Meetings

The Palomar Orchid Society generally meets at 6:30 pm the FIRST WEDNESDAY of every month in the Gowland Meeting Room of the Carlsbad City Library. The George and Patricia Gowland Meeting Room is located in the Carlsbad City Library on Dove Lane, just off El Camino Real in southern Carlsbad. The address is 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad, CA 92011.

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

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

January 2012 - Barbara Rudvalis

Hybridizing  and Selecting Cymbidiums for the Cut Flower Business

Our speaker for January is Barbara Rudvalis , owner and operator of Rudvalis Orchids, Inc., located in Carlsbad, California, less than 30 miles north of the San Diego airport. 

Barbara will speak about hybridizing for cut flowers, how she selects stock for this, the difference between this and what hobby and growers look for in their crosses. She will have actual flower examples instead of pictures and will supply plants for the POS opportunity table. This is a presentation not to be missed by anyone who has interest in Cymbidiums.

Rudvalis Orchids has been a major supplier of premium quality commercial cut Cymbidium flowers for over 40 years and potted flowering Cymbidium since the early nineties.  Barbara’s late husband, Joe, began the business in the early sixties when he began selecting and hybridizing his own varieties. Joe noticed a lack of early blooming varieties and focused mainly in this area, creating the most stable, high quality and productive standard cut flower Cymbidiums on the market today. In the late seventies, Barbara began helping Joe breed mini's and intermediate Cymbidiums. Since Joe's passing, Barbara has continued with all aspects of the business.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 01/04/2012 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

November 2011 - Betty P. Kelepecz

Betty P. KelepeczBetty P. KelepeczThe Orchids of the Machu Picchu Sanctuary in Peru

Betty has been an orchid hobbyist in Southern California for over almost 30 years.  She has grown orchids in Long Beach and Huntington Beach, and, since 2003, in the Point Loma area of San Diego.  Betty started raising orchids in the early 1980’s when her husband and co-orchid grower Steve brought home a discarded cutting/keiki of a red Epidendrum he found in a trash bin in the alley beside their home in Long Beach.  He planted the unimpressive and bloomless cutting on a moss-covered rock and confidently predicted that it would bloom beautifully in no time.  When the Epidendrum actually did bloom and, in fact, never since has stopped blooming, the disbelieving Betty became an orchid enthusiast and both of their collection of orchids has since grown with the unwavering passion so often accompanying that first orchid discovery.

Betty and Steve grow a large selection of predominantly species orchids. Their more than 800 plants grow outside in a small greenhouse and in a recently constructed shade structure. Betty enjoys the challenge of replicating the demanding  environments required by species orchids and particularly enjoys the challenge of growing pleurothallids.  Over the last few years she has become a successful Masdevallia and Dracula grower.     Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 11/02/2011 - 6:30pm

October 2011 - Mary Gerritsen, PhD

Borneo, Land Beneath the Wind

Discover orchids in their native habitats on the island of Borneo. Mary visited the states of Sabah and Sarawak (Borneo) for nearly a month in November of 2009, and this talk will feature a travelogue of her treks on Mt. Kinabalu, Mt. Alab, Long Pasia, Mulu National Park, Fairy Cave, and Bako National Park. Her trek to Long Pasia was featured in the October 2010 issue of Orchids magazine

Speaker Biography:   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 10/05/2011 - 6:30pm - 10:00pm