April 2024 - Ron Midgett "Kaleidoscope: Breeding with Cattleya Horace ‘Maxima’ AM/AOS"

          Ron MidgettOur society is delighted to welcome back Ron Midgett from New Earth Orchids. Ron is a shared speaker with our sister society, SDCOS, and will speak Tuesday, April 2nd in Balboa Park on “Green with Envy: Green Cattleyas—Origins” 

On April 3rd, Ron will speak to us on his breeding experiences with Cattleya Horace ‘Maxima’ AM/AOS.   He will explore the fascinating range of colors that crosses with this fabulous parent can create. Ron has personally done crosses with C. Horace with strong yellows among others to create an array of colors. This attribute of breeding with C. Horace seems to be unique to this particular parent. The bonus is that C. Horace hybrids are easy to grow and that Horace imparts good form and size to the hybrid’s flowers.

Ron Midgett began growing orchids in 1969 in the orchid-rich environment of Southern California.  Since then, he has grown orchids in many different regions of the US and in the Caribbean for three years.  Currently, he resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  He is a breeder with an emphasis on Cattleyas, Paphiopedilums, and Oncidinae.  Several cultivars from his crosses have received AOS awards.  

 In 1990, Ron founded the New England Orchid Company in Franklin, MA.  In 2003, he moved his orchid business to New Jersey and changed the name to New Earth Orchid Co., aka New Earth Orchids.  In 2010, New Earth Orchids was moved to Santa Fe, NM. 

In addition to Ron’s activities in the orchid business, he has been very active in the local orchid societies wherever he lived. This includes serving as an officer, chairing orchid shows, and running the New England Orchid Fair for three years. Before leaving New Jersey, Ron founded the Jersey Highlands Orchid Society.  He is an accredited AOS judge currently serving in the Rocky Mountain Region.  He has served as chairperson for AOS judging for the 2011 and 2012 New Mexico Orchid Guild Shows.  In 2011, Ron was invited to participate in judging the Taiwan International Orchid Show.

Ron has authored articles published in Orchids and most recently in the Orchid Digest.  He was given the prestigious Ernest Heatherington award from the Orchid Digest for his article, “Beyond Sc. Beaufort—A 25 Year Odyssey in Cattleya Breeding”.  Ron feels a special honor in receiving this award because Ernest was one of his first mentors. 

Ron has spoken in many venues across the country. He has twice been an invited speaker to the prestigious Cattleya Symposium held each summer in Florida. He has done speaking tours in New England, Central Florida, Mid’ Florida, California, and The Texas Circuit.

This month’s plant table will be provided by Ron Midgett of New Earth Orchids.