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Gentle Grower,
Wow, are we late on this months newsletter! My bad - please accept my apologies on slacking - one of my favorite pastimes. It's just that the Chicagoland Orchid Festival recovery period seems to lengthen every year (I will deny that this is age-related in any way!). Then comes the week-long trek to the Denver Show, by way of Colorado Springs, where I spend an extra day or so B4 the show to visit with my parents and youngest sister Elizabeth and her handsome family.
Our younger son Jared (a junior in high school) actually flew out to Colorado last week a few days behind me (I drove out with the plants for the show). He spent the long weekend touring a few colleges with his grandparents, while I worked the show. On the drive back to Illinois, Jared and I enjoyed a wonderful sightseeing trip through Nebraska and Iowa (corn, cattle, then more corn and cattle, plus the odoriferousness -it's a word; look it up, I had to!- that permeates the region). With apologies to residents of those two states, I must say that, after a week gazing at the front range in Colorado, the breadbasket of the US can be relatively uninspiring....
Anyway, speaking of the Chicagoland Festival and Jared, thanks to all of you who asked about both of our sons during this years event. Cameron and Jared grew up here at Oak Hill Gardens and have pressured many of you into buying their bargain-basement $2.00 "College Fund" plants during the Festival for the last dozen years.
Your investment in our sons is paying off already, and we thank you with all or most of both of our hearts! Jared has begun his college search (he wishes to be a Chemical or Materials Engineer). He has yet to make anything but A's in high school; he also runs middle distances on the track and captains the soccer team. Jared and Cam  | His older brother Cameron is a sophomore Chemical Engineering major at the U of Illinois. He loves it there, involved in several clubs and actually enjoys his studies (3.6 GPA his freshman "weeding out" year - we are so proud!). He is desperately seeking a ChemE internship for the summer of 2011 so that he isn't stuck potting orchids at Oak Hill for work. Please contact us with any leads! Bottom line is, we are truly grateful for your support of a dying breed - the "family business." We realize that without you, we would not have been able to provide our sons with opportunities for success and the pursuit of happiness that awaits them! Thank you! Greg and Liese |
| October Special |
| Cattleya and Laelia Species Last month we noticed that you like a $9.99 price for orchids. So we have offered it again on four select mounted species varieties for this months special. Check it out at the link below: Laelia perrinii Cattleya and Laelia Species a  | Cattleya intermedia |
Spiked and Budded Plants!
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|  New Phal Clones
in Short Spike
We have re-upped the "Spiked and Budded" orchid list with some exciting new Phalaenopsis clones, which are in short spike and ready to ship right away. Be the first on the block with a new splash of color! Check out these varieties on our home page in the Budded and Spiked section (scroll down to the middle of the page):
Currently in Spike or Bud
Phal KV Beauty
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Growing Tip of the Month - by Liese
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|  Easy to Grow Orchids? -
It's All Relative.....
What a blast! Orchid fest 2010 was so much fun! It's a lot of prep work for us, and even more clean up after.....But the fun part of Orchidfest is that we get to meet so many of you, our loyal customers! It's always great to put a face with a familiar name!
We are frequently asked, especially during the festival, "Is this plant easy to grow?" This is the most difficult question for me to answer, and it struck me at the festival as to why. I was at once surrounded (at least by a couple hundred feet or so!) by customers from Chicago, LA, New York, Florida, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Maine, and beyond! Locations across the Western Hemisphere, but the question remained the same.
This particular question is so hard to answer because everyone's growing conditions vary greatly! Masdevallias, for example, are "easy" to grow if you live in the San Francisco area or the mountains of Colombia, where the temperatures don't go much above 75 degrees and the nights are cool and moist. Here in the Chicago area, they also grow very easily October through May. Then summer comes, sun beating down, raising greenhouse temps to 95 degrees plus; hot, humid and gross! The Pleurothallids simply drop all of their leaves and die. The only way to me to keep them alive would be to move them into our air conditioned home and keep them away from the south window.
The phrase "easy to grow," can really be answered by asking "is the plant low maintenance and grow-able in my conditions." For instance, Vandas are very easy to grow in South Florida, where people just tie them to a tree and they flourish! Here in Chicago --not so much! We simply don't have the humidity year-round. Summertime, no problem, but once winter hits and our dry heat kicks on - it's sayonara!
The "easy-to-grow" orchids are the ones that grow in your specific area or growing conditions without excessive care, i.e., constant misting, watering, cooling, etc. Phalaenopsis are considered beginner, or "easy-to-grow," because they are happy under "typical" home growing conditions on a windowsill. They also grow well in greenhouses in Florida when the temps spike up to 95 degrees and more. And they even grow well on the coast, where it is a bit cooler.
When you decide to purchase a new orchid for your collection, a better question to ask might be: "Does this variety have any specific care requirements?" It's good to know if the plant likes to be kept moist or cool. Does it go dormant in winter? Is high humidity a must? Can it tolerate high heat? Are there any specific potting requirements?
Learn as much as you can about a plant's culture, then you may determine if you can provide the proper care and and environment for the plant to grow and thrive.
Enjoy the idiosyncrasies of the orchid hobby!
Liese
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May your pumpkins stay firm and your gourds have many warts!
Sincerely,
Greg, Liese and Hermann |
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