Helge W.'s posts

September 2019 – James Rose

Submitted by Helge W. on Wed, 09/04/2019 - 7:36am

James RoseJames RoseWe are delighted to welcome back James Rose of Cal-Orchid, Santa Barbara to speak to our society. James and his wife, Lauris, are the owners of Cal-Orchid, a very successful and favorite nursery of many of our members. James is a highly experienced orchid nurseryman who will share with us his ’10 Favorite Orchids’, which encompass a large variety of orchid species from around the world. James talks are always educational and highly entertaining so I urge our members and friends to attend his talk. James also will provide our plant table.

James is being sponsored jointly by POS and SDCOS, He will be speaking on the same subject at the SDCOS meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 3, if you are unable to attend on Wednesday evening.

James attended UC Santa Barbara as an anthropology major. In 1971 he began working at Santa Barbara Orchid Estate.  16 years later, now the nursery's manager, he left to established his own nursery with his wife, Lauris. In 1987 they purchased Orchids By Rowe, a 2 acre cymbidium nursery 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Jim and Lauris totally redesigned the former cymbidium cut flower business to what is now a world renowned orchid nursery providing one of the largest varieties of orchid species and hybrids in the U.S.

Cal-Orchid maintains an active breeding program and a stud collection built upon decades of international travel. James is very well known for having a distinctively selective 'eye' for the new, unusual plant, and Cal-Orchid's customers enjoy reaping the benefits.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 09/04/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

August 2019 – Arthur Pinkers

Submitted by Helge W. on Tue, 07/30/2019 - 11:41am
Arthur PinkersArthur PinkersWe are happy to welcome back Arthur Pinkers to our society who will speak to us on ‘Heat Tolerant Oncidiums’.  Arthur will inform us that these are a wonderful group of orchids that come from South and Central America and the Caribbean providing a diversity of size, shape and color. He will explore some of the species that provide warmth tolerance in hybrids and the hybrids themselves as we look at members that would be better suited for our Southern California environment. Arthur also will explore the cultural requirements these orchids need to be successful in our area. Arthur’s visit is being cosponsored by our society and SDCOS where he will be speaking on Tuesday evening on a separate topic in Balboa Park.
Arthur Pinkers has been an orchid enthusiast since the age of sixteen, when he acquired a plant of Slc. Glittering Jewel (Sl. Gratixiae x Slc. Hermes), which infected him with the orchid bug.  His forty plus years of experience growing orchids started in the Pacific Northwest with a green house to fend off the cold, rainy days, but a decade ago a job change forced him to move to Santa Clarita, California, where the conditions are extreme for growing orchids.
Growing up in the Seattle area, Arthur attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology.  He worked for many years as a chemist, and had the fortune of having his dream job as the Lab Director for Beall Orchid Company until shortly before its close in 1990.
Date: 
Wed, 08/07/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm
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July 2019 – Norman Fang

Submitted by Helge W. on Tue, 07/02/2019 - 8:16pm

Norman FangNorman FangWe are delighted to welcome Mr. Norman Fang to our society for the first time. Norman will speak to us on ‘Development of Harelquin Phalaenopsis’, which resulted in a major advancement in the popularity of Phals due to the generation of unusually colored and spotted patterns of these most popular orchids. Norman’s visit is co-sponsored with the San Diego County Orchid Society, where he will speak on ‘New Color Forms of Phalaenopsis Species’ on Tuesday, July 2 in Balboa Park. All of our members are invited to the talk and meeting. These are presentations not to be missed by one of the world’s experts in this genre of orchids.  Norman also will provide the plant table for both societies.

Norman is the owner of Norma’s Orchids, located in Montclair, CA.  Even before 1988, when he received his degree in Ornamental Horticulture from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, Norman Fang was already immersed in orchids.  While still a student, he managed the Raymond Burr Orchid Collection on campus.  Two scholarships to study plant tissue culture also allowed him to study under Dr. Murashige at the University of California and Dr. Tanabe at the University of Hawaii.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 07/03/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

June 2019 – Paul Tuskes

Submitted by Helge W. on Sun, 06/02/2019 - 4:09pm

Paul TuskesPaul TuskesWe are delighted to welcome back Dr. Paul Tuskes of the San Diego County Orchid Society as our June speaker.  Paul will be giving us a talk on Schomburkias . His presentation will deal with three orchid genera Schomburgkia, Myrmecophila, and Laelia, which are really only two genera.  Paul will examine the similarities and differences between Schomburgkia and its relatives, including morphology and DNA sequencing. What makes a genus?  The rest of the talk will focus on the individual species and their culture… so bring your questions.  This group of orchids is generally great outdoor growers in our area and some should be included in everyone’s collection.

Paul is an excellent orchid grower and lecturer.  He has been growing orchids for over 30 years and his photographs have been used in various books and journals. He grows a wide variety of orchids in his greenhouse and outdoors.  Paul serves as an American Orchid Society judge and co-founded with his wife, Ann, the orchid species study group of the San Diego County Orchid Society. He was one of the first members of that society’s conservation group, which received a Conservation Achievement award from the American Orchid Society. Paul and Ann also have traveled in Central and South America to search for orchids in the wild.

This month’s opportunity table will be provided by one of our local orchid nurseries.

Date: 
Wed, 06/05/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

April 2019 – Fred Clarke

Submitted by Helge W. on Mon, 03/18/2019 - 11:16am

Fred ClarkeFred ClarkeIt is our distinct pleasure to welcome back one of our most favorite speakers, Fred Clarke. Fred will provide us with an update on his breeding efforts with Australian Dendrobiums in a talk title "Aussie Dendrobiums and Their Cultivation". Fred has been doing extensive work on improving the hybrids in this very interesting class of orchids. As several of you may know, Aussie Dends are very tough and hardy plants that do very well in our San Diego area. They 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 thrive in frost-free areas and do well alongside Cattleyas under shade structures so they are a popular class for many of us to grow outside year round. Fred will review the species and latest developments in breeding and growing of this popular class of orchids. Moreover, he will cover the best practices for growing these remarkable plants. Fred also will be supplying this month’s opportunity table.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 04/03/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

March 2019 – Ken Campbell & Alex Nadzan

Submitted by Helge W. on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 4:05pm

Two of our more experienced members, Ken Campbell and Alex Nadzan, will speak on growing orchids in a greenhouse and outdoors under shade cloth, respectively. They will share their conditions and tips for successful growing a variety of orchids under a climate controlled environment and outdoors. The presentation should be educational for both experienced and novice orchid growers alike. It is a timely topic to kick off the 2019 orchid growing season as your plants emerge from their winter resting period. The plant table this month is provided by Cal Orchid of Santa Barbara.

Ken Campbell and his pet pandaKen Campbell and his pet pandaWhen Ken Campbell’s in-laws passed away about 20 years ago, Ken took over their modest orchid collection, which consisted primarily of cattleyas.  Being an engineer at heart, and always willing to accept a new challenge, the first thing he decided he needed to do was to build a greenhouse... and as they say, the rest is history.

Over the years Ken’s appreciation of orchids has grown from not being able to even spell the word correctly (Ph. D. engineers are notoriously bad spellers), to being able to keep the plants alive (at least most of them), to actually getting some of them to bloom.  Ken says he owes a special thanks to the many knowledgeable individuals that have over the years helped him achieve the level of success and enjoyment he finds in orchids today.    Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 03/06/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

February 2019 – John Oswalt

Submitted by Helge W. on Fri, 02/01/2019 - 11:02am

John OswaltJohn OswaltWe are delighted to welcome John Oswalt, second VP of the SD County Orchid Society, who will speak on ‘Lessons Learned from Growing Cymbidium Orchids’. John’s talk will highlight his experiences in growing and repotting cymbidium orchids and provide useful tips to both new and experienced orchid growers. This is a very timely talk as winter and spring are the main times for cymbidium flowering and the ideal time to divide and repot them is shortly after their blooming period.  This month’s plant table will be provided by Casa de las Orquideas.

John Oswalt began growing orchids over 40 years ago when he was in high school.  After college, he put this hobby on hold due to a demanding career and corporate relocations.  After John retired in 2012, he embraced his hobby again in a big way.  John grew a collection of orchids in Atlantic Beach, Florida and then moved his collection to San Diego in 2016.  John was a member of the Jacksonville Orchid Society and now serves as second Vice President of the San Diego County Orchid Society.  John has two greenhouses that are temperature and humidity-controlled year-round.  He also has a large outdoor shade area.  John has a broad collection of orchids, but particularly enjoys growing Cattleya Alliance and Cymbidium orchids. He has had good success with his plants and has many practical lessons to share. 

This month’s opportunity table will be provided by Casa de las Orquideas.

Date: 
Wed, 02/06/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

January 2019 – Brandon Tam

Submitted by Helge W. on Sat, 01/05/2019 - 9:59am

Brandon TamBrandon TamIt is our distinct pleasure to welcome back Brandon Tam as our first speaker of 2019. Brandon will talk to us on "Wild Orchids of Ecuador" which resulted from a trip he took in May, 2017 that included Harold Koopowitz and others on a trek in Ecuador led by Pepe Portilla (President of Ecuagenera), where the group saw many wild orchids and focused on the study of Selenipedium aequinoctiale. Brandon’s presentation is a multimedia talk that includes both photos and videos of his trip highlighting the diversity of orchids found in Ecuador as well as the interesting local cuisine and a visit to the expansive nurseries of Eucagenera, which supplies thousands of orchids to countries around the world. This is a very exciting and educational presentation not to be missed. Alex has seen the talk twice and it is, in his opinion, one of the best travel orchid talks he has seen over the years.

Brandon is passionate about his career as the Orchid Collection Specialist at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. He is a dedicated supporter of our orchid societies and has hosted several of our San Diego societies trips to the Huntington Library to view their extensive orchid collection.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 01/09/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

November 2018 – Phyllis Prestia

Submitted by Helge W. on Tue, 10/30/2018 - 7:16am

Phyllis PrestiaPhyllis Prestia

We are delighted to have one of our own longtime members, Phyllis Prestia, speak at our November meeting. She will talk on ‘Wild Orchids of France’ and her educational presentation will highlight her trip through the woods, meadows, and spectacular gorges of France in search of the spectacular and often elusive native terrestrial orchids. Having trekked extensively in France over the last five years, Phyllis will present several genera through photos taken in situ of the habitats where they grow and are being conserved in the wild. Both species and natural hybrids will be included. The beauty of the landscapes and these gorgeous orchids will be memorable. The November plant table will be provided by one of our local orchid growers and Phyllis will be selling some of her own orchids at the break.

Phyllis S. Prestia is an orchid enthusiast, collector, and grower. Her latest passion is the native orchids of Europe. She has traveled extensively in France collecting photographs and sharing conservation efforts with local French orchid societies. She is also an avid supporter of the World Orchid Conferences. In conjunction with the WOC’s, she has trekked the rainforests of Madagascar and the islands of the Galapagos. Back home in California she grows these extraordinary orchids, which are presently getting ready to bloom.    Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 11/07/2018 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

October 2018 – Angelic Nguyen

Submitted by Helge W. on Thu, 09/27/2018 - 5:29pm

Angelic NguyenAngelic NguyenWe are happy to welcome Angelic Nguyen to our society as our October speaker. Angelic’s topic will be ‘The Fascinating Orchids of Vietnam’ where she will provide us information on established and new species identified from Vietnam.

Angelic emigrated from Vietnam to the US in 1990 and has been growing orchids for over 20 years. She started her company, Orchid Design, in 1999 located in San Jose, CA and sells a variety of orchids at several orchid shows throughout California. Angelic grows several varieties of orchids including hybrids and species of cattleyas, phalanopsis, laelias, dendrobiums, oncidiums, paphs, phrags, lycastes, bulbophylums, and vandas.  She also has several rare cymbidiums, including standard, pendulous and peloric, and has done some hybridizing of cymbidiums, laelias, and cattleyas.  She will be providing the plant table this month.

Angelic is being cosponsored by our society and SDCOS. She will be speaking on ‘Fragrant Orchids’ at the SDCOS meeting on Tuesday evening in Balboa Park and POS members are welcome to attend her talk.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 10/03/2018 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm