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.

August 2015 – Alek Zaslawski

Wed, 08/05/2015 6:30pm – 9:30pm

Our gust speaker this month is Alek Zaslawski of AWZ Orchids in Brazil. The topic of his presentation is the species Cattleya violacea and he will show plants in their natural habitat as well as flowers with different color forms. His talk will also include many cultivation tips.Alek was born and raised in the state of Espirito Santo, in Southeastern Brazil. His father, Wladyslaw, grew orchids as a hobby, and Alek was always surrounded by orchids at his parents’ home. His father enjoyed taking trips to see orchids in the wild and would take Alek with him.Alek became a mechanical… [Continue Reading]

July 2015 – David Brown

Wed, 07/01/2015 6:30pm – 9:30pm

This month we welcome David Brown as our guest speaker. David will present on "A Year at the San Diego Zoo Orchid Greenhouse" in which he will highlight those plants that typically flower in each month. The greenhouse at the San Diego Zoo is open to the public every third Friday of the month as part of the zoo's "Orchid Odyssey". David first attended that event in 1999, and became fascinated with the orchids in the zoo’s collection. "There was so much diversity in shape, size, color and form." he remembers. David came to see the greenhouse as one of the… [Continue Reading]

June 2015 – Francisco Miranda

Wed, 06/03/2015 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We welcome Francisco Miranda as our guest speaker this month. Francisco’s presentation will focus on cattleya species and their habitats and his talk is titled "The genus Cattleya in Brazil". Cattleya species can be found throughout Brazil and Francisco will show examples from most of the major regions where they occur. Francisco was born in Rio de Janeiro and he has been growing orchids since 1979, the same year he received his degree in Biology. He began his taxonomic studies of the orchid family in 1981. In 1985, he completed a Master’s Degree and his thesis “Section Cattleyodes of the genus… [Continue Reading]

May 2015 – Fred Clarke

Wed, 05/06/2015 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We welcome back Fred Clarke as our guest speaker this month. Fred will discuss the fundamentals of growing orchids and explore some advanced techniques. Orchid plant culture will be explained and techniques on how to maximize growth and flowering will be reviewed. Fred says If you do 80% of what you’re supposed to do correctly, you will be a good grower.Fred is a long time, generous supporter of the Palomar Orchid Society and one of our most favorite speakers. Fred Clarke has been growing orchids for 35 years and has been hybridizing for 32 of those years. With over 28… [Continue Reading]

April 2015 – Peter Lin

Wed, 04/01/2015 6:30pm – 9:30pm

Peter Lin’s presentation "12 Months of Orchids" is a fast-paced PowerPoint presentation will show you how to build an orchid collection to have blooming plants for each month of the year. Peter started growing orchids over 30 years ago, but stopped to focus on school and starting a career. It wasn’t until 11 years ago that the orchid “bug” came back, and he is now heavily involved again. He is an accredited judge with the American Orchid Society and a hybridizer of mini-Cattleyas. He enjoys interacting with other orchid enthusiasts and can often be found at various orchid shows and societies around… [Continue Reading]

March 2015 — Peter Tobias

Wed, 03/04/2015 6:30pm – 9:30pm

The Palomar Orchid Society is pleased to welcome Peter Tobias as our guest speaker this month. He will be giving a talk on "Traveling in Brazil with the Orchid Conservation Alliance". Peter is a member of the SDCOS and also President of the Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA), which he co-founded in 2006 with some of his friends. In the past, Peter has served as the chairman of the San Diego County Orchid Society’s Conservation Committee. Peter will first present an overview of OCA, followed by a discussion of the trip taken in Spring 2014 with OCA to the Atlantic Rainforest… [Continue Reading]

February 2015 – Ron Parsons

Wed, 02/04/2015 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We are fortunate to be able to welcome back Ron Parsons as guest speaker for our February Meeting. Ron will be speaking about his experience traveling to Columbia in August of 2014 and the many orchids he encountered there. His trip included visits to nurseries, forest reserves, and a national park as well as three days at the Medellín orchid show and botanical gardens. All in all he saw and took pictures of nearly 120 native orchid species in bloom in the wild, as well as hundreds of others at the show and nurseries.Ron Parsons has been growing orchids for… [Continue Reading]

January 2015 – Kay Klausing

Wed, 01/07/2015 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We are delighted to have as our first speaker of 2015, Dr. Kay Klausing, 1st VP of the San Diego County Orchid Society. Kay’s talk is entitled ‘Rupicolous Laelias’ and will cover many aspects of this subgroup and their culture, including distribution, habitat, climate, classification, acclimating and growing (watering, fertilizing, potting, repotting, pests). Kay has been growing orchids for almost 30 years. His collection consists almost exclusively of species plants with a focus on the Cattleya alliance plus a few sprinklings of Oncidium, Phalaenopisis, Masdevallia, Dendrobium, Catasetinae, Paphiopedilum as well as others. He maintains three small greenhouses (cool, intermediate, and warm)… [Continue Reading]

November 2014 – Arnold Gum

Wed, 11/05/2014 6:30pm – 9:30pm

This month’s speaker is Arnold Gum who will talk on ‘Wild Orchids of Southern France’. His presentation will survey the different orchids encountered in a variety of day hikes through Provence, most with orchids in mind, with a bit of discussion about the habitat and the travels, laced with a bit of French scenery, food and background.While the Provence region in the South of France is known for its delicious food, a broad variety of scrumptious cheeses, and fine wine, it is also one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world. This is indeed ironic, as humans are not… [Continue Reading]

October 2014 – Paul Tuskes

Wed, 10/01/2014 6:30pm – 9:30pm

Palomar Orchid Society is pleased to welcome back Dr. Paul Tuskes. Paul’s presentation will be on “Unique Outdoor Growing Orchids” with an emphasis on growing information for the hobbiest and a focus on the culture of outdoor growing orchids--water, fertilizer, light, and tricks to make them bloom as well as dealing with problem plants.Paul will also discuss how to enliven outdoor spaces by including orchids in the landscaping. San Diego County has a wide range of climates ideal for growing various orchids outdoors. Microclimates can be created within your own yard or outdoor space by providing natural and artificial shade spaces as… [Continue Reading]