Welcome to the Palomar Orchid Society Website!

The Palomar Orchid Society, incorporated in December of 1965 was formed when a few people banded together to talk about orchids. We then grew and bloomed into the roughly 200-member group of orchid enthusiasts that we have today. We represent everything orchid in North San Diego County! Come and join us!!

The Palomar Orchid Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the understanding and cultivation of both hybrid and species orchids. We welcome members of all levels to join us for orchid fun and learning! Our mission is to promote interest in the appreciation of orchids and to provide an opportunity for their display and the exchange and dissemination of information relating to their culture.

May 2012 General Meeting

May 2012 - Paul Tuskes

Our speaker this month is Paul Tuskes, who will present the topic "Encyclias and their Relatives". Encyclias are a widespread and diverse genus of orchids that consist of about 240 species, which occur from Florida to Argentina.  With such a wide range of habitats, it is not surprising that many do well outdoors here in San Diego.  All the species grow on tree or shrub branches in the wild and prefer climates that have distinctive wet and dry seasons. Many species have foliage and growth characteristics similar to Cattleya species. Not surprisingly, Encyclia orchids readily breed with other members of the Cattleya alliance to form interesting hybrids. Paul will discuss Encyclia culture and distribution and we will have the opportunity to see some of the outstanding species from each region.  He will also discuss some of the trends in their hybrids.  Since Encyclias are easy to grow, beginners and experienced hobbyists alike will gain much valuable information on this interesting orchid genus by attending Paul’s talk. 

Paul and his wife, Ann, started the species study group nearly 25 years ago, they are AOS judges, and have traveled in Central and South America.  Paul and Ann are members of the San Diego Orchid Society and Paul currently serves as 1st Vice President the Society.

Date: 
Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:00pm - 9:30pm

April 2012 General Meeting

April 2012 - Bruce Kidd

Bruce KiddBruce Kidd

We are delighted to welcome Mr. Bruce Kidd who will speak to us on “Pest Management in Orchids”. Although Bruce is a retired professional pest control expert, his talk will be geared toward preventative measures for the hobbyist to avoid pest problems in orchid collections, be they large or small. This is a very timely talk and should not be missed, since we are entering the spring and summer growing seasons when such pests become more active and require proactive steps to avoid problems.

It’s been said that the only orchid growers who don’t have pests like scale and mites are the ones with bad eyes. Or, that there are two kinds of growers; those who already have pest problems, and those who will. As the size of your collection grows, problems created by crowding, neglect and the promiscuous exchange of plant material assure that sooner or later you will have most of the major pests either as tourists or residents in all the areas where you grow plants.    Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 04/04/2012 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

March 2012 General Meeting

POS Exhibit at the San Diego County Orchid Society's Show and Sale

Overview
Trophy and Ribbon
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Left Side
Right side

Our exhibit at the San Diego Orchid Society's Show and Sale won 'Best Exhibit Illustrating Show Theme', second place for a non-commercial exhibit, and a Balboa Trophy. Congratulations to the team and to all the growers who received ribbons. Our own Alex Nazdan's Blc. Izomi Charm x Slc. Circle of Life hybrid even received a 'Best in Section' award!

Source: Flickr

March 2012 - Fred Clarke

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

Date: 
Wed, 03/07/2012 - 7:00pm - 9:30pm

February 2012 General Meeting

Peter Lin speaking at the Palomar Orchid Society Meeting
Unknown Cymbidium Hybrid (Baltic Gold?)
Den. Gillieston Gold 'Natalie'
Paph. Makuli x Paph. Macabre
Pot. Dream Circle
Slc. Carlos E. Ospina (Slc. Jungle Jewel x C. Sandra Turner)
Cym. Lady Bug "Drum"
Milt. Charles M. Fitch 'Izumi'
Cym. Yowie Flame x Cym. James T. Kirk
L. Santa Barbara "Showtime"
C. Alfresco "St. Tropez"
L. Canariensis
Cym. Strathdon 'Cooksbridge Noel'
Lc. Canhamiana Coerulea 'Azure Skys'
Lc. Stephen Oliver Fouraker 'Big Boy'
Onc. splendidum "Golden Shower"
Blc. Fuchs Orange Nugget 'Lea'
Cym. Dotz
Den. Gillieston Gold 'Natalie'
Z. San Diegito 'Miki' x Z. Imagination 'Sparkles'
Oda. Hot Pants 'Hot to Trot'
Slc Jungle Jewel x C. Sandra Turner
Den. Jonathan's Glory 'Dark Joy'
Den. yuccaefolium
Max. praestans
Aerangis pumilio
Aerangis pumilio
Aerangis pumilio
Den. Louise's Rainbow
Cym. Yowie Flame x Cym. James T. Kirk

Our February speaker was Peter Lin who presented his talk on mini-catts (see also www.diamondorchids.com/mini-catts-delightful-cattleyas-in...). The photos in the set are from our member's show-and-tell contributions.

Source: Flickr

February 2012 - Peter Lin

Peter T. LinPeter T. Lin

Mini-Catts: Delightful Cattleyas in Miniature

Peter T. Lin will be presenting a talk on one of his favorite topics: Mini-Catts, also known as miniature Cattleyas. Peter will be sharing a fast-paced Powerpoint presentation on these charming orchids. The journey will begin with a review of the miniature species, early hybrids, and then to some of the relevant hybrids of today. He will also review how to grow these wonderful plants.

Due to limited growing space, Peter has specialized in miniature orchids, both species and hybrids, for which he has received numerous AOS awards. His other interests in orchids include Dendrobiums, Angraecoids, and Neofinetias. He maintains a collection of more than a thousand orchids at his home in Southern California spread over 3 small greenhouses, as well as in the house under fluorescent lights. Peter will also be providing the plants for this month's plant opportunity table. There will be a nice selection of orchids, so be sure to buy your tickets!

Peter started growing orchids over 25 years ago, but then stopped due to school and starting a career. It wasn't until about 9 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. You can view them on the internet: www.flickr.com/photos/minicatt/collections. Peter maintains his own website at www.diamondorchids.com.

Date: 
Wed, 02/01/2012 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

January 2012 General Meeting

Barbara Rudvalis with a beautiful spray of Cym. Baltic Crystal
Slc. Dream Circle
Lc. Drumbeat x B. glauca
Slc. Indie Rose Sherwood 'Kilani'
Eplc. Volcano Trick
Blc. Mahina Yahiro 'Mishima'
Cymbidium Baltic Gold 'Doug'
Unknown Cymbidium hybrid
Unknown Cymbidium hybrid
Fredclarkeara After Dark
Laelia gouldiana
Odontocydium Dark Charmer 'Antigua'
Dendrobium eriaeflorum
Capanemia superflua
Capanemia superflua
Dendrobium Gillieston Gold 'Natalie'
Cattleya Chocolate Drop
Paphiopedilum spicerianum
Lycaste Aquila
Bulbo. Jersey 'Elizabeth' x Bulbo. echinolabium 'Eastern Star'
Slc. Dream Circle
POS President Gil Ho presenting the culture class
Barbara Rudvalis in discussion with Gil Ho and Maryann Kind

Barbara Rudvalis gave a very informative presentation on the hybridizing and growing of Cymbidium orchids for the cut-flower business.

Source: Flickr