Fortunately this did not dampen Sasha’s orchid addiction and fostered her fascination with miniature orchids. The small orchids did not fare as well in the dry Boston winters and as the number of orchids increased, it became clear that it was time for a change. Sasha bought an aquarium and converted it into an orchidarium. The high humidity and ease of watering made both owner and orchids happier. So much so that Sasha’s home now houses 2 cats (orchid helpers), 250+ orchids, 2 orchidariums and has recently seen the introduction of automated watering systems.

AOS Webinar 3/17 – Pests and Diseases

March 2014

From the Desk of Sandra Tillisch Svoboda
Join us for an AOS members-only Webinar on March 17
From 8-9pm EDT, Ron McHatton will present a talk on the various kinds of pests that can affect our orchid collections and how to manage them.
No orchid grower is completely immune from the introduction of pests and diseases to their collection. This means that sooner or later we are all going to be faced with having to go to battle on some level with the forces of nature that have decided to feast on our plants. Effective pest management isn’t easy and it isn’t fast and most of us try our hardest to get it over quickly. The result is often expressed by that phrase “scale (or mealybug or ?) are impossible to control.” The keys to effective pest management is to understand the pest you are fighting and to even better understand the pest management scheme you have decided to use. This presentation to look into the life cycle of our common pests, how pesticides work and how they should be used for effective management.
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/864561042
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
For PC-based attendees use Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server. Mac®-based attendees can use Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer and mobile attendees can use their iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet
Mark your calendars for Monday April 21. Ron will be presenting another webinar on growing dendrobiums.
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Are you a member of the Fairchild Tropical Gardens or want to Join?
This weekend only – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – during the Fairchild’s annual Orchid Event, they will offer AOS members not already Fairchild members a special 50% off the cost of annual Fairchild membership. Already a Fairchild member? For this limited time, you can renew your membership for 20% off the regular price. You must either be present at the event or call the Fairchild, 305-667-1651 extention 3301 or 3373, during the event to take advantage of this limited-time offer. Current Fairchild membership is $90/year single so 50% off is real savings and it provides you the opportunity to take advantage of all Fairchild’s events throughout the year.
Not interested in a membership to the Fairchild but want to attend the orchid event? Fairchild is offering AOS members a special admission price of $18 during the event (regular admission is $25). You MUST have your AOS membership card for this special admission price.
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There’s still time to register for our Members Meeting
Our spring members meeting and election will be held in conjunction with the Minnesota Orchid Society’s Show at the end of April. There’s still time to register but time is rapidly running out. The meeting hotel is filling up rapidly and the room block hold ends on April 8. For more information see http://mnorchid.wix.com/osm2014sam

March 12th COS Repotting Clinic

March COS monthly meeting:
Wednesday Mar. 12th, 2014 – doors open 6:00 pm
Cheshire Senior Center
240 Maple Ave, Cheshire, CT 06410

Repotting Workshop
Time to repot your orchids, but not sure what to do?
Bring your needy plant to our
meeting/workshop, along with a clean pot.
We’ll provide the medium and elbow-grease.
Open to the public as well, so invite your friends.
It’s a great learning experience even if you
don’t have an orchid to repot.
Watch the experts in action.
(If you’re not sure about the health of your plant,
please bring in a sealed plastic bag)
$5.00 per plant (5” pot or smaller)

February 12, 2014 Meeting

February COS monthly meeting:
Wednesday Feb. 12th, 2014 – doors open 6:00 pm
Farmington Senior Center
321 New Britain Ave., Unionville, CT

Speaker: Marc Hachadourian
Manager of the Nolen Greenhouses
New York Botanical Garden

Topic:  Soft Leaved Orchids:
Huntleya and Related Genera

Looking forward to see you there!