Palomar Orchid Society

Welcome to the Palomar Orchid Society!

The Palomar Orchid Society, incorporated in December of 1965 was formed when a few people banded together to talk about orchids. We then grew and bloomed into the roughly 200-member group of orchid enthusiasts that we have today. We represent everything orchid in North San Diego County! Come and join us!!

The Palomar Orchid Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the understanding and cultivation of both hybrid and species orchids. We welcome members of all levels to join us for orchid fun and learning! Our mission is to promote interest in the appreciation of orchids and to provide an opportunity for their display and the exchange and dissemination of information relating to their culture.

Next Monthly Meeting

Next general meeting: August 5, 2026

The Palomar Orchid Society generally meets at 4:00 pm the FIRST WEDNESDAY of every month in the Activity Room 108 of the Pine Avenue Community Center located at 3209 Harding Street, Carlsbad, CA 92008.

IMPORTANT NOTE: For June, July, and August of 2026 the meeting location and time have changed: due to a conflict in scheduling, we are temporarily meeting at the Senior Center (799 Pine Ave, Carlsbad, CA 92008) adjacent to our current Pine Avenue Community Center location with the meeting running from 5-8 pm. There is ample parking and the meeting room is slightly smaller but will work for the 3 months listed. Starting September, we are back at the Community Center and the regular time slot from 4-7pm.

July 2017 – Gil Ho

Wed, 06/07/2017 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We are delighted to welcome back former POS President Dr. Gil Ho. Gil will be speaking about Stanhopeas, epiphytic orchids originating from Central and South America. The title of his presentation is "The Hybrids of Stanhopeas: Mixing it Up!"Stanhopea is an unusual and interesting genus of very fragrant orchids comprised of 66 species and an increasing number of hybrids. Gil will review briefly Stanhopea orchids in general and then discuss in detail the thinking behind Stanhopea hybrids and their wonderful varieties, followed by an introduction of creative intergeneric hybrids with Stanhopeas and related genera. This should be an informative and… [Continue Reading]

June 2017 – Tim Culbertson

Wed, 06/07/2017 6:30pm – 9:30pm

POS is pleased to welcome Tim Culbertson who will be sharing his presentation on “Laelia purpurata, the Queen of the Cattleyas”. Although large, these spectacular cattleyas grow well outside in Southern California, and with their myriad colors and a relatively unique blooming time, these are great plants for every collection, extending the blooming times in the Cattleya Alliance through July. With more and more Laelia purpurata clones and seedlings coming in from Brazil, and large grexes being bred in the United States, these stately, magnificent plants have seen a resurgence in popularity of late, and with good reason! By the… [Continue Reading]

April 2017 – George Hatfield

Wed, 04/05/2017 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We are very fortunate and pleased to welcome George Hatfield as our speaker this month. George will be speaking on ‘Pendulous Cymbidiums’, a topic that he is eminently qualified to address as he has produced some of the best pendulous cymbidiums in the country. George is currently the President of the American Orchid Society and the owner of Hatfield Orchids, a Ventura County, CA based company, initiated in 2005 and focused on the development of high quality and award winning cymbidiums. Some of George’s beautiful cymbidiums can be viewed on his facebook page. George also will be providing the plant… [Continue Reading]

March 2017 – Culture Class Panel

Wed, 03/01/2017 6:30pm – 9:30pm

Our great society has had an influx of new members over the past year and many of them have asked for a culture class session. Our senior members are more than willing to answer any questions and for the March meeting we will have a panel session with four of our more experienced members answering questions related to orchid culture. Members on the panel are Lisa Humphreys, Merle Robboy, Jerry Spencer, and Helge Weissig. Please write down any questions you might have and bring them to the March meeting. The more questions we have, the more informative this session will… [Continue Reading]

February 2017 – Fred Clarke

Wed, 02/01/2017 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We are pleased to host one of our most favorite and well-known speakers, Fred Clarke. Fred’s talk will focus on one of his primary passions, Cattleyas. The talk entitled ‘The Modern Cattleya’ will provide a detailed look at the species and latest developments in breeding and growing of this popular class of orchids. Attendees will learn about the best of the best in today’s breeding and the new directions hybrids are taking. Finally, Fred will cover the best practices for growing these remarkable plants. Fred is a long time, generous supporter and life member of the Palomar Orchid Society. He has… [Continue Reading]

January 2017 – Thomas Mirenda

Wed, 01/04/2017 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We are delighted to welcome Thomas Mirenda of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C., as our first speaker of 2017. Tom is a highly sought after orchid specialist who is very knowledgeable on many facets of orchid biology as well as on numerous classes of orchids. Tom will be speaking to us on “The Mysteries of Orchid Pollination” focusing on the various adaptations that orchids have developed as pollination strategies, including food, brood site, pollen, and mating deceptions, pseudo-copulation, co-evolution with pollinators, and other methods of species isolation. For the last 16 years, Tom has been the Orchid Collection Specialist at the… [Continue Reading]

Annual Holiday Dinner 2016

Wed, 12/07/2016 6:00pm – 9:30pm

November 2016 – Tom Biggart

Wed, 11/02/2016 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We welcome back Tom Biggart to POS this month. Tom will be speaking on the culture of orchids of North Thailand. He will be discussing climatic issues and how to adapt these plants to our situation. The second part of his talk will highlight some of the orchid species that he encountered during his trip to Thailand.Tom Biggart is the owner and head grower of Granite Hills Orchids in El Cajon, CA (a small town 15 miles east of San Diego). His nursery is a hobby-based business, which means he doesn’t make a living growing plants. It is more of… [Continue Reading]

October 2016 General Meeting – James Rose

Wed, 10/05/2016 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We are happy to welcome James Rose from Cal Orchid in Santa Barbara back to our society. James is a very experienced orchid nurseryman who readily shares his wealth of orchid knowledge with novices and experienced growers alike. James will be speaking on outdoor growing orchid species from Mexico. He will discuss where they come from, how to grow them, and provide a few illustrations of their progeny. This is a new talk with a fresh perspective. James’s visit is being co-sponsored with SDCOS. He will be giving a talk on Tuesday evening, Oct. 4 on Orchids from Madagascar and all… [Continue Reading]

September 2016 General Meeting – Marni Turkel

Wed, 09/07/2016 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We are delighted to welcome Marni Turkel to our society. Marni will speak on "Coelygyne, Dendrochilum and Related Genera". Her talk will cover the 9 horticulturally significant genera of the 21 or so that comprise the subtribe Coelogyninae. These include not only Coelogyne and Dendrochilum, but also Pleione, Chelonistele, Pholidota and others. She will discuss the diversity within the different genera, show both common and rarely seen species as well as discuss their habitats and how they relate to cultural needs.Marni Turkel is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and has been growing orchids since 1980. She grows… [Continue Reading]