Someone gave you a very nice present there, Gill. I'd second much of what terpguy mentioned, HOWEVER, you will notice that your new plant will be much happier in the summer when it is brighter and warmer. Remember that with less light and warmth, your plant will be growing slower and so will require less water. Water only when the potting medium feels dry to the touch at least an inch down or use the weight test - when it's dry, it will be much lighter. In the meantime, you could always give it a little more light, especially on those days when it's dark and gloomy out. (I'm in Canada, we know dark and gloomy winters too, though, hey, we did get about 6 sunny days in December!) I would suggest you look at obtaining a very simple lamp with a flexible arm (mine came from Ikea) and outfitting it with a compact fluorescent bulb (the twisty, "energy saving" ones). Place the bulb about 8-12 inches above the leaves and turn on the lamp when you leave in the morning if it's going to be a particularly dark day, turning it off at night when you get home. This will give it that bit more light and will warm things up very slightly as well. Hope this helps, and enjoy your present. Julie

Arthur, it's a 2 sided coin. The strength of a large group allows them to do things that we would like to imitate but cannot. They offer 2 programs each evening, one for beginners and one for the more advanced growers. When we have a speaker talking about Draculas, Masdies and Pleuros, I gringe as I know that 90% of our members cannot grow these things. Other than general interest, a talk like that has no practical value. The raffle plants carted home by people have a low survival rate. The San Diego society has a subgroup of species enthusiasts who meet separately. As many as 30 experienced species growers create a stimulating experience. San Diego has the only huge group I am aware off, I suspect most other metropolitan areas follow the LA pattern of several smaller groups. When the large society puts on a show it's a thing of beauty, our shows are nice but amateurish in comparison. I like our intimate medium sized society but I also see the benefits of a strong group. I guess you cannot have both. In my immediate area, 4 societies are spending 4 speaker fees every month. If that could be combined we could afford to go beyond the local talent and import notables from further away. If we could cooperate to the extent were we would rearrange our meetings to be back to back, that would also help but even that is not possible. Each group's specific night is set in granite as they have met that particular evening for 30 years. Nick

Speaking of which - I haven't been to our society meetings for a few months and didn't renew my membership - no job at the time. Last I knew, "we" had 300+ members and were looking for a larger meeting space. The age spread is weighted toward 40+, but there are a couple of teens and some members in their 20s & 30s. We meet on the 3rd Sat. from 1-3 with an hour of business, including results of the judging, a break with coffee and non-homemade cookies, then often a speaker from the outside who's usually selling their own plants, then plant raffle results. There's no meeting during one of the summer months - forget which. Most members are local, but one hobby Paph breeder and his wife drive 6 hours round trip to be there. Another active member lives at least an hour away. When an outside speaker isn't selling plants, members can sell theirs. Some people join just for inexpensive plants. Dues are about $25. Visitors and new members are introduced during the business part and receive a free copy of AOS's basic orchid handbook. Our current space is the community room in the main store of a local, upscale garden center chain. It has a nice deli, with the eating area out in the indoor plant section. Most people walk through the indoor plant area to get to the meeting room. Before and after the meeting, you see members having coffee in the dining area and browsing and buying indoor/outdoor garden supplies. The store sells orchids, too, although nothing exotic. It's a feast for the senses, esp. in MN winter. If we move to a library, say, it won't be the same. There are 6 main events during the year: - a holiday meal at a local restaurant, and people go home w/ a free plant. This serves as the Dec. meeting, I think. - a big display and AOS judging during the St. Paul Winter Carnival. The display is in a well-known conservatory in St. Paul, and the last few years, we've had vendors there. - an all-day, spring symposium at an arboretum. Experienced society members talk about various aspects of orchid culture. - a display during the State Fair. Society members are generous in their judging, and the numerous ribbons look impressive. Some members who are vendors have their own displays in the same room, but no sales. - the September orchid sale to the public. It's at a garden center on a Sat. Of course, society members who are selling plants get first choice before the show opens. There's a business meeting just before, and this is the Sept. meeting - I think. - the September bus tour during the Chicagoland orchid festival, or whatever it's called. There are a couple of commercial growers between Minneapolis and Chicago, and all the growers roll out the red carpet and offer our members good deals. The trip goes from a Friday afternoon to the following Sunday evening, and people come back loaded with plants to replace those they just sold! I'm not aware of any specific recruiting/marketing efforts. It could be that the 1 million people in the 7-county "Metro area" kind of "yield" a society with about 300 members. But - with the economy what it is, the MN society may be having hard times, too. If there's a current MN society member here, chime in. Whitecat8

Hi Karin, Growth is good, change is good. You are the decapitation queen, and the only person I know who started hybridizng fifteen minutes after she had two violets in her possession. You like new, different, and nothing to hold you back. So cut your losses and set down roots somewhere else, in fresh, clean territory you stake out yourself. Suggest you start something new, all your own, independent of any club, and invite people to join. Annie of the All About African Violets podcasts wants to forge a Canadian connection. Maybe you can work with her. Maybe also revisit that first club and see if they would like your help. Sort of like what Anne Marie K did for Lyon's. And for National. She is tapping a younger generation and using embedded videos and all the tools on her blogs. I can already see the opening scene of your podcast, walking down a country road with your dog in all four seasons. Leave the present club alone. I have seen something similar in another club, not saying who or where, in which two competing FB sites were set up. Not cool and when clubs air their inherited bad feelings for each other at a public level on the internet, newcomers will not be interested in participating. These are the growing pains of the 1970's style clubs not being able to adapt to change. It goes on with many non-profits, not just AF clubs. Joanne