Posts

Our speaker in May will be Ron Kaufmann, who is no stranger to POS. Many of you may recall is previous visit to out society last year and his memorable talk on his travels to Ecuador. This month Ron will share with us his orchid experiences in Columbia. His talk entitled "Searching for Orchids in Colombia" will highlight his trip to discover orchids in Colombia in preparation for an upcoming tour he is organizing to benefit the Orchid Conservation Alliance. Colombia is one of the most orchid-rich countries in the world, with over 3,000 described species. Ron's talk will cover orchids in the wild, in reserves and at several nurseries that are cultivating native Colombian orchids. This is definitely a presentation not to be missed!   Read more »

Fred ClarkeCatasetum, Cycnoches and Mormodes are three related genera from the Tribe Cymbidieae. Individually, each has been considered an orchid oddity, or “botanical”, of interest mainly to the seriously addicted enthusiast.   These plants have a brief deciduous period in winter, when the plants need a definite dry rest period bordering on neglect. These robust orchids are native to lowland tropical forests in Central and South America and are usually grown in warm or intermediate conditions.

Lycaste orchids are one of those orchids that reward us with beautiful blooms, tantalizing fragrances, and also very interesting foliage during the summer. They lose those leaves during their winter rest period when they need a dry cool place to get ready for those spring blooms. When I think of Lycaste orchids, I think of the Lycaste aromatica which is a very popular plant here. Members can go to Jim’s website (http://www.calorchid.com/) before our meeting to see the assortment of Lycastes that Cal-Orchid is currently offering for sale. If you see something that you would like to purchase, send him an email and ask him to bring it when he comes here. Jim will be furnishing the plant opportunity table and we hope to see some of his new crosses there.   Read more »