January 2018 – Fred Clarke

Fred ClarkeWe are delighted to welcome back one of our favorite and most accomplished speakers, Fred Clarke. Fred will speak to us about "Orchid Flower Judging" and will gear his talk to amateurs who would like to learn how AOS judges evaluate flowers and what criteria are used to award plants. The talk will be interactive and he will use some of the plants that are brought in by members for our show-and-tell to demonstrate what constitutes an awardable plant.  Fred is an ideal person to speak on this topic since he is a long time accredited American Orchid Society Judge in the Pacific South Judging Region and his orchids have received hundreds of awards, including 8 that have received the highest honor, the 'First Class Certificate' (FCC). 

Fred is a generous supporter and life member of the Palomar Orchid Society. He has been growing orchids since 1977 and has been hybridizing for 36 of those years. With over 30 years as a professional grower and manager in the horticultural industry, Fred applies these skills at his orchid nursery, Sunset Valley Orchids, located in Vista, California, just north of San Diego. His nursery's website, http://www.sunsetvalleyorchids.com, has considerable information on plants for sale and many beautiful pictures of his award winning orchids. He is a passionate orchid grower whose curiosity in orchids is broad and varied. 

Although developing Cattleya hybrids has been his sustaining interest, Fred is also actively creating new Bulbophylum, Catasetum and Paphiopedilum hybrids. His pioneering work in Catasetinae hybrids led to the development of several notable hybrids receiving over 100 AOS awards. The grex, Fredclarkeara After Dark, which produced "the blackest flower ever witnessed", has received a total of 43 awards worldwide, including eight FCC's, six AM's and the coveted AOS Award of Distinction. Fred recently received the Excellence in Hybridizing Award for Catasetum Alliance Hybrids by the American Orchids Society at their Fall 2016 meeting at the Huntington. 

Fred will be providing this month's opportunity table