Palomar Orchid Society

Welcome to the Palomar Orchid Society!

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.

Next Monthly Meeting

Next general meeting: August 5, 2026

The Palomar Orchid Society generally meets at 4:00 pm the FIRST WEDNESDAY of every month in the Activity Room 108 of the Pine Avenue Community Center located at 3209 Harding Street, Carlsbad, CA 92008.

IMPORTANT NOTE: For June, July, and August of 2026 the meeting location and time have changed: due to a conflict in scheduling, we are temporarily meeting at the Senior Center (799 Pine Ave, Carlsbad, CA 92008) adjacent to our current Pine Avenue Community Center location with the meeting running from 5-8 pm. There is ample parking and the meeting room is slightly smaller but will work for the 3 months listed. Starting September, we are back at the Community Center and the regular time slot from 4-7pm.

July 2026 – Dr. Kay Klausing on ‘Orchid Viruses: Practical Tips for the Hobbyist’

Wed, 07/01/2026 5:00pm – 8:00pm

This month we are pleased to welcome back Kay Klausing, PhD who will be sharing his talk, 'Orchid Viruses: Practical Tips for the Hobbyist'. His talk is an updated version of a presentation that he has given many times over the years. He has virus tested his entire collection and will present the results and the implications of what he found alongside what he has learned from literature - focusing on what might be useful to other orchid hobbyists.Kay is a Virologist/Molecular Biologist/Biochemist (PhD in Molecular Genetics) originally from Germany. He moved to San Diego for his postdoctoral work at… [Continue Reading]

June 2026 – Ed Danielewicz & Alex Nadzan “Orchid Culture – Repotting and Dividing Your Orchids”

Wed, 06/03/2026 5:00pm – 8:00pm

Our June culture meeting will focus on some alternatives to standard media for growing orchids in view of the current scarcity and high cost of orchid bark and the use of these media to repot and divide a variety of orchids. We will briefly review the basics of repotting and dividing orchids and feature demonstrations on repotting using alternative types of media for orchids. June is one of the best times to repot your orchids when most orchids are actively growing by sending out new roots and producing new pseudobulbs. Two of our very experienced growers, Alex Nadzan and Ed… [Continue Reading]

May 2026 – Arthur Pinkers on ‘Coelogyne, My First Love’

Wed, 05/06/2026 4:00pm – 7:00pm

This month we are pleased to welcome back Arthur Pinkers who will be sharing his talk ‘Coelogyne, My First Love’. This genus is very diverse and Arthur will explore some of the warm and cool growing species, their culture and some of the hybrids that are commonly available. These wonderful plants can provide very showy specimens on relatively small plants and should be a part of everyone’s collection. Arthur is a shared speaker with the San Diego Orchid Society, and he will be giving his talk "Oncidium Intergeneric Orchids" on Tuesday, May 5th, at 6:30pm in Balboa Park. You can… [Continue Reading]

April 2026 – Nico Goossens on “Phalaenopsis: The Overlooked Epiphytic Orchid”

Wed, 04/01/2026 4:00pm – 7:00pm

This month we are happy to welcome back Nico Goossens, who will share his talk on “Phalaenopsis: The Overlooked Epiphytic Orchid”. Nico will demonstrate a technique he created by mounting Phalaenopsis on plaques, allowing them to develop aerial roots and avoid the setbacks they can go through on a typical mount. He sells these mounts and mounted Phalaenopsis at local shows.Nico’s first experience with orchids was an abandoned quarantined box of a shipment from Guatemala in 1976. His father, who was a custom house broker, came home and dropped them in his lap after a customer refused to accept the… [Continue Reading]

March 2026 – Ron Parsons on ” Rarities and Oddities of the Orchid World”

Wed, 03/04/2026 4:00pm – 7:00pm

This month we are excited to welcome back Ron Parsons, who will be sharing his talk "Rarities and Oddities of the Orchid World". His talk features some of the strangest and rarest plants of the orchid family, including both terrestrial and epiphytic species. The majority of terrestrial orchids are not in cultivation and many of those shown were photographed in nature. Most of the epiphytic species presented are in cultivation, and though some may be relatively common, others are not, but hopefully all will inspire a bit of awe. Ron is a shared speaker with the San Diego County Orchid Society,… [Continue Reading]

February 2026 – Peter Lin on “Laelia Species and Their Culture”

Wed, 02/04/2026 4:00pm – 7:00pm

This month we are excited to welcome back Peter Lin, who will share his talk "Laelia Species and Their Culture". We will learn about the many different Laelia species, their color forms and some of their culture requirements.Peter is a shared speaker with the San Diego County Orchid Society, and he will be giving his talk on Tuesday, February 3rd, at 6:30pm in Balboa Park. (For Peter’s topic, please refer to the SDCOS Newsletter for the title). You can watch his talk on Zoom (contact Alex or Barry for the link) or attend in person at the Casa Del Prado,… [Continue Reading]

January 2026 – Brandon Tam on ‘Wild Orchids of Ecuador’

Wed, 01/07/2026 4:00pm – 7:00pm

As we start the New Year, we are excited to welcome back Brandon Tam, who will be sharing his talk on "Wild Orchids of Ecuador” on Wednesday, January 7 at 4 pm. This will be the first talk of the year in the Pine Ave Community Center, Room 108, located at 3209 Harding St., Carlsbad, 92008. Brandon’s talk includes highlights from his adventures searching for orchids in Ecuador, with a focus of finding Selenipedium aequinoctiale. Knowing Brandon, he will also be sure to thoroughly cover the food he enjoyed eating in Ecuador as well. Brandon is a shared speaker with the San… [Continue Reading]

December 2025 – POS Holiday Dinner

Wed, 12/03/2025 5:30pm – 9:00pm

Our 2025 Holiday Dinner will be held on Wednesday, December 3rd starting at 5:30 pm at China Gourmet located at 214 N. El Camino Real, Ste. B, Encinitas, CA 92024. The dinner is only for POS members and guest with a cost of $35 per person which includes excellent Chinese food, water, tea and delicious desserts. Attendees also may purchase soft drinks or alcoholic beverages separately from the restaurant staff. Every attendee will receive a blooming or budded orchid to enjoy during the holidays.Should any members still want to sign up, they may contact Bill Wong directly at 818-636-8709 by… [Continue Reading]

November 2025 – Carol Beule “The Essence of Japan and Fuukiran: A Country of Gardeners, Perfectionists and Tradition”

Wed, 11/05/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

This month we are thrilled to welcome back Carol Beule. Japan is a country of gardeners, perfectionists and tradition, which leads to why these plants are held in such high esteem. Carol has visited Japan several times and has experienced numerous aspects of Japanese culture and the fascination with Fuukiran or Neofinetia (Vanda) falcata, the native orchid of Japan and Korea. She will cover the Japan Fuukiran Society & their judging system, growers through out Japan and talk about all the most important varieties in both Japan and Korea, showing examples of all of these glorious plants. She will… [Continue Reading]

October 2025 – Scott McGregor “In Search of Blue”

Wed, 10/01/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

This month we are pleased to welcome back Scott McGregor, who will be sharing his talk "In Search of Blue". Blue orchids have a mystique—exotic, rare and unobtainable. They are an object of desire for books, movies, perfumes and much more. This talk will explore the lore of blue orchids, delve into the biology of human color perception, expose many “blue orchids” as fakes, share a few that are actually blue, and talk about breeding possibilities with DNA modification for blue pigments. Scott McGregor has been grow-ing orchids since he was 12, when a neighbor gave him a plant. That… [Continue Reading]