Thank you Kyle!

[Yoyo_Jo]

Kyle,
I understand that you are responsible for bringing Olaf Gruss to Canada to speak at various venues across the country. He came and spoke to our Foothills Orchid Society tonight about albine forms of Paphiopedilum. It was marvelous to meet him and hear him speak of something he is so obviously passionate about. We were told that it was all your doing that brought Olaf here. Thanks so much, it was great to have him at our meeting!

Joanne

 

[smartie2000]

Yes thank you Kyle and Olaf Gruss!
We met Olaf Gruss in Edmonton this sunday! His speach captivated all of us (slipper-nut or not) and rarely do we have speaches where no one leaves the room. As well I am pleased to see examples of the outcomes of the hybrids of the new paph species he discussed, and he was very informative

 

[NYEric]

New books?

 

[Kyle]

Thanks guys,

It was a lot of work, but definatly worth it. I think Olaf has had a great time. We went to see lots of cyps in the wild.

Olaf will be speaking to the following societies, Lethbridge, Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Central Vancouver Island Society. Please, check him out!

Olaf is selling copies of his book, hopefully they are selling well.

I'm glad everyone is enjoying his talks.

Kyle

 

[Heather]

Hmm, we Northeast Societies should have been more on the ball and gotten Olaf to come south a bit!

Sounds like a great time is being had by all in the north!

 

[ORG]

Hi Heather and Kyle,
it is really a great time here in Canada for me. Just I returned from Lethbridge.
I must thank Kyle for the possibilities I had here to see so a lot of Cypris in wild and meet so a lot of interesting persons in the societies.
Perhaps I will have also in the future the possibility to speak a little bit more south.

For this time best greetings from Calgary

Olaf

 

[Wendy]

Hi Olaf! I'm really sorry that I missed seeing you in Toronto. Glad that you got to see some of our native orchids though. Hopefully I will meet you the next time you are here. Take care.

Thanks for everything you are doing Kyle. So many people are benefiting from you organizing Olaf's visit.:clap:

 

[ORG]

Now my talks about Phragmipedium in Vancouver Island and Fraser Island passed. On wednesday I will give the last talk during my journey to Canada also about Phragmipedium in Vancouver.
It was and is really a great time for me here and I hope that the societies could enjoy also my talks.

For this time best greetings from Vancouver

Olaf

 

[Jorch]

Thank you Kyle for all the hard work, and thank you Olaf for coming to Canada to speak to us all!

I had a great time tonight listening to Olaf's wonderful presentation on Phrags! :clap: Also very happy to pick up a copy of his great new book on albino forms of Paphs. Thanks again!

 

[NYEric]

Somebody get me one. [Albino paphs book] I'll pay for book and shipping.

 

[Yoyo_Jo]

Dang, too bad we didn't know ahead of time Eric....could have picked you up one in Calgary...Olaf had a stack of them at our society meeting.

 

[Jorch]

Yeah, too bad Eric.. Vancouver was the last stop for Olaf's Canadian tour oke:

 

[Kyle]

Yeah, not to rub it in, but I got an email from Olaf yesturday saying he left Canada with only one book left. Sorry Eric, you snooze, you loose!

I'm glad everyone who attended the talks enjoyed themselves. Olaf gave 3 seperate lectures, my society heard the "New species from vietnam, and thier hybrids". He had the whole audience drooling, and now everyone is ordering the hybrids from Clouds Orchids. How was the phrag presentation?

Hopefully Olaf will post some pictures of the orchids he saw while he was here. He took over 150 pictures in Manitoba alone.

Kyle

 

[Jorch]

He gave a great presentation on Selenepedium, Mexipedium, the different groups of Phrags with lots of wonderful pictures and helpful pointers on how to distinguish one species from another. Lots of great pictures of kovachii and its hybrids, some of them made everyone drool, like the schlimii x kovachii. Pictures of the phrag x paph crosses which all look like straight phrag or paph crosses.. and many breathtaking pictures of hangianum! :drool:

Which new species from Vietnam did he talk about in Winnipeg?

 

[ORG]

Dear Jorch,
I have spoken about all species, which were found in Vietnam after 1990. I began with tigrinum, henryanum, herrmannii, then helenae, tranlienianum, vietnamense and hangianum. Especially I showed all their hybrids, the bad one but also the beauties.

Best greetings now from Germany

Olaf

 

[Heather]

Olaf,

Can you clarify something for me? Ron Burch - you also probably know the answer to this.

With regards to albino plants, there should be NO color, correct?
If a plant is an all white variety with a yellow staminode, what is it?

We were all discussing this plant as the "albino" form yesterday but I am doubtful. Would it be var. flava or var. semi-alba? (and if I have the tense wrong PLEASE correct me! I am really trying to work on my Latin but this plant was named for a queen, no, so...?)

My Best (perpetually confused!),

Heather

 

[ORG]

Dear Heather,
when I remember correctly then the Cypripedium album Aiton, later on Cypripedium reginae var. album or better forma album was described as a plant without any pinkish colour. So your plant with a little bit yellow on the staminode is the forma album.
Also when album means white, a lot of Albino-forms with greenish or yellowish flowers and without red or pink colour were described or are in trade as album.
There is also a Cypripedium reginae f. albolabium Fernald & B.G.Schub., Rhodora 50: 230 (1948), but I cannot verify what it is because I have not this literature. The name says that it has a true white lip.

Best greetings

Olaf

 

[NYEric]

Heather is ea id!