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.

General Meeting October 2019

Submitted by Helge W. on Tue, 10/22/2019 - 4:30pm

Date:

Wed, 10/02/2019

AMN-306 (L. Interceps x C. bowringiana v. coerulea) – Alex Nadzan

AMN-093 (Slc. India Rose Sherwood x B. Little Stars) – Alex Nadzan

Blc. Cadmium Light "Green Elf" – Alex Nadzan

Blc. Sanyung Ruby x Pot. Oconee Circle – Alex Nadzan

C. bowringiana var. coerulea "Aileen" x self – Alex Nadzan

C. bowringiana ("MAJ" x "Black Prince") – Alex Nadzan

AMN-250 (C. intermedia var. aquinii "Box Vista" x Slc. Circle of Life) – Alex Nadzan

Cym. Valerie Absolonova "Ruby Lip" – Alex Nadzan

Miltonia regnelli var. alba – Alex Nadzan

Sl. Seagull's Crawfish Pie – Ken Campbell

Lc. Mini Purple "Dogashima" – Ken Campbell

Pot. Jerry Rehfield "Hawaii" – Ken Campbell

Slc. Rachel's Sunset Glow – Ken Campbell

D. White Grace "Sato" – Anita & Jerry Spencer

C. Caudebec "Marty's" – Anita & Jerry Spencer

Unknown Dendrobium Hybrid – Anita & Jerry Spencer

C. Mary Elizabeth "Bohn" – Anita & Jerry Spencer

Blc. Sunspot x Slc. Katherine Clarkson – Anita & Jerry Spencer

C. Little Mike x C. Black Jack – Anita & Jerry Spencer

Angcm. Longiscott "Lea" – Anita & Jerry Spencer

Epc. Middleburg "Maj " – Anita & Jerry Spencer

D. Aridang "Blue Angel" – Anita & Jerry Spencer

C. Dennis Kong "Ruby Red" – Anita & Jerry Spencer

C. San Diego Surprise x Blc.. Panache – Anita & Jerry Spencer

C. Bactia "Grape Wax" – Anita & Jerry Spencer

C. Choco Berry Fondue – Anita & Jerry Spencer

C. Moscombe x C. Mem. Helen Brown – Anita & Jerry Spencer

Cattlianthe Camille Brandon 'Star Ascent' – Anita & Jerry Spencer

Mtssa. C. M. Fitch "Izumi" – Helge Weissig

Slc. Orglades Early Harvest Magic – Jim Anderson

Brassidium Nittany Gold "Dr. John" – Iso Zehner

Blc. Goldenzelle "Lemon Chiffon" x Blc. George King "Serendipitiy" – Carl Wood

Z. New Era "Green Dragon" x Z. Fairy Wand "Stinker" – Bill Wong

Source: Flickr

October 2019 – Alan Koch

Submitted by Helge W. on Sat, 09/28/2019 - 3:29pm

Alan KochIt is a distinct pleasure to welcome back Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids in Lincoln, CA. Alan will be speaking to us on ‘Cattleyas 365, 24/7’ where he will provide us the knowledge on how to build a cattleya collection that will flower all year long and tell us how to grow them. Alan will highlight the species that have been used by hybridizers for years to control bloom time and his talk will be adapted to our climate conditions. He also will provide the plant opportunity table including some of his novel hybrid cattleyas and related orchids.

Alan’s visit is being co-sponsored by POS and SDCOS. He will be speaking on Oct. 1 in Balboa Park on ‘Unusual Species for the Cattleya Grower’. More details can be found on the SDCOS website. Read more »

Date:

Wed, 10/02/2019 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Monthly Meeting

September 2019 – James Rose

Submitted by Helge W. on Wed, 09/04/2019 - 8:36am

James 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

Monthly Meeting

August 2019 – Arthur Pinkers

Submitted by Helge W. on Tue, 07/30/2019 - 12:41pm

Arthur 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

Read more »

Monthly Meeting

July 2019 – Norman Fang

Submitted by Helge W. on Tue, 07/02/2019 - 9:16pm

Norman 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

Monthly Meeting

General Meeting June 2019

Submitted by Helge W. on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 2:41pm

Date:

Wed, 06/05/2019

Pot. Little Toshie "Gold Country" – Ken Campbell

Pot. Martha Clarke x Pot. Little Toshie – Ken Campbell

Asc. Kulwadee "Fragrance #27" – Ken Campbell

Pot. Oconee Circle x Pot. Rubescence – Alex Nadzan

Sarco. Rosella "Multi" x Sarco. Kulnura Intensity – Jerry & Anita Spencer

Ctt. Jewel Box "Scheherzade" – Cher Whelan

C. intermedia var. orlata – Stewart Walton

Lc. Tokyo Magic x Lc. Bryan Wheeler – Alex Nadzan

Blc. Beautiful Morning x Lc. Bryan Wheeler – Alex Nadzan

Blc. Fordyce Fantasy x Slc. Circle of Life – Alex Nadzan

Slc. Circle of Life x Lc. Trick or Treat – Alex Nadzan

Laelia superbiens var. alba – Anita Spencer

Source: Flickr

June 2019 – Paul Tuskes

Submitted by Helge W. on Sun, 06/02/2019 - 5:09pm

Paul 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

Monthly Meeting

April 2019 – Fred Clarke

Submitted by Helge W. on Mon, 03/18/2019 - 12:16pm

Fred 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

Monthly Meeting

General Meeting March 2019

Submitted by Helge W. on Mon, 03/18/2019 - 12:12pm

Date:

Wed, 03/06/2019

Laeliocattleya Blue Star – Stewart Walton

AMN-061 (Blc. Orange Nugget x B. glauca) – Alex Nadzan

Cym. Anastasia Wright x Cym. Last Tango – Alex Nadzan

Lc. Meadowgold "Summerbury" – Lorna Rammon

Den. Jonathan Glory "Dark Joy" – Bill Wong

Cym. Valley Olympic "Pink Perfection" – Jerry Spencer

Source: Flickr

Galleries

March 2019 – Ken Campbell & Alex Nadzan

Submitted by Helge W. on Mon, 02/25/2019 - 5:05pm

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 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

Monthly Meeting

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