March 2012 - Fred Clarke

Aussie Native Dendrobiums and their CultivationFred Clarke and his black orchid Fredclarkeara (FCC)

We are delighted to welcome back one of our favorite speakers and long time supporter of the Palomar Orchid Society, Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids, who will speak to us on “Aussie Native Dendrobiums and their Cultivation”. 

Aussie Dens are quite attractive orchids in that they are easy to grow, tolerant of heat and cold, have fragrant flowers, and re-bloom from the old bulbs!!!  They grow well with Cattleyas and, in frost-free areas, they are perfect plants for the shade house. Orchid growers from down under have been breeding their native Dendrobiums and creating some fantastic flowers over the last several years.  Fred’s powerpoint presentation will cover the ‘best practices’ for growing these remarkable plants and highlight some of his own hybridization efforts with this versatile class of orchids.

As many of you know, Fred is an excellent, highly sought after lecturer in the orchid world so his talk should be one of the highlights of our 2012 speaker’s program. You won’t want to miss it.

Fred has been growing orchids for 33 years and has been hybridizing for 25 of those years. With over 25 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 is www.sunsetvalleyorchids.com/

Fred is a passionate orchid grower whose curiosity in orchids is broad and varied. Although developing new Cattleya hybrids has been his sustaining interest, he is also actively creating new Bulbophyllum, Paphiopedilum and Aussie Dendrobium hybrids. Moreover, his pioneering work in Catasetum intergeneric hybrids led to the development of several notable hybrids, most recently the grex, Fredclarkeara After Dark, which produced “the closest flower color to black ever witnessed”. This grex received seven FCC’s and three AM’s on the first flowers shown for judging. 

Fred is an Accredited Judge in the Pacific South Region. His plants have received hundreds of quality awards from the American Orchid Society. Some of us may not know it, but Fred is also the manager of the Flower Fields in Carlsbad. 

Culture Class Speaker: Renate Schmidt  "Preparing your Orchids for the Spring Growing Season"

POS’s own Renate Schmidt will provide timely tips on getting your orchids ready for the upcoming growing season to maximize your plants chances for healthy growth and blooming this year.