MEMBER NEWS
For those who have not yet heard, it is with great sadness that we have to inform you that Manfred Waltner died on 22 May. Manfred had an incredible knowledge of indigenous plants as well as of orchid species and was always willing to share this with all who were interested. He was a COS Member for many years who regularly brought his plants to the meetings as well as the Shows. If you had any dealings with Manfred, you will remember him as a straight and honest friend who we will miss dearly. We extend our sincere condolences to his family.

Bing Letcher from the Witwatersrand Orchid Society also died at the end of May. Members of longer-standing will remember Bing and his wife Ellen and their regular participation in their Society and the National shows and conferences. We also extend our condolences to Ellen and her family.

Sadly, Ivan Coll passed away on 21st June and our prayers are with Carmen at this sad time.

A very Happy Birthday to our June "babies" Joan Hart(19), Bes Gous (21) and Susan Olfsen (22).

Please notify Susan Olfsen if you have a change of address - residential or email.

MAY MEETING
Charmaine Klein, Curator of the Cape Flats Nature Reserve which is on the campus of the University of the Western Cape gave us a very interesting and stimulating talk on the activities of the Nature Reserve. She is obviously experienced and passionate about her job and we left knowing that there is hope for the conservation of our Cape Flats flora and fauna - including the orchids. There is the distinct possibility that we could, as a Society, be involved with some of their projects and species identification. We thank her for the time and effort that she gave to her well-researched presentation and look forward to an ongoing relationship.
Thank you to Volkmar Schmidt and Mike Tibbs who donated additional raffle plants and congratulations to our winners Margaret James, Vic Baber, Clif Eva and Nova.

CAPE JUDGING REGION
The July judging meeting will be as follows, but please confirm with the host before hand:

Date and time	15 July 2006 at 2.30pm
Venue	44 Rushmere, 63 Doordrift Road, Constantia.
Host	Mike Byren Telephone no. 794 6439
Topic	Bes Gous - Species identification exam.

Contact Sheila Smith at 558 5820 if you have a plant for award judging. The judges need 48 hours notice for judging, but all details can be obtained from Sheila.

COS SHOW
This seems to have been a great success! All the details will be presented at our meeting but in the mean time congratulations to all our winners and a very big thank you to EVERYONE who helped in any way. The details of the trophy winners are on the website with photographs of the plants, thanks to Mike Tibbs.

COS WEBSITE
The COS website is now live and will feature ALL the relevant information pertaining to our Society. The monthly newsletter will appear on the website as well as regularly updated photographs of selected plants from the monthly Plant Table and from our Shows.
Email copies of the newsletter will be sent out, as usual, for the next 3 months and thereafter, based on Members’ comments, may be phased out.
Visit www.capeorchidsociety.co.za for all the information you need on the Society and its activities.

13th SAOC NATIONAL CONFERENCE AND SHOW
White River from 4 to 10 September 2006.
The COS will be taking your plants and cut flowers to enter at the Show and to use in the Cape Orchid Society display so please take special care of them between now and then.

COMMENTS FROM THE PLANT TABLE
Our thanks to Mike Tibbs and Greig Russell for their comments.
Ann Gray’s Dendrobium (compactum x Snow Fire) x (Candy Compactum x compactum) had been open for 6 weeks and still looked good. It was a lovely compact plant.
Vic Baber was justifiably proud of his first flowering Cymbidium White Rabbit which had 4 spikes. Because of Cym. mastersii in the background, it flowers more than once from the bulbs and so this plant will be in flower for 12-15 weeks with its 1 spike already open and 3 more to come.
Eric Harley’s Oncidium Twinkle ‘Red Fantasy’ was a very flat flower which gave the impression of layers of colours - a wonderful jewel to have. It was the COS plant that he won on the raffle last month! It promises to be award-worthy once the plant is more mature.
Jacques Jefthas’s Brassolaeliocattleya Goldenzelle ‘Tokyo’ HCC/AOC x Erin Kobayashi ‘Laina Gold’ AM/AOS was a lovely, well-shaped green flower. The 2 flowers were rather bunched and he was advised to next year gently pull down the bracts as the buds emerge to spread the flowers a little more.
Calanthe vestita is a deciduous orchid which will benefit from a feed of dry cow manure. This plant from Johnnie Kloppers has bottle-shaped bulbs but he has others with the same shape and colour flowers with the normal shaped bulbs. Johnnie also had a Sophrolaeliocattleya Golden Wax seedling flowering for the first time . This was a plant from seed sown by Stan Wedge. It is a bifoliate, Cattleya aurantiaca cross which should have more flowers on a more mature plant. Paphiopedilum Ecrenne was a surviving seedling from a flask bought at Vacherot et Lecoufle in Paris in 1968!
Greig Russell’s Cymbidium pumilum x dayanum had small flowers on a pendulous spike and has the bonus of flowering again in a few months time. He also brought Tolumnia (Passionata Red x Susan Pereira) x (Port Castle x Susan Pereira). This variegata (equitant) Oncidium is now placed in the genus Tolumnia.
Volkmar Schmidt’s Isabelia virginalis was a miniature plant with a hessian-like network over the pseudo-bulbs. A very well grown plant. Volkmar’s Oncidium praetextum is a warm grower mounted on bark.

PLANT TABLE  - May 2005
Use this monthly list as a reference to the flowering season of specific orchids and also to contact the grower if you have the same or similar plant that is maybe not doing so well for you.

Plant of the Evening
1^st  Isabelia virginalis from Volkmar Schmidt
2^nd Oncidium Twinkle ‘Red Fantasy’ from Eric Harley
3^rd Dendrobium (compactum x Snow Fire) x (Candy Compactum x compactum) from Ann Gray.

Most Difficult to Grow & Member's Choice
Oncidium praetextum from Volkmar Schmidt and chosen by Walter Kurth