ISSUE  #77,  JANUARY   2006

 From John Bodenham                August 2005
Dear Vireya Vine,                    Plymouth, England

Firstly, it is about time I sent off a financial contribution. Enclosed
$10. Keep up the good work, White & Fran.  Secondly, I was most interested
in the letters in VV#76.

Perhaps those contributors can explain the plant I have.  It originated
from Bill Mearns in Australia as a cutting, labeled either ‘Pink
leucogigas’, or ‘Leucogigas Pink Form’.  I have always attributed it to an
event reported in ‘The Rhododendron’, volume 31, Spring 1991, page 8, in an
article by Dr. R N Withers, regarding the History of the Introduction of
Vireya Rhododendron Species into Cultivation in Australia, under
'leucogigas', which says
“A pink form of R. leucogigas was received by Bill Mearns from Welensky, a
forester in West Irian, in 1973”.

Dr. George Argent does not think it to be leucogigas! at all.  The flowers
look a bit like the one White reported as having flowered recently, but not
as good, and fewer per truss, and they fade quite badly.  The plant is
quite vigorous and is now almost 3ft high; far more vigorous than the
example of leucogigas introduced by Sleumer, held at Edinburgh.  George
suggested it was perhaps a hybrid of konori.  Incidentally, it doesn’t look
very much like the Brian Clancy photograph of ‘Gardenia Odyssey’ on page 7
of VV#76 either.  Mine has 7-lobed scented flowers which start off quite
pink but quickly lose the pink to become a dull creamy colour.  Yet the
material source is reported to be identical      Is there something wrong
somewhere?   Any suggestions?
                            John Bodenham
Hunters Lodge
Wembury Road
Wembury
Plymouth  PL9 ODL  England   

From Brian Oldham                Auckland, New Zealand  (North Island)
Dear VV,                         August 2005

    I continue to be impressed with the difficulties and the diligence that
the “Vine” readers around the world experience in growing these remarkable
plants.
    My wife Jan and I have been growing Vireyas in Auckland city since 1987,
being the first to do so on any scale for the area.  Perhaps the :”Vine”
readers would be interested in our local conditions and methods which seem
a breeze compared with others. 
    Auckland city is a narrow isthmus between two harbours, a cool and stormy
one to the west and a warm and tranquil one to the east.  The prevailing
wind is from the cool west to the east.  It is seldom calm for more than a
day.  Although breezes can be 30 to 40 Km/hour, most days gales are rare.
Humidity is always high at 75 to 90%.  Summer temperatures peak at 25 to
27C (77 to 80F) with the odd day at 30C plus (86F).  Overnight lows are
around 16 to 18C (60 to 66F).  Winters are a different story with 16 to 18C
in daytime  and 4 to 10C (39 to 50F) at night with the occasional radiation
frost on clear nights between rain squalls.  These frost drop the grass
temperatures to -2 to 4C (- 28 to -24F) for an hour or so just before dawn,
although the air temperature remains just above freezing. 

   We grow our Vireyas unprotected in the open garden year-long, but the odd
ground frost in some years is cold enough to nip the tender new leaves and
flowers but does no lasting damage.  Not for us the heated greenhouse and
the mass movement of pots in shelter!

    North and south of the central city the ground frost can be quite severe
in places, with drifts of freezing taking out vireyas even in the shade
houses.  Snow has never fallen in Auckland.  At latitude 37°S our summer
sun is very strong especially in ultraviolet light and this can result in a
little leaf burning (37°S equals Gibraltar and Tunisia in the northern
hemisphere).  White Smith has commented on the thickness of the plant
leaves here. 

    Rainfall is heavy in the winter but summers are dryish so summer watering
is a must, and an odious chore for big pots.  Prolonged winter rains pose
problems of drainage for plants in the ground with our clay soil.
Nonetheless we tend to have “weather” rather than “climate”. 
    The basic soil type is a heavy white clay, like putty when wet and a brick
when dry, but there are frequent local areas of very light volcanic ash
from the sixty odd minivolcanoes that have erupted within the metropolitan
area in the last 40,000 years.  The clays are acidic and poorly drained
while the volcanoes are basaltic, alkaline at pH 7.5 and very free
draining.  We garden on the later, a tuff ring of 2,000 year old explosion
crater.

    In this environment growing vireyas is very rewarding.  As everywhere, the
species are difficult and require much TLC.  A bit of hybrid vigour allows
for a very wide range of plants with minimal protection.  The species and
javanicum hybrids are very prone to frost and cold wind damage.


    We plant both in pots and in the open garden.  Having pioneered vireya
growing in Auckland we have perfected a planting technique for the region.
Siting is best in light, dappled shade although a halfday of direct sun is
required.  Our plants, and other peoples do very well in full sun.
    We are fortunate in having unlimited supplies of pine bark in all grades,
(Pinus radiate an American west coast species) but it is naturally nitrogen
leaching so requires a presale treatment with CAN (calcium ammonium
nitrate, so called).  We plant in the open ground entirely in fine #1 grade
CAN bark re-enforced with 6 to 9 month fertilizer with trace elements and a
suitable NPK ratio.  We do not use peat as it holds too much water in
winter and is difficult to rehydrate if it dries out in summers.  Likewise
the commercial specialized vireya potting mixes, of which there are
excellent ones available cheaply, have little or no peat. 

    In heavy clay soils we have advocated planting on a free-draining shelf or
slope, or above ground on the flat, while retaining the planting mix with
logs, bricks or stones.  There was a vogue for planting vireyas in
hollowed-out fibrous logs of the large native tree ferns but the roots
invade the fern pot and make removal for repotting next to impossible. 

    After 17 or 18 years in pots some of our R. leucogigas hybrids are 2
metres tall, with their roots filling 1 ½ metre pots, the maximum size we
can handle.  Now these plants are bounding away after being garden planted
after all these years. 

    In this climate our principle diseases are Phytophthora and powdery mildew
with variable problems with Botritis on the flowers from time to time.
Pest are short-tongued bumble-bees and various wasp species that nip the
base of the flowers to get at the nectarines.  There is also a small bird,
the waxeye or silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) that does the same.  The
injury lets the Botritis fungus get a hold.

    With such comparative ease of culture it is not surprising that vireyas
have become widely used by the landscapers, although we have an ongoing
battle to persuade them to plant them properly.
                            Brian Oldham & Jan
                            102 Meadowbank Road
                            Meadowbank, Auckland  1005    New Zealand 



3rd Vireya Seminar
Hilo Hawaii

February 17, 18, 19  2006

Aloha
The Hawaii Chapter – ARS invites you to attend our 3rd Vireya Seminar
scheduled for Feb. 2006.   We are pleased to once again have international
vireya representation to stimulate your senses, as well as, fun and
fellowship for your spirit.   For more information, please contact Veryl
Ann Grace at P.O. Box 1330, Keaau, HI 96749 or E-mail to   
veryl.grace@verizon.net

February 17, 18, 19  2006

Seminar Hotel is  --Hilo Hawaiian Hotel   71 Banyan Drive, Hilo,  HI  96720
Phone  808-935-9361  /  Fax  808-969-6472   Web site  www.castleresorts.com

Here’s a brief summary of scheduled events:

Friday – Feb 17th
Private garden tours on your own.
Welcome gathering barbecue dinner

Saturday – Feb. 18th
Speakers at Hilo Hawaiian Hotel

1.  Neil Puddey, commercial vireya grower from Australia
2.  Kaye Hagan, private vireya grower from Tasmania
3.  Fred Rennick, private vireya grower from Southern California
4.  Graham Smith, Director of Pukeiti Gardens, New Zealand
5. George Argent, retired taxonomist from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Also planned is a demonstration on root pruning of vireya and a round table
discussion
Sunday – Feb 19th
Paid garden tour  

Closing fellowship gathering.     

E Komo Mai … (Come on Over)
Sherla D. Bertelmann
Hawaii Chapter-ARS
vireya@pacificislandnursery.com

From Bill Miller                Tacoma, Washington   
Dear Vireya Vine                September 2005

Anecdotal evidence for “An Aspirin Every Quarter”.

I read several months ago in The Avant Gardener newsletter about studies
showing salicylic acid (aspirin) boosting the immune systems of many
plants.  A light went on and I recalled a story about my grandfather’s use
of cut up and smashed willow branches in a five gallon bucket to root
plants.  Willow tree bark tea was used by Native Americans to cure
headaches because it is full of salicylic acid.

So armed with this article and my own genetic history of the use of aspirin
water I proceeded to add one 325 mg aspirin pill to my regular foliar feed.
I normally use a scoop of “Peters Professional Soluble Plant Food Acid
Greening 17-6-6” in a gallon of water.  I foliar spray this combined
solution on the tops and bottoms of the leaves of every plant in the
greenhouse every three months.

I honestly noticed a difference in a month, a lot of the fungus had
disappeared and new buds were appearing.  By the second spray, in the dead
of winter, I started getting blooms on my Vireyas.  Some had never bloomed
before this.

I am moved to write this now because I have just come out of the most
incredible smelling greenhouse.  I have a R. konori that was grown from
seed in 1993 that has bloomed for the first time and my 24’ x 26’
greenhouse smells wonderful.  Also, the new foliage is amazing.  I am
taking cuttings again (yes, I spray all my cuttings).  This year the
Vireyas have grown an average of six inches and are putting out side
branches.    

It costs me exactly four aspirin every year and a LOT of eyeball rolling
whenever I tell any of my gardener friends.  So I keep it quiet but thought
I should let the other readers of the Vireya Vine give it a try and see if
it was worth four aspirin a year to get incredible growth and fantastic
blooms. (I see your eyeballs rolling!)
Bill Miller
                        806 S. Proctor   
Tacoma, Wa 98406   
                        253-761-1206
                        E-mail  smile4bill@hotmail.com

Editor note
I need to get into this.  Bill Miller is my new son-in-law as of a little
over a year ago.  He along with my daughter Julie are co-presidents of the
Tacoma Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society.  They live at my
ex-father-in law, Elwood Budil’s home in Tacoma.  The property is about an
acre in size and has hardy Rhodies dating back to just after WWII.  There
is also a good glass greenhouse that Julie and I have spent many happy
hours keeping in good repair.  Probably back 20 years ago Bill Moyles in
Oakland California was sending Julie hands full of very small seedlings
that he had test grown when he was the Vireya seed person for the world. 
So Bill and Julie have quite a few Vireyas.  The R. konori Bill is talking
about, I grew from seed from John Rouse in Melbourne Australia.  Bill has
it in a big hanging pot and it had one huge truss on September 21st, so we
took it to the Tacoma Chapter meeting.  The strong fragrance filled the
room.  Great Stuff.   EWS  PS. WE have started using aspirin also.
And sometimes it is more than a good idea to blow people’s horns.  Bill
Moyles handled the Vireya seed exchange for many years.  Many of the seed
lots were tested by Bill and lots of the small seedlings were passed on.
Lucie and I here at Bovees Nursery owe Bill Moyles for many of our species,
that he passed on to us or to other friends.  Thanks Bill, Thanks.


From Dick (Red) Cavander            December  2005
Dear Vireya Vine,                    Sherwood, Oregon  (Just east of Portland)

Greenhouse Freeze Alarm System
Anyone that grows Vireyas, or any other tender plants, in a greenhouse in a
cold winter area NEEDS a cold temperature alarm system. I found this out
the hard way many years ago when my heater malfunctioned and I lost a big
part of my collection. I did have an alarm but it malfunctioned as well.
An alarm system is not elaborate and anyone with a bit of mechanical skill
can install one. The system described below will work with any type of heat
system and the supplies should be available at any good hardware store.
A bit of background first. I have two greenhouses that I heat. One is a 95
foot long by 14 foot wide “poly tunnel house”. It serves as a cool
greenhouse in winter and a shade house in the summer. It has two layers of
poly and a small (1/64 hp) squirrel cage fan that blows air between the
layers. This inflates it and keeps the poly rigid. It has been very wind
resistant and quite energy efficient. I heat it with an 80,000 BTU propane
space heater. The heater looks like a jet engine and does a good job. I
have a 500 gallon propane tank that supplies both houses. This heater could
be supplied by a much smaller tank, however, I would recommend at least 15
gallon.  I have used a kerosene heater of the same type but it requires
refueling and that can be a problem during a long cold spell or if you are
out of town. Kerosene is also costly if you buy in small quantities.
My other greenhouse is a commercial steel and fiberglass structure. This
house is 24 by 40 feet with 9 foot side walls.  It has only a one layer
covering and is much less energy efficient. This house is heated with a
150,000 BTU hanging greenhouse heater. The heaters in both houses are
thermostatically controlled.

There are a number of commercial greenhouse alarms on the market. Really
fancy systems will even make a phone call! I have 2 ThermalarM monitors;
however I have several complaints with them. One, the numbers on the dial
face fade out in sunlight after a few years. Two, the contacts corrode and
fail to complete the circuit. This was the cause of the failure years ago.
I have since rewired the one in the greenhouse and it has worked fine since
then.  My monitors are some 15 or 20 years old so these problems may have
been corrected. These monitors are available with an outside horn but they
require 120 v power. My system is battery operated.
I like a battery operated system because there is no shock hazard and it
will operate even if the power is off. This can be critical! The lantern
batteries will last for several years because they see very little use.
When that bell goes off, you are out of bed NOW and turn it off. If it
operated 5 minutes a year, that would be a lot. Admittedly, this system
will not do any good if there is no one home but it has served me well for
over 15 years. I always test the system every Fall by adjusting the
thermostat or monitor to be sure the batteries are ok and all parts work.

    After the failure years ago, I purchased a 2 stage thermostat for the poly
house. The first stage turns on the heater and the second the alarm. The
interval is adjustable. I like this thermostat as the switches are sealed
in plastic and the only parts exposed to the environment are the wire
attachments. Much less likelihood of corrosion. Really, any good 2 stage
thermostat will work. Our home heatpump has 2 stages, heating and cooling,
but you can connect the thermostat  any way you wish. Be aware that
thermostats are NOT always calibrated very well and a little
experimentation may be required.

Wiring is rather straight forward. I used 2 conductor outdoor telephone
wire. It is solid rubber with two 28 gauge wires. My poly house wire runs
into the greenhouse and is connected, in parallel, to the monitor in there.
That monitor is mounted next to the heater thermostat. From the greenhouse,
the wire is strung overhead to the house. I entered the house through a
gable vent.  I then fished a wire down through an interior hall wall next
to our door bell.  These 2 wires meet in the attic and are wired in
parallel to two 6 v. lantern batteries. I found that I needed 2 batteries
as one was insufficient to power the bell.

My interior bell is really just a door bell. It operates on 6 or 12 volts.
It has a nice plastic cover that the wife does not object to and does not
stand out like a sore thumb. I did modify the bell by installing a switch
on it so that it could be turned off while I went outside to find the
problem.  The mounting location is about 10 feet from our bedroom door and
let me tell you, you will NOT sleep through it!

The mounting location for the indoor bell is not really critical. Any
location where you can get wires to it, even the ceiling. In my system, one
bell serves both houses. However, phone wire comes in 2, 4 or 6 conductor
and several buildings could be served by one wire. A separate indoor bell
could be used for each greenhouse as well. Several alarm locations could
also be served such as your house, work building, etc. Larger batteries may
be required but a little experimenting will soon tell you. 

    I really do hate it when that bell goes off but I would hate it even more
to find the contents of my greenhouses frozen. The 100 bucks and day’s work
I spent on this system really does let me sleep better at night!                       
Dick Cavender
                        15920 SW Oberst Lane
                        Sherwood, Or  97140   (phone 503-244-9341)
                        E-mail    red@redsrhodies.com


See Chris Callard’s wonderful Web site at  www.vireya.net
Get into this group and let’s talk about Vireyas      
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/vireya

VIREYA  NURSERIES

The Bovees Nursery    (Lucie Sorensen-Smith)            Rhododendron Species Foundation
1737 SW Coronado   (E. White Smith)                             PO Box 3798        www.rhodiegarden.org
Portland, OR  9721 9     USA                                          Federal Way,  WA  98063    USA
(503)-244-9341 or 1-800-435-9250                                    (253)-838-4646    Mail Order    
E-mail info@bovees.com   www.bovees.com                    E-mail  rsf@rhodygarden.org
Catalogue is $2.00    (Mail Order)

Glendoick Gardens (Kenneth & Peter Cox)                       Christopher Fairweather
Glendoick,  Perth                                                           Mail Order The Garden Centre,  High Street
Scotland,  U.K. PH2 7NS   

www.glendoick.com                                                       Beaulieu, Hampshire     
                                                                                    www.vireya.co.uk
                                                                                    Phone Nursery   073 886 205                                                                                                                  England  SO42 7YR           E-mail  
                                                                                    chrisfairweather@waitrose.com
                       
D. & PJ. Brown                                                              Te Puna Cottage Gardens      (John Kenyon)
Vernom Road                                                                Te Puna Road,  RD6   E-mail
www.homepages.ihug.co.nz/~brownnz                             TePuna.Cott.Gdns@xtra.co.nz

E-mail   brownz@actrix.co.nz                                         Te Puna, Tauranga, New Zealand

Tauranga,  New Zealand
web site at    www.vireya.co.nz    Phone (07)552-4966 

Mail Order   NZ only    Phone (07)552-5756

Mark Jury                                                                      Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust
Tikorangi,  RD 43   E-mail   jury@xtra.co.nz                    Carrington Rd.  RD4
Waitara,  North Taranaki                                                 New Plymouth     E-mail 
New Zealand                                                                  pukeiti@pukeiti.org.nz 
                                                                                    New Zealand  web site at   www.pukeiti.org.nz

Vireya Valley Nursery                                                     The Vireya Venue
Woori-Yallock Road                                                       2 Clifford Street  www.vireyavenue.com
Cockatoo,  Victoria  3781                                               Maleny,  Queensland  4552
Australia                                                                       Australia        Phone  (07)5494-2179

Neil & Kathryn Puddey Nursery                                       Pacific Island Nursery (Sherla Bertelmann
                                                                                    & Richard Marques)
PO Box 126,  Woolgoolga, NSW                                     P. O. Box 1953          E-mail
                                                                                    pacislenursery@interpac.net
Australia  E-mail    puddey@bigpond.com                        Keaau,  HI  96749     
(808)966-9225
www.vireyaworldwide.net.au                                            www.pacificislandnursery.com                      They also handle the Vireya seed exchange. 

WorldWide. 

VIREYA VINE
RHODODENDRON SPECIES FOUNDATION
P. O. BOX 3798
FEDERAL WAY,  WA  98063

ISSUE  #78,  MARCH   2006

New Vireya Species Book coming soon by Dr. George Argent, Royal Botanic
Garden Edinburgh.  About 400 pages, 300 species descriptions, lots of
color.  Offered by the Royal Horticultural Society, London at $100US with a
20% discount for pre order by April 15th 2006.  I have ordered 15 copies
for Vireya Vine people and another 15 copies for the RSF.  I will pay for
the 15 copies for VV people out of my pocket and hope to sell them all.  I
will sell the book at less than the cover price and will mail them to
subscribers in the USA only.  To be published in May. IF YOU want a copy
please let me know right away, I can order more.  This is going to be a
very limited edition, so do not wait too long.    E. White Smith
Call us at Bovees Nursery at 1-866-652-3219 or e-mail at   info@bovees.com
Don’t forget by April 15th 2006

The Vireya Vine is financed by its subscribers.  The only things you pay
for are printing and postage.  Fran Rutherford and I and my wife Lucie, do
the work for the love of it.  We do not have an annual subscription fee.
Your mailing label will have a year date on it, which is the last time you
contributed to the Vine.  We welcome your contributions.  You can use your
credit card to make payments to the RSF for the Vine.  We print this list
because we think people are interested in who is getting the VV and growing
the plants. 
We say Washington State so that you do not confuse it with the US capital.

New subscribers or recent contributors are:

Janet Allen        Washington State
George Argent        Scotland, UK
Bruce Asakawa        California
Pat Bender        Washington State
Mitchel Beauchamp    California
John Bodenham        England
Stephen Brickley        California
Brian Clancy        Australia
Bob Craft        Florida
Lyn Craven        Australia
James Crawford        Canada
Jozef Delvaux        Belgium
Karen Fitzgerold        Hawaii
Mary Debra Foster    California
Jane Foster        California
Roxana Gerstenberger    Hawaii
Jack Goertzen        California
Anthony Grinevicius    Canada
Tom Hoffman        Oregon
Will Knudsen        Washington State
Debroah Law        Australia
Richard Lynch        California
Bob McIntyre        Oregon
James McKechnie    California
Marilynne Mellander    California
William Mellentin    California
Burns & Karen Morrison    Canada
Erhard Moser        Germany
James Norquest        Florida
Brian Oldham        New Zealand
Nan Ray            California
Fred Renich        California
Piero Sambucci        Italy
Pete Schick        California
Gareth Shearman        Canada
Parker Smith        California
Frances Steak        Hawaii
Charles Trommer        Hawaii
Roger Van Loon        Belgium
Kathy Van Veen        Oregon
Mary-Beth Wagner    Florida
Nancy Waterhouse    Vermont
Rick Worley        Hawaii
Mark Wright        Florida

Taken from ‘The Avant Gardener’  PO Box 489, New York, NY  10028
If you like good information you really should subscribe to this monthly
newsletter ($24 per year)

ASPIRIN WATER WINS AGAIN
In January of last year, we published a report on 2004 trials of aspirin
water at the Demonstration organic Vegetable Garden at the University of
Rhode Island (Kingston, RI 02881). Spraying with a dilute solution (3
aspirins in 4 gallons of water) produced "amazing" results in improved
growth and yields of many crops.  Now the Garden's Director, Mrs. Martha
MacBurnie, reports on the 2005 trials.  “This year we tested aspirin
against Messenger, aerated compost tea, a commercial organic liquid
fertilizer, and control.  Any direct-seeded plants had their seeds soaked
in the test liquids and the plants were foliar-sprayed every  three weeks
after planting---we used compost tea in the same bed as last year and our
last bed was the ‘control’ bed again this year.  In a twist on the original
experiment, we used Alka Seltzer (generic) sugars instead of aspirin.  One
of our members is a retired pharmacist.  He suggested that since aspirin
doesn’t dissolve well in water, Alka Seltzer is designed to dissolve
quickly and might be easier to use.  Again, aspirin water was the clear
winner in terms of plant health and yield.  The biggest surprise was that
the control bed came in second place and the other three products seemed to
act as growth inhibitors.  The Messenger plants barely grew at all during
the season.  Despite the great results our gardening friends on the West
Coast are having with compost tea, for the second year in a row we didn't
have much luck with it. Diseases were undeterred and yields were
unremarkable. 

“We did notice that the aspirin water plants were not as wildly vigorous as
they were last year.  We’re thinking that it’s the pH difference between
aspirin and Alka-Seltzer that accounts for it, though we don't know the
exact mechanism.  So, needless to say, this year's experiment will be
aspirin vs. Alka Seltzer!  Also, we've found that aspirin, while it doesn’t
dissolve in cider vinegar, it breaks into very small particles and
disperses better in the sprayer in a little vinegar.”


From George Watson             Partner at Bovees Nursery, Portland, OR
Dear VV                    March 6, 2006   
    Aspirin is aspirin?  Yes and maybe. 
    All aspirin of regular strength contains 325 mg aspirin.  The difference
is how it is combined with the carrier to form a tablet.  The inexpensive 5
gr aspirin use starch or some other substance to combine with the aspirin
to make the shape of the tablet.  These inexpensive substances often take a
long time to dissolve before freeing the aspirin if much at all.  A more
costly aspirin tablet uses a binder that breaks down almost as soon as it
contacts a liquid, freeing the medical agent immediately.  In a simple test
put a “Bayer” aspirin in a glass of water and a low cost aspirin in another
glass of water, and see the difference for your self.  Even after an hour
you might have to break up the cheap one where as the Bayer dissolves
almost without delay. 

OK, fine, and it might not matter if you are taking the aspirin into your
body as to how it breaks down.  But I have found that when I use aspirin to
spray on plants I really want it to dissolve quickly.  If I just toss a
couple of generic tablets into my 2 gallon pump up sprayer I sure don’t
want to find out after spraying out 2 gallons that the aspirin is still
sitting in the tank.  I guess we get what we pay for.  The thing about
Alka-Seltzer is interesting, so I will have to ask more and think about
that a bit.
George Watson is retired pharmacist and Lucie Sorensen-Smith’s partner at
Bovees.  They bought the nursery about 35 years ago from Bob Bovee’s widow
as a nice little retirement business.  And we do spray with aspirin water.
I am not sure if it helps or not but it does not hurt anything.  EWS

December 2005
E. White Smith Vireya Vine editor
After talking to Dick Cavender here in Portland, Oregon, we have installed
a freeze alarm in our greenhouse and in our plastic houses.  The only hard
part of the alarm is finding a thermostat that will go down below 40° F.
We set our natural gas heaters at 40 ° F, so if the power is off or
something else happens and the temperature falls much below 40 the alarm (I
used a buzzer in the bathroom next to our bedroom) the alarm will sound,
and I will go and find out what is wrong. 

How important is the alarm to us?  If the greenhouses happen to freeze we
and the world would probably lose the biggest collection of Vireya
rhododendrons, over 700 clones.  Many collections have been lost because of
freezing when the growers did not know what was happening at the time. 
OK yes we have tried the fancy radio alarms but they are not always
reliable.  The battery, thermostat, bell or buzzer always works and is
cheap to make up ($50).  The thermostat we are using is from “Farmtec” at
1-800-457-8887  or www.farmtec.com, their stock number CR2095 for $24 plus
shipping. 

If you are growing tender plants in a greenhouse get with a program and
install a freeze alarm to protect yourself. 
    Our next challenge is to figure out a way to transmit the sound of a smoke
alarm, from the greenhouse into our residence.  WE had an electrical caused
fire in a plastic greenhouse last fall and lost about 50% of our two year
old plants.  A “baby monitor” has been suggested.  Any other ideas?


E. White Smith, Bovees Nursery, Tacoma Chapter, Portland Chapter, American
Rhododendron Society    November 2005
It’s your money.  Using better lighting to grow Rhododendrons.
Lighting energy use accounts for about a quarter or more of the estimated
one trillion kWh (kilowatt-hour) of energy yearly expended by the US
commercial and industrial sectors.  The cost to light US offices,
factories, retail stores, warehouses and other commercial operations
combined with outdoor lighting is close to $20 billion.  (kWh  1 kilowatt
hour = 1000 watts per hour, all we need to understand is that a watt is a
measure of electricity).  Tacoma Power charges about $0.6 per kWh.
Portland General Electric charges $0.872 or almost 9 cents per kWh minus
some adjustments.  In most of the US the cost of electricity is much
higher.  Take a calculator and add up your electric light use.  Bulb Watts
x hours used = kilowatts used per bulb x days used = a lot of money. 
The US Department of Energy says that a 100 Watt Incandescent bulb that
only cost 75 cents will cost you almost $40 in electricity use and bulb
replacement over just 3 years.  A 23 Watt Compact Fluorescent will cost
about $20 for power over 3 years and the bulb will last another 3 years. 
The cost of electricity is always going to go up.  Many Rhododendron
growers use lights to help root cuttings or grow seedlings and the lights
work just fine.  But the problem I have is the cost of running these
lights.  Our electric bill at Bovees Nursery in Portland Oregon runs about
$140 per month.  Some of that cost is for rooting bed heating cables and
fans. 

Many of the lighting systems in use today are old technology.  Also some of
the lighting solutions are not very efficient dollar wise.  But many new
lighting systems are coming onto the market. 
OK, our problem is cost of electricity to do the lighting we need.  We have
six, 8 foot by 3 foot rooting beds.  Our beds are “sweat box” type with
heat cables under the pots/plants.  The beds are each three feet tall and
the whole thing is covered with clear poly film.  The beds are tall so that
there is working room inside and they have fold up or pull up front sides.
Last year each of these rooting beds had two, eight foot, fluorescent
units.  These units each had two 80 watt tubes, so 80 x 4 = 320 Watts per
eight foot bed.  We have now changed these fluorescent fixtures to the new
“High Output” ones.  The new fixtures are also eight feet long and contain
two 110 Watt High Output bulbs. and we only use one unit per rooting bed
instead of two, so 2 bulbs X 110 watts = 220 watts for a power saving of
110 watts per hour of usage.  The one new High Output fluorescent unit is
much brighter than the two fixtures it replaced, so we gained all around,
more light and less power used.  Yes, the new high output fixtures cost
more, $45 compared to $25 for the old ones.  And the 110 watt fluorescent
bulbs cost more, about $5 each compared to about $3 for the old 80 watt
ones.  So more light and less power used and we might come out even some
day.  We were replacing the old fixtures anyway when they went bad.  The
high output fixtures are “instant on” “no flicker” and “no noise”. 
We run the lights at night in the winter for the added heat they give off,
with a fan up high to direct the heat back down from the ceiling.  We
rarely provide any other supplemental heat in the propagation house.
Because our propagating house is really  a greenhouse, we were getting a
lot of “light leaking” to the outside at night, and the leaking light was
not doing the cuttings any good.  I bought a role of aluminum roof flashing
material, 10 inches by 50 feet and cut it into 8 foot pieces.  The
fluorescent fixtures are hung just above the top poly covers, and I just
laid the aluminum strips up against the light units like a lean-to tent.
Boy did that stop a lot of light leaking to the outside and a lot more
light was directed down unto the plants.  Good deal. Next time I put new
poly on these beds I am going to try some aluminum stuff on part of the
sides also to reflect more light. 

We also have a couple of seed growing chambers that had 48 inch fluorescent
units in them.  The fixtures had two 40 watt T12 tubes and I have replaced
them with new two tube 32 Watt T8 units which seen to give a lot more
light.  Here again the old fixtures were going bad so they needed to be
replaced anyway.  The T8 fixtures are cheap, cheap, cheap, only about $10
at Home Depot.  So now we have again better light and less power used,
instant on, no noise, and no flicker.  Even the best T8 lamps will produce
less light than the best T12 ones, but the T8s use less power.

Light is measured in lumens.  One lumen is equivalent to the light given
off by one candle where as a Watt is the amount of power a bulb uses to
produce light.    kWh = 1 kilowatt hour = 1000 watts of electricity used
per hour.

Lumens divided by Watts  =  Lumens per Watt
3,300/40 = 82.5 lumens per watt (for the best T12 40 watt fluorescent lamp)
2,650/34 = 77.9 lumens per watt (for the best T12 34 watt fluorescent lamp)
2,950/32 = 92.19 lumens per watt (for the best T8 32 watt fluorescent lamp)




(The following fluorescent tubes are 4 foot long  T12 types.  Remember all
of my numbers are what I could find at Home Depot or Lowe’s so they are
plus or minus.) 
                                   Approximate Efficiency     
Lamp Types                Range lpw*         Color Rendering Ability
Standard Incandescent bulbs       7 to 15            Excellent (100)
Tungsten Halogen             15 to 25            Excellent (100)
Compact Fluorescent bulbs         25 to 75            Good (70+) to Excellent (100)
Full Size Fluorescent tubes          65 to 95+            Medium (60+) to Excellent
(80+)
Metal Halide                 45 to 95+            Fair (50+) to Good(70+)
*Light Per Watt

Demystifying Fluorescent Lamp Size
Fluorescent lamps are classified according to their diameter in increments
of 1/8 inch.  Such as.
T12    Lamp diameter is 12/8 inches or 1.5 inches
T8    Lamp diameter is 8/8 inch or 1.0 inch  (next generation lamps that
require an electric ballast, they are Instant Start, don’t flicker, and
make no noise)
T5    Lamp diameter is 5/8 inch or 0.625 inch  (another new generation
lamp/bulb)

Some facts (note that different manufacturers have different numbers
(little bit different)
At this time I suggest you only use Fluorescent lights to grow plants
because of the cost of electricity.  If you buy new fluorescent fixtures be
sure that they have Electronic Ballast.  The old type ballast were called
magnetic ballast, the new ones are solid state electronic ballast. 

Type of bulb        Watts used   Lumens output    Life of bulb/hours        Bulb cost
Incandescent        100 Watt    1690        750 hours            .50 to $1.00
Incand Rough Service 100 Watts    1160        1000 hrs            $2.00
Incandescent        75 Watts    1170        750                Not much
Incandescent        60 Watts    840        1000                $0.60   
At $0.12 per kWt, 24 hour use cost 17 cents

Compact Fluorescent    13 Watts    900        10,000                $2.50    
At $0.12 per kWt 24 hour use cost $0.037 that’s almost 4 cents

Compact
  Fluorescent (GE)      20 Watts = 75 Watts, 1200     8,000                  $5.00 +

Compact
    Fluorescent (GE)      26 Watts = 100 Watts, 15-1700,  10,000                $4.00 +-

Compact
    Fluorescent           42 Watts = 150 Watts, 2600    10,000                $9.00+-

Fluorescent tubes 4 foot long     T12
      25 Watts        1860,        15,000                $2 +
Fluorescent tubes 4 foot long     T12, Philips Advantage
      40 Watts          3250        12 to 15,000 hrs        $3
Fluorescent tubes 4 foot long     T8
      32 Watts        2900        20,000                ?
Fluorescent tubes 8 foot long     T8
      57 Watts        5400        18,000                ??
Fluorescent tubes 8 foot long     T12 GE XL
      60 Watts          5400        15,000                $4 to $8
Fluorescent tubes 8 foot long     T12 GE XL
      75 Watts          6700        15,000                ??

Fluorescent tubes 8 ft long  T12 High Output
     110 Watts                                $4 to $7.00

Fluorescent tubes 57 inches long  T5
     35 Watts        3650        20,000        ?? If you can find them anywhere??

Fluorescent tubes 57 inches long  T5 HO  High Output
     49 Watts        4900        20,000        ?? If you can find them anywhere??

Remember these new fluorescent fixtures require the new “solid state”
ballast, not the magnetic type ones.  Beware of so called “energy saving”
bulbs.  They might save 15% of the electricity  but are not as bright
defeating the energy savings.  In most cases you get what you pay for.  I
have tried to get good numbers for all of my “facts” but that is very hard
to do.  If you go to a store and look carefully at bulbs, you may or may
not learn something.  Sometimes they don’t tell you about light output so
how can you compare? 

Light level goes down by a factor of 4.  If you triple the distance it goes
down by a factor of 9.  I think I remember that light is lost by the square
of the distance by the foot. 

You can also get T5 fluorescent grow lights and compact fluorescent grow
lamps.  There is one that uses 125 Watts and puts out 9500 lumens for $70
and it might be a good deal if you could build a reflector for it to screw
into.  The commercial reflectors cost about $60  with hardware.

Enough of that Fluorescent stuff.  Are there better ways to get cheap
light.  You bet and it’s called L.E.D.s, Light Emitting Diodes.  And you
can buy plant growing fixtures that have LED bulbs but they are very
expensive for now (like $250 to light four square feet).  Some day!!  The
big advantage of LED is that they use very little electricity and last
almost forever.  But LEDs are little bitty things and you need a lot of
them to get much light.  Probably all of the little lights on your
computer, TVs etc are LEDs.  Some of the fancy new cars have LED tail
lights so LEDs are coming but it will be a while.  Sure wish I could figure
out a way to hook some up and try them.  If any one has some suggestions
about using LEDs with out spending a lot of money please let us know. 

Some people might question the distance of our lights from the cuttings.
The purpose of the lights is not necessarily to push top growth, but to
promote root growth by providing night and day periods , and at least a 12
hour day of light.  Also we are not concerned about the frequency or color
of the light.  For our use, light is light, we get excellent results with
both vireyas, hardy  rhododendrons and hardy rockgarden plants. 



E. White Smith, Tacoma Chapter & Portland Chapter ARS, Bovees Nursery
        Root Weevils             November 14, 2005

Weevils, weevils, weevils. We all have some be it the Black Vine Weevil,
the Strawberry Root Weevil, or the Obscure Root weevil. And we really do
not care which one it is, we just don’t want them eating our Rhodies. Root
weevils do two kinds of damage. The real obvious thing they do is take
notches out of the Rhododendron leaves and that is what most people see and
object to. The less obvious damage that root weevils do is produce larvae
which eat the roots of the plants. Eating the roots can and does kill
plants or makes them so weak that they die from other things like a small
lack of water.

The only good chemical we have had available for years was Orthene. For
root weevil control with Orthene the plants needed to be drenched. It also
needed to be used over and over and over. Drenching might kill the larvae.
And if you don’t kill the larvae you will have adults eating the leaves and
laying eggs to make more larvae. Commercial growers have had another
chemical that really works well--- “Talstar”. Talstar was originally
registered for use on termites and it was very, very good. It also was used
to control ants where they were a problem. It provides long term protection
from ants, crickets, ticks, fleas, fire ants, chinch bugs, army worms,
termites, mealybugs and weevils plus many more insects.
Talstar is a synthetic pyrethroid low odor chemical that comes in two
different forms; granular at 0.20% active ingredient and as a liquid
concentrate at 7.9% active ingredient that was sprayed on (cost about
$125.00 for ? gallon). Both work very well on root weevils. Talstar itself
is not available to the public. BUT now you can get the same thing with a
different name. The chemical name is Bifenthrin or sometimes it is listed
as Bifen IT. I went to Home Depot and found this chemical in two products,
Ortho “Home Defense” ‘Max’ at 0.05% for a 24 ounce ready to use sprayer at
$4.99. Ortho also has a concentrate called “Ortho-Klor” ‘Termite and
Carpenter Ant Killer’ at 2.4% active ingredient for $38.00 a quart. Yes $38
seems to be a high price but this chemical is so good that you will get rid
of root weevils (or almost), where as Orthene really did not do a good job.
The “ready to use” product probably is not a good buy because you would
need to use a lot of it at a time to get control.
The modern way to control pests in the garden is to use a product that does
the job the first time. With Talstar type products you only treat the
plants once (or at least not very often) and only the ones that have a
problem. Never spray the entire area, just the damaged plants and the
ground covers surrounding them.
Talstar and the chemical Bifenthrin are said to be very safe products and
have a low toxicity. But it is bad for fish so keep away from flowing
water. Again these products are a “synthetic pyrethroid”. Pyrethrums are
natural insecticides produced by certain species of the chrysanthemum
plant.

Like most Rhododendron growers and hobbyist we had weevils at Bovees
Nursery. But not any more. There will always be some around because they
can come in from the neighbors, but with only a few treatments we are
mostly free of this pest. I have not used an insecticide of any kind for
the last two years (twice with Orthene in the greenhouse for aphids is
all). We also spend quite a lot for wild bird seed and the little birds do
a great job of insect control. Bird seed is a lot better than spraying
insecticide any day.