October 2025 - Scott McGregor "In Search of Blue"

Scott McGregor

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 plant had a short life, but the hook was set, and he found books and sources for orchid species while growing up in St. Louis. His collection has changed over time, living in different locations around the world, but has always centered around the more unusual species. Scott grows all his plants outdoors, without a greenhouse, just "adding some water and shade" to what nature provides in Southern California. He especially enjoys finding new species that grow well in our climate (many are far more adaptable than most people would believe), and now grows over 500 different orchid species, along with cloud forest companion plants such as Heliamphora and epiphytic Utricularia. He rarely uses chemical insecticides or fungicides, preferring fresh air, beneficial insects and our na-tive tree frogs. Scott retired from the corporate world a few years ago and stays active on corporate boards and working with non-profit groups that promote science education for kids. He resides with his family in San Juan Capistrano, California.