Helge W.'s posts

2012 POS Orchid Auction Details

Our annual auction will be held on August 18, 2012 at the Pavilion at Lake San Marcos. Preview starts at 11:00 am and the auction begins at noon. This annual orchid event celebrates Palomar Orchid Society with hundreds of flowering orchids (many rare) and other items to be auctioned off. Learn about orchids and their cultivation with numerous orchid experts on hand for questions. Free to the public.

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Directions: The auction is held at the Pavilion at Lake San Marcos Resort (1105 La Bonita Dr, San Marcos, CA 92078). The entrance to the Lake San Marcos Resort is from Rancho Santa Fe Road where there is a large sign. See the interactive map to the right for details.

To reach the resort's entrance on Rancho Santa Fe Road:

  • From Highway 78 traveling East
    Take the Rancho Santa Fe Rd. exit and go South. Continue through the intersection of Rancho Santa Fe Rd. and Palomar Airport Rd./San Marcos Blvd. Turn left into the resort after about 1/4 mile.
  • From Highway 78 traveling West
    Take the San Marcos Blvd. exit and travel West/South to Rancho Santa Fe Rd.. Turn left on Rancho Santa Fe and turn left into the resort after about 1/4 mile.
  • From Interstate 5 traveling South
    Take the Palomar Airport Rd. exit and head East for about 7 miles (Palomar Airport Rd. turns into San Marcos Blvd. about 5.8 miles East of the I-5). Turn right on Rancho Santa Fe Rd. and turn left into the resort after about 1/4 mile.
  • From Interstate 5 traveling North
    Take the La Costa Ave. exit and head East for about 4 miles. Turn left on Rancho Santa Fe Rd. and turn right into the resort after about 3.9 miles.

Once in the resort, proceed downhill. At "T" intersection, turn left on San Marino Drive. At the next 4-way STOP, turn right on La Bonita Drive. Proceed ahead for one block on La Bonita. The pavilion will be on the left and there is parking in front of the pavilion.

Date: 
Sat, 08/18/2012 - 11:00am - 4:30pm

July 2012 - Arthur Pinkers

Arthur PinkersArthur PinkersWe are delighted to welcome Arthur Pinkers as speaker for our July 11 (please note the date change!) meeting. Arthur’s talk is entitled “Miltoniopsis, Pansy’s of the Orchid World: where they started and where we are now”.  The genus Miltoniopsis (Mltps. or Mps.) consists of six species native to Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador and Columbia. They are cool to intermediate growers and like moist conditions.  Hybridizers have produced many magnificent and very colorful hybrids for orchid hobbyists and the general consumer. Arthur’s talk should be very informative on a subject that we have not had in recent history. Arthur will provide the plant table, which will feature plants from Santa Barbara Orchid Estate and Orchids Royal, including some Miltoniopsis.   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 07/11/2012 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm

June 2012 - Nico Goossens

"Indoor and Outdoor Orchid Growing Structures for Southern California and Beyond"

Nico Goossens is a grower and co-owner of Lico Orchids and Flowers, Encinitas, CA. Since 1982, he has also worked in the construction industry. His first exposure to orchids came in 1978 when he was given custodial care of a shipment of bare root central American orchids that had been inspected by US Agriculture, fumigated, held in quarantine, and warehoused for over two months, and finally refused by the consignee. In spite of total degradation, with time and lots of research on orchid care, Nico managed to bloom some of the plants, thus, marking the beginning of his passion for orchids. He continued to sparingly and cautiously dabble with growing orchids outdoors until about 1995 when Lisa Humphreys and he started Lico Orchids & Flowers and build their greenhouse, thus adding greenhouse building and growing to his knowledge.

Nico enjoys growing all kinds of varied orchid genera and especially species. He is also very interested in the conservation of Southern California’s local native orchids. He has traveled to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ecuador, Brazil, and China to see orchids growing in the wild.  This should be a very educational talk for our members.

Lico Orchids will provide plants for the opportunity table this month.

June's culture class will be given by our own Jerry Spencer who will provide culture tips on "Growing Magnificent Specimen Orchid Plants". As POS members know, Jerry and Anita Spencer are experts in producing wonderful specimen orchids, several of which have won awards. 

Date: 
Wed, 06/06/2012 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm

May 2012 - Paul Tuskes

Our speaker this month is Paul Tuskes, who will present the topic "Encyclias and their Relatives". Encyclias are a widespread and diverse genus of orchids that consist of about 240 species, which occur from Florida to Argentina.  With such a wide range of habitats, it is not surprising that many do well outdoors here in San Diego.  All the species grow on tree or shrub branches in the wild and prefer climates that have distinctive wet and dry seasons. Many species have foliage and growth characteristics similar to Cattleya species. Not surprisingly, Encyclia orchids readily breed with other members of the Cattleya alliance to form interesting hybrids. Paul will discuss Encyclia culture and distribution and we will have the opportunity to see some of the outstanding species from each region.  He will also discuss some of the trends in their hybrids.  Since Encyclias are easy to grow, beginners and experienced hobbyists alike will gain much valuable information on this interesting orchid genus by attending Paul’s talk. 

Paul and his wife, Ann, started the species study group nearly 25 years ago, they are AOS judges, and have traveled in Central and South America.  Paul and Ann are members of the San Diego Orchid Society and Paul currently serves as 1st Vice President the Society.

Date: 
Wed, 05/02/2012 - 7:00pm - 9:30pm

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 - 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 - 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 - 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

July 2011 - Ben Machado

This month’s speaker is Ben Machado, who is well known to many POS members. Ben has been growing orchids for the last 19 years, after having been introduced to orchids by one of San Diego County’s leading growers, Harry Tolen. It started off as a concern for Ben finding something to do as his retirement was approaching. Now, after 10 years of retirement, Ben’s initial dabbling in the world of orchids has turned into a hobby gone wild. Does that sound familiar to anyone?   Read more »

Date: 
Wed, 07/06/2011 - 7:00pm