Twenty three people attended the meeting on April 13, 2003 at the Boone Electric Community Room. Gertrude Lindener-Stawski, Patrice Albert, Phil Merry, Conrad Feren, Barbara Giles and Michelle Proctor brought plants for show and tell. Many thanks to Anita Sanderson for providing snacks.

Potting materials were picked up, then Nick Krekeler, a graduate student of forestry, gave an excellent talk: Root Development and Orchid Media Properties: A close look at the struggle of life (on Bark). A few of the many interesting facts Nick shared:

• 74 F is the ideal temperature to water orchids
• Media with a pH between 6 and 6.5 is most conducive to growth
• Media dries out faster in tall pots (rather than in stout pots)
• Media in clay pots dries out slightly faster than in plastic pots
• Coconut media is high in potassium, phosphate and sodium
• Smaller sized media holds more water and nutrients and dries out more slowly

For further reference, Nick recommended works by Paul Kramer. Amazon.com has the following books listed, although several are out of print:

• Adaptation of Plants to Water and High Temperature Stress
• Crop Reactions to Water and Temperature Stresses in Humid, Temperate Climates
• Measuring the Water Status of Plants and Soils
• Measurement Techniques in Plant Science
• The Physiological Ecology of Woody Plants
• Physiology of Trees
• Physiology of Woody Plants
• Water Relations of Plants
• Water Relations of Plants and Soils

The next meeting will be Sunday, May 11 at 4:00 at the Boone Electric Community Room, 1413 Rangeline Street. Boone Electric is located on the west side of Rangeline, halfway between Bus. Loop 70 and I-70. Park on the north side of the building and enter through the northeast door.

First on the agenda will be the divisions from the Missouri Botanical Garden. They are for sale so bring your checkbook! They will be reasonably priced and we will draw names for opportunities to pick out plants so everyone gets fair chance to get plants. More detail on what phaphs look like may be available at the meeting.

• Paph. Cooksonii 1
• Paph. Susan Booth 1
• Paph. (delanatii X Julius) 1
• Paph. Berenice 1
• Paph. Imperial Jade 1
• Paph. W.R. Lee 2
• Paph. (curtisii var Sanderae X parishii) 1
• Paph. Ayot St. Lawrence 1 ("bulldog type")
• Paph. Leybaudianum 1
• Paph. Selligerum 1
• Phrag. Praying Mantis 1
• Phrag. Olaf Gruss 1
• Lc. Golden Girl 'Madrid' 1 (small orange, red spot in lip)
• Brassavola David Sander 1
• Blc. (Lc. Moonlight X B. digbyana) 5
• Lc. Won Hui 2 (lavender most likely)
• Lc. Eva 3 (small vibrant orange)
• Bcl. Golden Lady 1 (pale yellow)
• Lc. Ken Battle 1 (yellow)
• Lc. Tempixque 1 (orange)
• C. Penny Kuroda 'Spots' 1 (pink with spots)
• Blc. Keowee 'Newberry' 4
• Bc. Maikai 'Mayumi' 12 (pink/purple; loves to grow and flower)

We will set up several areas for different kinds of orchids for repotting. Please bring at least one orchid (but feel free to bring several) along with pots of the correct size and mix of your choice. Barbara will have a general mix for sale if you need it. We'll look at the roots and see what they can tell us about how we are growing our plants. Hopefully we can share and learn from the conditions of the roots and plants and discuss what potting mix and pot size work best in what light and watering conditions.