January 2022 – Betty Kelepecz

Betty Kelepecz

NOTE: Due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in San Diego County, this meeting will be held by Zoom only.

We welcome back Betty P. Kelepecz who will speak to us about her trip to Papua New Guinea where she experienced orchids growing in situ and learned about the culture of the natives and fauna in the area. Her presentation will be broadcast by Zoom for members who are unable to attend the meeting in person. The zoom link will be provided in the email accompanying the January newsletter.

Betty has been an orchid hobbyist in Southern California since the early 80’s. She has grown orchids in Long Beach and Huntington Beach and, since 2003, has been growing orchids in the Point Loma area of San Diego. Among her 1000 + orchids which grow outside in a small greenhouse and a shade structure in San Diego, Betty grows a large selection of species orchids. Betty enjoys the challenge of replicating the oft-challenging environments required by species orchids and particularly enjoys the challenge of growing pleurothallids. She has received more than 60 AOS awards including the 2010 AOS Carlyle A. Luer Pleurothallid Award for her Masdevallia ignea ‘Windflower’ AM/AOS.  She has also established a small but, quite functional orchid flasking lab in her home where she has been hobby flasking and growing predominantly species orchids since 2008. Betty loves to travel and, in an effort to better her orchid growing skills, Betty has traveled to observe orchids growing in the wild in several countries including Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Austria, Costa Rica and Papua New Guinea. Betty is a life member of the San Diego County Orchid Society (SDCOS). She has been the Vice-Chair of the SDCOS Conservation Committee for many years and a member of the Orchid Conservation Alliance since its inception. In 2017, Betty joined the American Orchid Society (AOS) judging program and is currently an associate judge and the Treasurer of the Pacific South Judging Center.

This month’s plant table will be provided by plant donations from Sunset Valley Orchids.