Helge W.'s posts

Tim CulbertsonWe are delighted to welcome back one of our favorite speakers, Tim Culbertson. Tim will be speaking on ‘Encyclias of Mexico and Beyond’.  This is a very timely talk as many members of the Encyclia family are blooming at this time so Tim’s presentation will be very educational for our members.  These spectacular cattleya relatives grow well outside in Southern California, and with their compact habit, great fragrance, and ease of growth, these are delightful plants for every collection.  By extending the traditional definition of Encyclias to include recently separated groups like Anacheilum, Panarica, Prosthechea, Euchile, and others that Tim and many of us grew up calling Encyclia, we end up with a diverse, beautiful, fragrant, exciting group of plants and flowers. If we add those to the wonderful flora of Mexico and Central America, we have a group that every collector should grow.  By the end of this presentation, members will have a new appreciation of the range of plant habits, floral forms, and fragrances of Encyclia broadly, as well as an appreciation of their lovely flowers and ease-of-growth.  This is a talk not to be missed. Tim also will be providing this month’s plant table.   Read more »

Peter LinWe welcome back Peter Lin, one of our favorite and very knowledgable speakers who will be presenting his newest talk:  Compact Vandaceous Species and Hybrids.  We will learn about the many different small growing species and hybrids within the Vanda alliance. Several of these orchids can be grown successfully outdoors in Southern California, depending on the parents involved in the hybrid or the species.  Peter’s fast-paced PowerPoint presentation will include many pictures along with cultural tips.  Peter also will be providing the plant opportunity table. The talk will be streamed on zoom for those members who can’t attend in person.

Peter started growing orchids over 30 years ago, but then stopped due to school and starting a career.  It wasn't until about 14 years ago that the orchid "bug" came back and he is now heavily involved once again.  He is an accredited judge with the American Orchid Society and a hybridizer of mini-catts.  He enjoys meeting with other orchid enthusiasts, and can often be found at various orchid shows and societies around the country.  He also has thousands of photos of his orchids that he maintains on Flickr.   Read more »

Fred ClarkeWe welcome back this month, Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids, one of our most favorite and impressive speakers. Fred will present a new talk entitled ‘Modern Blue Cattleyas’ that reviews the successes he has had in developing novel blue and spotted blue cattleyas by using several of the blue or coerulea cattleya species available to hybridizers. Fred also will discuss orchid culture and repotting which is a very timely topic as we enter the spring repotting and dividing season.  Fred will be providing the plant opportunity table so bring yourself and friends for a very interesting and stimulating talk. If you are unable to attend in person, we will be streaming Fred’s talk on zoom.

Most of our members know Fred Clarke well, since he is a frequent speaker, a life member, friend and long-time supporter of our society.  For those of you who do not know him, Fred has been growing orchids for 42 years and has been hybridizing for 38 of those years. With over 34 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 website has a wealth of information on growing orchids, many pictures of his award-winning orchids, as well as a variety of orchid genera for sale.   Read more »

Our March meeting represents the first culture meeting of the year that features two our very experienced orchid growers, Ken Campbell and Jerry Spencer, who will share their orchid knowledge with us. Ken will speak to us about pest and virus management.  Ken has considerable experience in growing orchids in his small greenhouse that contains both mounted and potted cattleyas, phalaenopsis and hanging vandas. Ken says that if managing the temperature, the amount of light, and an irrigation and fertilization schedule isn’t enough of a challenge growing orchids, let’s not forget dealing with our friends the orchid pests.  Creepy little things like aphids, mealy bugs, scale, snails and the like.  In his presentation, Ken will talk about how to detect the presence of these unwanted visitors, identify who they are, and then successfully deal with them.   Lastly, no discussion regarding orchid threats would fail to include at least a few words about orchid viruses… so he will have a brief discussion covering that topic as well.      

Jerry Spencer will discuss his ‘5 Favorite Orchids’ why they are his favorites, where he grows them, what they like/dislike and when they bloom. As most of you are aware, Anita and Jerry Spencer are well-known for their award-winning orchids and their specialization in specimen size orchids that have won many local and AOS awards. Some of those award winners will be featured in Jerry’s presentation.

Both talks should be very educational for members new to growing orchids as well as our more experienced orchid enthusiasts and are well worth attending to broaden your orchid knowledge.

Jerry and Anita will be providing this month’s plant table.

Carol KlonowskiFor our first meeting of the year, we are pleased to welcome Carol Klonowski from the Bay area, who will speak on the ‘Orchids of South Africa’. Carol will take everyone on a tour of the orchid growing areas of this fascinating part of Africa and the world.  Long known as one of the garden hot-spots of the planet, South Africa has a diverse and fascinating number of habitats and climates that provide a robust setting for flora and fauna of all types.  Hear about the ‘other’ orchids Down Under and how to grow them in your collection. South Africa is the home of over 500 orchid species including the genera of Ansellia, Aerangis, Angraecum, Bulbophyllum, Disa, Eulophia, Mystacidum, just to name a few. Carol’s talk is one not to be missed.

Carol is a shared speaker with our sister society, SDCOS, and she will speak to them on January 3 on ‘Tolumnias’ for those of you who would like to attend her talk in Balboa Park or via zoom.

Carol Klonowski has been growing orchids since the 1980’s when a friend in Berkeley, California, gave her a cattleya orchid and it bloomed out with three big, dark lavender flowers and an intoxicating fragrance. She built an entire greenhouse in her backyard to accommodate the precious plant, which only led her to buy more orchids. Then another friend gave her a gift membership to the Orchid Society of California, and it’s been a serious hobby ever since.   Read more »