Sarah Reports on Growing Membership and Helping Her Orchids Survive the Heat Wave
By Sarah Bentley, President, Houston Orchid Society
HOS President Sarah Bentley with new member Ann Green, whose daughter, Tayllor-Joi Green, also joined in June.
A bit of housekeeping: I apologize that the Zoom component of the June meeting was not available. I am working on the setup for July 6 and expect you will be able to tune in to see Stephen Van Kampen-Lewis’ presentation (see Stephen Gallagher’s notice about the topic on this website).
For those who missed the June meeting, Nicholas Rust gave a very nice program about Habernarias, his favorite terrestrial orchid. I encourage you to visit his website, www.rustyexoticsorchids.com. The photos are great!
Everyone is excited about the upcoming Annual HOS Workshop on August 5. The title of this year’s workshop is “How to Grow Orchids Outside on the Gulf Coast.”
In advance of the workshop, I hope my little success story from this month will whet your need for knowledge. I took a one-week drive to visit my family farm in North Mississippi, where I dodged the severe storms and returned safely.
However, I knew the Houston heat wave would not be kind to my orchids, so I gathered them all together under my backyard pergola. Then, I took a simple hose nozzle and set it on “mist.” Using an extra hanging hook, I aimed the nozzle to spray upward. The system was activated by my patient husband. Every day, about 3 or 4 pm, he turned it on for about an hour to knock back the worst of the heat. When I returned, I was glad to see no casualties and the blooms are still hanging in!
Workshop registration is now available at this link. The $65.00 fee allows you to attend Saturday’s full day of sharing orchid knowledge. There will be a gathering for attendees on Friday evening, August 4, then we will go to a local restaurant for a “dutch” dinner.
Monthly meetings and special events such as the August Workshop and Spring Orchid Show cannot take place without a great team of members, officers, and volunteers. I am pleased to report that HOS Membership Vice President Steve Fox has registered more than 20 new members so far during the current year. New members who join after June can choose to pay half the fee to be members through December 2023 or pay the full amount and gain membership until the end of 2024. Each member is a treasure, and we strive to provide fun fellowship and encourage the love of all things orchid for everyone.
