16th Academic Book Fair

The Academic Booksellers Association of the Philippines (ABAP) will hold the 16th Philippine Academic Book Fair on July 10-14, 2012 at the Megatrade Hall 1, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.

The Book Fair will feature the latest academic books, journals, references and other materials for educational institutions. This event will provide the Filipino people the opportunity to avail of educational materials at the most reasonable price with mint copies from participating companies.

The companies such as A-Z Direct Marketing Inc., Academic Book Sales, Inc., Alexan Commercial, Ateneo University Press, Book Trends Enterprises, C 8v E Publishing, Catholic Book Center, CD Books International, Inc., Claretian Communications, Creative Minds Book Center Co., EDCA Publishing & Distribution Corp. F 8s J de Jesus, Inc., Fastbooks Educational Supply, Inc., Forefront Book Co., Inc., Global Learning Media Corp., Golden Books Services, Inc. Goodwill Bookstore, IBC Infotech, Inc./IBC Book Consolidators, Inc., IBON Foundation, Inc., Info-Ed Marketing Corp., Linar Educational Materials, Megatext Phils., New Century Books, Paulines Publishing House, Rebook Enterprises, Reader’s Knowledge Bookstore, St. Paul, University of Santo Tomas (UST) Publishing House, and University of the Philippines (UP) Press will be exhibiting in the said event.

Invited to attend this activity are the department heads, regional and division heads, educators, librarians, teachers and students.

For more information, interested individuals may contact any of the following:

Ms. Ma. Cristina S. Capistrano

Vice-President, Primetrade Asia, Inc.

 or  Ms. Bernadette Santiago

Primetrade Asia, Inc. Secretariat

5th Floor, Accelerando Building, 395 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue

Bel-Air, Makati City

Telephone Nos.: (02) 896-0682; (02) 895-2966

Fax No.: (02) 896-0695

E-mail Addresses: info@primetradeasia.com; bookfair@primetradeasia.corn

Website Addresses: www.manilabookfair.com; www.primetradeasia.com

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Cattleya skinneri

Senior Social Hall, University of the Philippines -Los Baños, Laguna

During  the horticulture show,   I have encountered a great specimen -sized flowering Cattleya skinneri or Guarianthe skinneri .   I bought several  potted clumps of this particular species way back in 2004 during the 58th annual orchid show in Quezon City . However during the great torrential rains of ” Ondoy ” in 2009.  Most of my Cattleya species and hybrids were lost due to fungal infections. It wipe -out almost 85 percent of my Cattleya collections. Now i still have to fully recover from the disastrous fungal infection and what was left were a few  old cattleya  hybrids that our neighbor gave to me years ago.

Cattleya skinneri was one of the focal point of this year’s  horticulture show in Laguna

Most of the serious Cattleya growers would grow  and collect Cattleya skinneri  which is also the national flower of Costa Rica . This does not provide satisfaction among growers but also a source of parent plant for hybridization .  Among the serious Cattleya orchid collectors in the country would include Dr. Hernando ” Nani ” Perez , Ms. Vangie B. Go, Mr. Antonio Padilla,  Mr. Jun Golamco , Mr. Micheal Espeso , Mr. Vicente Chin Jr.  , Mrs. Mable Chua , Ms. Mary Ann-Wu ,  Mr. Emilio Yap Jr. , Dr. Elenita S. Binay ,  Mr. Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. ,  However this is just a short list of those people who collects this orchid type , while i have seen a lot of small time  orchid hobbyists in the provinces which had grown cattleyas  in their backyard.

Cattleya skinneri or Guarianthe skinneri entered in the recent horticulture show in Laguna

It is creme de la creme of the people who grew orchids. Most of the cattleyas are still expensive in the Philippine market .  While local orchid farms would still prefer sourcing rare and new selection of BLC , LC , SLC , BC  type from Bangkok, Thailand, Taiwan , Malaysia , Florida and even in their home land in Central and South America . I have heard several stories of some pilots , seaman  and balikbayans which have also brought home some cattleya seedlings from the long sojourns from the  Americas whenever they came home.

Unlike in the past decades, cattleya growing in the city is going to be difficult , with most people lacking space and time. In my case , our shrinking space in our garden and fungal infection which almost totally wiped- out my cattleya collection still in my mind whenever i see those flowering orchids during orchid shows. How i wish those friends and relatives that visited our house had taken care of those cattleya orchids which i gave them as gift.

 Habitat:

This delightful small-flowered Cattleya species always produces an abundance of bright rose-lavender  while there are pure white and blue type of flowers. In its native habitat of Central America . It is as much a part of this holiday for me as poinsettias during Christmas season  or the traditional everlasting daisies . Because it is so easy to grow and flower, C. skinneri is one of the most rewarding of nature’s spring-flowering orchids.

Cattleya skinneri is native to Central America, where it thrives in seasonal mountain forests from just above sea level to about 5,000 feet (2,500 meters ). Its growing range begins in southern Mexico and extends through Guatemala and Honduras into El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It is one of the most common orchids found in Costa Rica and is so popular there, it has been named Costa Rica’s national flower.

Cattleya skinneri being sold in the commercial section

In the Philippines, majority of this orchid species would flower during the months of February, March , April and early May depending on the province and climatic condition. A short drying period and a cool weather will initiate the blooming of this orchid species.

Origin of the Name:

Cattleya skinneri produces from five to 12 flowers on a spike and usually has more than one lead even on a small plant, so the result is a marvelous display of flowers.

Cattleya skinneri was one of the earlier of the Cattleya species discovered  in 1836 — just after Cattleya mossiae. It was described as a new species in 1837 by the English botanist James Bateman in his book The Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala (Tab XIII). Although Bateman had never been to Mexico and Guatemala, He was the world authority at the time on the orchids of these countries because of a man named Sir George Ure Skinner, who ran a trading company in Guatemala.

When Bateman was still a student at the Natural History Museum at Manchester, England. He noticed specimens of birds and insects Skinner had sent to the museum. He wrote to Skinner asking if he would send him specimens of orchids, and Skinner responded enthusiastically, sending box after box of plants he collected in the local countryside. At times, so many plants arrived that the commercial orchid company James Veitch eventually set aside a whole greenhouse exclusively for Skinner’s Central American orchids, and every private collection in Europe soon had their collection.

Cattleya X guatemalensis from personal collection of Ms. Vangie Go

There are a lot of color variation of the species and natural hybrids ,  Most sought after is Cattleya X guatemalensis  a natural hybrid between Cattleya skinneri and Cattleya aurantiaca / Guarianthe  aurantiaca .   The name was transferred to Guarianthe based on  phylogenetic studies of nuclear in DNA  studies in 2000 and 2003.

 different yellow variation of   – Cattleya aurantiaca or Guarianthe aurantiaca

Locally, I have seen some Cattleya X guatemalensis  orchids from the collection of Mrs. Vangie Go ,  Mr. Jun Golamco and Dr. Hernando Perez . However,  I still have to obtain one for my own collection. I used to  have the two color forms of Cattleya aurantiaca “yellow” and “orange” variety ,  sadly they were also wiped-out during the ” Ondoy ” Typhoon Kestsana onslaught in 2009.

array of Cattleya aurantiaca ” yellow ” and ” orange ” varieties

Still wanting to have another plant,  I haggle with my  “suki ”  loyal seller from Malvarosa orchids . I had to choose some non-flowering Cattleya skinnerii for my collection since there is a big price difference from the non-flowering cattleya and flowering ones. This is some sort of a highlight from visiting a garden show , having to part with a new set of orchids to be added in my collection or otherwise re-acquiring  a new collection.

References :

http://www.chadwickorchids.com/skinneri

http://www.orchidspecies.com/catleyaaurantiaca.htm

http://www.orchidspecies.com/cattguatemalensis.htm

Boosey, Jane : 300 orchids : series and varieties in cultivation ISBN -13:978-1-554407-296-5 ( 2007)

Dressler and Higgins: “Guarianthe, a Generic Name for the “Cattleya” skinneri Complex” Lankesteriana 7(2003)37—38

Mr. Carlos Valeriano Calma Lazaro : A tribute to a landscaper and plant lover

Mr. Carlos Valeriano C. Lazaro holding a cockatoo on a POS field trip in Meralco Foundation compound in Antipolo, Rizal  dated September 19,  2009.

The author received an unconfirmed sms message late Saturday afternoon March 24, 2012 that Mr.  Carlos Valerinao C. Lazaro suffered a stroke during the afternoon lecture  .  I thought that it was a prankster message. I usually get a lot of sms and unsolicited calls since my number was published in several internet and social networking sites so I always got short message service and calls from real estate agents, insurance underwriters, promotions and other things. I was on my way home when I again received several sms message later that night.

Mr. Carlos Valeriano C. Lazaro wearing a  striped  light blue shirt during the 63rd Mid-Year Orchid and Garden Show opening ceremony at the Quezon City Hall grounds dated August 27, 2009

I told myself, since I am going to the LBHS show tomorrow March 25, 2012 Sunday, it might be good to confirm straight from the people at the show.

Early next day on March 25, 2012, I took a bus ride going to Laguna. My first intention was to see the landscape exhibits, orchids, and plants at the ongoing UPLB plant show.

Traffic is quite moderate along EDSA and SLEX and I arrived shortly before 8:00 am at the show site.

There was a gloomy news that hit me by surprise, “ Alam mo na ba ang balita ? ”, Do you know the news , this was the first greeting that I have receive when I arrived at the show site . Then I told the suki plant trader that I got some sms last night. I thought that someone had been doing prankster things.

Everyone at the show site was very sad. They even invited me to have prayer for Mr. C.V. Lazaro . I joined them for several minutes and after about 3 hours within the show site; Ate Pearlie then approached me, we must try to visit him at the hospital.

We quickly went to the hospital ICU area where we saw about a dozen relatives, Mr. CV’s brother and Mrs. Josephine Lazaro ,  Dr. Ben Vergara and Ms. Vernie Lucero. After a few minutes, his brother sadly announces his demise.  We almost broke into tears, but we need to break in the news to others, no matter how painful and sad.

Mr. Valeriano Calma Lazaro or as he is simply known, “CV,” succumbed to a stroke last March 25, 2012. He was 46.   He is a board member of the Philippine Orchid Society, Los Baños Horticulture Society and an active member of various plant societies. His passion on orchids, plants, tillandsia, gardening and landscaping led him to join these plant societies.

He took up Industrial Engineering at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Calamba, Laguna . Plants and gardens were his real passion.  Even as a child, He always accompanied his mom whenever she attended garden shows.  Their residence off UP Los Baños is surrounded by a beautiful garden. This serene house made almost entirely of bamboo became a popular gathering place for friends, colleagues and even film producers.  The house is almost 60 years old now and it’s still a popular attraction and location shoot place in Los Baños. School children on field trips and tourists often stop to take a look and take pictures. The house was also featured in several travel, lifestyle and home magazine.

House was featured in 2009: https://renz15.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/house-of-bamboo-in-laguna/

It was back in 1985 when CV and his mother turned their plant hobby into a backyard business called Valesol Orchids, which specializes in Vandaceous orchids.  CV studied orchid breeding and bought community pots of orchid seedlings and raised the baby plants over the years.  It was a great challenge but he succeeded and he eventually bred his own Vandaceous orchids.

He had also won numerous awards in orchids, plants and landscaping competition in local shows as well as international shows. His last works are the centerpiece landscape exhibit and winning first place in ornamental landscape competition.  His untimely death during the show was a big loss in the horticultural communities not just in Laguna but also in the country.

Hoya lazaroi

Hoya lazaroi : http://apodagis.com/Hoyas/hoya_species/lazaroi_ap1140.html

Dr. Simeona “Monina” Siar and Mr. Dale Kloppenburg  named a hoya species after him in 2009. The author had pleasant memories of Mr. Lazaro and his warm smiles.

                                                          a slightly different color variety of Hoya lazaroi

Los Baños Horticulture Annual Show 2012

Senior Social Hall , University of the Philippines, Los Baños , Laguna -Philippines

The centerpiece of 2012 UPLB garden show exhibit was landscaped by Mr. Carlos Valeriano C. Lazaro of Laguna.

The Los Baños Horticulture  Show which is going on from  March 23 to April 1, 2012 at the Seniors Social Garden at University of the Philippines- Los Baños, Laguna . The show is adopting a theme dubbed, “Gardening: A Lifestyle.” Featured Plant: Flowering Plants

PCARRD booth selling books, brochures , Philippine hoya poster

The event is under the auspices of the Los Baños  Horticultural Society in cooperation with Department of Trade and Industry ( Laguna ) , Philippine Council for Agriculture , Aquatic and Natural Resources Research Department – DOST  PCARRD and the University of the Philippines ( Los Baños ) .

 Annie’s Famous Espasol and Native Delights

 Annie’s Espasol and Native Delights booth at the show, DTI-Laguna is helping the small and medium scale business enterprises  thru marketing and promotion of their products. Most of the customers are students and faculty members of the university, while local tourists  like those from nearby towns and cities are also enticed to buy for “pasalubongs ” take home treats  when they return home from the show.

Kabinsili booth

Kabinsili is a brand of chili powder which is made from  powdered chili pepper from the town of Cavinti , Laguna. The company battle cry ” One Green Thumb Asia ” The company aim is to uphold sustainable development in the production and processing of prime agricultural commodities , embracing the three -prong sustainability approaches .

cute hat shaped native crafts adds beauty to the packaging

According to the manager of  Kabinsili , what makes them different from imported brands is that aside from they provide  social responsibility for sustainable agricultural techniques . They would also promote native handicrafts from the town of Cavinti in Laguna by incorporating in the product packaging .  They are also planning to open their chili pepper farm in the near future for field trips and lectures.

Contact Address : Barangay Silangan Talaongan , Cavinti , Laguna 4013

Email: onegreenthumbasia@gmail.com

Contact Persons : Mr. Melbert Oliveros ( President CEO) 0918-9859461 /0922-9769763

Mr. Noel Villodres ( VP for operations ) 0928-2993362 / 0922-8177318

Exotica – exhibit booth # 9

  Dr. Ben S. Vergara  ( Exotica )  exhibit  won ” Most Educational Booth ”   and ” Special Prize for Booth Construction”  . One feature of the show is  a display of a Practical Living Wall that one can easily put up, especially in a garden with very limited space.

Exhibit booth # 11  won Special Prize for Booth Construction , Most Creative

The use of old window panels, wood  panels, adobe stone blocks with mokaras, semi-terete vandas , ferns , bougainvillea, Ixora from Bangkok.

Exhibit booth #2 landscaped  by Mr. Carlos Valeriano C. Lazaro

This booth won 1st Prize in Booth Construction , Most Outstanding booth . The careful placement of ferns, flowering plants, bamboos , tillandsias, variegated bamboos, euphorbias  and other fixtures made this exhibit popular not only from the judges but also photographers, students and tourists .

Malvarosa Orchid exhibit booth # 8

Malvarosa Orchids and Ornamental Plants is known for their quality and celebrity cattleya orchids that were named after famous Philippine celebrities and presidents.

Their booth had colorful arrays of cattleyas species and hybrids, Phalaenopsis, Dedrobium anomum variety dearei / alba , Paphiopedilum, Oncidium hybrids  . The booth won 3rd prize in booth construction and special prize of booth composition.

The orchid landscape exhibit was done by VS orchids with Ixora or Santan which is imported from Bangkok , Thailand , most of the santan were propagated in their Bulacan farm.

Native orchids such as  ( Sanggumay ) Dendrobium anosmum , phalaenopsis hybrids are used in this part of the landscape exhibit .

Hanging flowering plants complement the white trellis

Booth #6 Won Special Prize for Booth Construction and Most Original Design

Mr. Joseph M. Salacup is one of the youngest board member of LBHS

Mr. Joseph M. Salacup started to collect plants , tillandsia , cactus, aroids, succulents , orchids, begonia,  bromeliads since the late 1980’s . Most of the first plants he acquired were given to him as presents. He started growing and propagating the plants in his backyard. Whenever relatives and friends visits their house, Mr. Salacup would give excess plants. He never thought of venturing into a backyard business since he is gainfully employed in one of the IT companies . His passion for growing these exotic  plants led him to become a member of the society. According to his supportive parents , They just tried selling their excess propagation during plant shows .  Plant hobbyists and enthusiasts would buy his plants  ( Our group always buy tillandsias, dyckias , bromeliads, guzmanias and cacti from his stall whenever we visit the show .) We first met him during the 2010 annual show .

Dyckia platyphylla – ” Cherry Cola ” or ” Cherry Coke ” bromeliad from South America  . This is a nice terrestrial bromeliad preference is fast draining medium . When grown in full sun, the leaves take on a striking burgundy or reddish color hence the name ” cherry cola” was coined.  Mature plants can make a stunning , bright orange flower stalk which can reach 4 to 5 feet tall.  This is a focal point in any plant collection . This unique plant is highly sought after by plant hobbyists due to its color and interesting height of its inflorescence .  Just like in any plant show , this is one of my perfect souvenir . However , we have bought some of this bromeliad  species when we last visited the show in 2010 and my own Cherry Coke had a lot of pups waiting to be divided ! I would like to personally thank Mr. Joseph Salacup and the rest of the board members of LBHS who personally toured me during the event.

For those interested in buying  plants and  landscape job
Contact information: SMART 0919-819-8966

Email: joseph_salacup@yahoo.com

Sources:

http://cycadjungle.8m.com/cycadjungle/dyckia

http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com/229.htm

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Aliwan 2012

The 10th Aliwan Fiesta 2012 was announced by Manila Broadcasting Company and Star City  in cooperation with City of Manila and Pasay with television coverage of TV channel 5 and major television network across the country. Aside from the street dancing and crowning of beauty queen there is also a flea market bazaar showcasing the different products in different regions of the country.

This year’s theme : Makiisa, makisaya — pista’y narito na!

poster of the vent intended for commercial advertiser

April 12 – Pasakalye Dance Competition / Flea market
April 13 – Aliwan Fiesta Festival Queen (Pre-Pageant Competition)
April 14 – Aliwan Fiesta Street dancing Competition, Float Competition and Beauty pageant

for more information pls visit this link:

http://www.manilabroadcasting.com/