May 2024 - Jose Carlos Lopez "The Hidden Life of Catasetinae"

Jose Carlos Lopez

We are delighted to welcome back Jose Carlos Lopez from Sunset Valley Orchids, one of our favorite speakers. Carlos will present to us his new talk on ‘The Hidden Life of Catasetinae’, a genus of orchids that many of us find a bit challenging to master. From species to hybrids, Catasetinae Orchids have an allure that has captivated orchid growers from all around the world and has rewarded them with floriferous blooms that come in an array of colors! The Catasetinae alliance includes the genus Mormodes, Clowesias, and Cycnoches, just to name a few. At first glance, this family of orchids may seem hard to grow, but they’re relatively easy once you get the watering schedule down. In this presentation, Carlos will go over important species, breeding lines, and cultivation requirements that should enable our members to grow them better. This is a talk not to be missed.

Jose Carlos Lopez is a Business student at MiraCosta college who has been cultivating orchids for over 12 years. His orchid venture began at the age of thirteen years old when he started to follow his father to work at Sunset Valley Orchids. Before he knew it, he was volunteering at the nursery and was helping clean orchid flasks, repot orchids, and doing small tasks. Carlos eventually began to become more involved in the nursery's operations/maintenance and started to take part in attending orchid shows. He is currently Sunset Valley Orchids Greenhouse specialist and has years of experience with Cattleya, Catasetum, Australian Dendrobiums, and Sarcochilus. Carlos is currently training to become an accredited American Orchid Society Judge.

Carlos will provide this month’s Opportunity Table.