Phalaenopsis Journal First Quarter Vol. 21(3) 2012 | Page 8

along with contact information from http://www.phal.org/
events.htm
Region 12: Southeast — Tom Harper
Carlos Fighetti, former AOS President and current IPA
Vice President, will present a Phalaenopsis program at our
regional meeting at Lines Orchids in Signal Mountain,
Tennessee on Saturday, June 2, 2012. Greenhouses open at
9 AM with our program to begin at 10 AM. An announce-
ment of his program topic will be made in the next IPA
Journal. Carlos is an excellent speaker having traveled the
world gathering information on breeding and culture of
Phalaenopsis.
Joining Carlos will be Tom Wise of John’s Island Orchids
in South Carolina. Tom will present his program “The Big
Bang Theory: Phalaenopsis equestris and its Hybrids”. Tom
recently gave this program to the Region 13 meeting in
Hickory, NC. His program focuses on the multifloras cre-
ated by breeding with Phal. equestris and Phal. stuartiana.
It’s an excellent program, not to be missed.
Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for the
meeting. We’ll have our auction to raise monies for the
IPA Journal Color Fund, some great hospitality provided
by Lines Orchids, and a great opportunity to visit with
your orchid friends. Contact Tom Harper, harper_sro@
bellsouth.net for additional information.
Region 13: Piedmont - Linda Thorne
The Region 13 Winter Meeting of the IPA was held in
Hickory, NC on January 28, 2012. Hosted by the Cataw-
ba Valley Orchid Society and
held at the Hickory Furniture
Mart, 55 Phalaenopsis enthu-
siasts enjoyed a full day with
five speakers providing in-
formation and presentations
about Phalaenopsis orchids.
We were honored to have
the Honorable Randy Wright,
Mayor of Hickory, to wel-
come us. After sharing with
us the story of the founding
of Hickory, first known as
Hickory Tavern, a gathering
place for locals, he present-
ed Linda Thorne, our IPA
regional representative and
meeting organizer, the Key to
the City. Everyone applauded
the Mayor’s kind gesture which provided a great start to
our meeting.
Lester Poole kicked off the day with his presentation titled
“Phalaenopsis A Journey of Imagination.” His PowerPoint
lecture featured a variety of allied Vanda genera that can
be hybridized with Phalaenopsis. The possibilities to cre-
ate new shapes, colors and interesting blooms are endless
now that Lester explained how Asconopsis, Renanthopsis,
Sediropsis, Phalanetia and other intergeneric beauties can
be produced by just thinking out of the traditional hybrid-
izing box. The greatest challenge to hybridizers is the lack
of fertility of the hybrid and the limited number of viable
seed produced.
Tom Wise of John’s Island Orchids continued the program
with “The Big Bang Theory: Phalaenopsis equestris and its
Hybrids”. Tom traveled from Charleston, South Carolina
to share his very well presented and organized talk featur-
ing the overall appeal and charm of Phal. stuartiana and
Phal. equestris hybrids. We took a close look at Phalaenop-
sis Cassandra and its influence in producing those beauti-
ful multifloral Phalaenopsis.
Our catered luncheon was wonderful and featured a va-
riety of cold-cut sandwiches, some of the best potato salad
many of us have ever had followed by those wonderful
chocolate chip cookies. While some were finishing their
lunch, others perused the sales area again in search of that
“got-to-take-home” favorite Phalie.
Next, our auctioneer, David Janvrin, did a superb job with
his quick wit and enthusiasm to raise monies for the IPA.
We are grateful for his work and to all those who donated
plants to our auction. Our total came to $590.
After the auction, and
while AOS judging was tak-
ing place in a separate area,
Mike Mims from North
Carolina delivered a su-
perb program entitled “The
Colorful World of Fragrant
Phalaenopsis: Hybridizing
at Home.” Mike’s beautiful
photographs of his own hy-
brids caught the attention
of everyone in the room.
They were beautiful! Mike’s
hybridizing goal is to pro-
duce a beautifully colored
and fragrant orchid that is
easy to grow. The larger and
more colorful the hybrid,
the better. All of the hybrids
Mayor Randy Wright presenting the Hickory, North Carolina city
key to Linda Thorne.
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First Quarter, Vol. 21(3) 2012 - Phalaenopsis