This month we are excited to welcome back Alan Koch, who will be sharing his talk “Modern Trends for the Cattleya Grower”, where he will be covering what’s new in Cattleyas around the world.
Alan is a shared speaker with the San Diego County Orchid Society and will be giving his talk “Mini Vandaceous Species and Hybrids for the Home Grower” on Tuesday, September 1 at 6:30pm in Balboa Park. You can watch his talk on Zoom (contact Barry Reder or Alex Nadzan at president@palomarorchid.org for the link) or in person at Casa Del Prado, room 101.
Alan Koch owns and operates Gold Country Orchids where he specializes in miniature and compact Cattleyas along with other miniature species. Alan started growing orchids in 1969 with three Cymbidiums given to him by an aunt. While in college he became interested in other orchids and discovered many would grow outdoors in Southern California. He has moved five times as his orchid obsession has led to the need for more growing space. With the last move, he purchased 10 acres of land in Lincoln, California for his 250,000 orchids.
Alan is recognized as an expert in the Brazilian Cattleya alliance and a trend setter in miniature and compact Cattleya breeding. Alan has been published in the Orchid Digest, the American Orchid Society magazine, as well as many international publications. He also has been published in several proceedings of the World Orchid Conference. He is an internationally known speaker who was pleased to be the keynote speaker for the 2025 Asia Pacific Orchid Conference in Taiwan. He is a past member of the AOS Judging Committee and Research Committee, as well as an Emeritus Judge, and is Training Coordinator for the California Sierra Nevada Judging Center. Alan also served two terms on the Orchid Digest Executive Committee and three terms on the Board of Directors, as well as two terms as a Trustee for the AOS. He was the First Vice President for the International Phalaenopsis Alliance for three terms. Alan is also well known for the many AOS auctions he has done.
Alan will be providing this month’s opportunity table.