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: November 4, 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.

November 2026 - Jose Carlos Lopez - "Bifoliate Coerulea Cattleyas' →

April 2013 – Harry Phillips

Wed, 04/03/2013 6:30pm – 9:30pm

Perceptions and Realities of Growing OrchidsWe are excited to welcome back Harry Phillips, of Andy’s Orchids fame, to speak to us on ‘Perceptions and Realities of Growing Orchids’. This is a very new presentation from Harry that will address the perceptions that hobbyists have about numerous aspects of orchid growing and the actual realities of experiences that he and his brother, Andy, have had in their many years of growing orchids. This talk should be very informative and of value to novice and advanced orchidists alike. Harry also will provide for the opportunity table their ever popular plants from Andy’s… [Continue Reading]

March 2013 – Expert Grower Panel

Wed, 03/06/2013 6:30pm – 9:30pm

Everything You Need to Know About Basic Orchid Culture and MoreOur March speaker program is an exciting opportunity for both new and long-term POS members to learn about or become reacquainted with the fundamentals of orchid culture presented by our own panel of advanced POS hobbyists. The program should help prepare orchid growers for the upcoming Spring/Summer growing seasons. This program is in response to suggestions that our society provide more basic orchid cultural information to the membership. The expert panel consists of Renate Schmidt, Jerry Spencer, Merle Robboy and Alex Nadzan, who collectively have over 100 years experience… [Continue Reading]

February 2013 – Peter Lin

Wed, 02/06/2013 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We are pleased to welcome back Peter Lin as our speaker for February. Peter will present the topic ‘Neofinetia falcata and its Hybrids’, which will feature this Japanese native orchid species, a bit of history, the many forms and varieties, and a selection of its hybrids within the Vanda alliance. He also will describe how to grow these marvelous temperature tolerant orchids.Neofinetia falcata is native to Japan and has been grown there for centuries. They are highly treasured and come in many flower forms and leaf forms. It has been used with other vandaceous genera to produce charming compact hybrids.Peter… [Continue Reading]

January 2013 – Alan Koch

Wed, 01/02/2013 6:30pm – 8:30pm

We are delighted to welcome as our first speaker for the 2013 season Alan Koch of Gold Country Orchids in Lincoln, CA. Alan will talk on “Species Habitat and Hybrid Culture”and will teach both novice and advanced growers how to link the way a species grows in the wild with how to grow the species and it’s associated hybrids in your collection. This program is strong on orchid culture and will help us improve the ability to grow and successfully bloom our own orchids. Alan will provide the plant table as well as offer additional plants for sale at the… [Continue Reading]

November 2012 – Gil Ho

Wed, 11/07/2012 6:30pm – 9:30pm

Stanhopeas are the upside-down jewels of the orchid world. They are not often cultivated but fairly easy to grow in our Southern California climate with a few basic rules. These plants are highly fascinating as their pendant flowers are among the most highly evolved and specialized of all orchid flowers. The flower spikes emerge through the bottom of the growing basket to hang freely like birds in flight. With an emphasis on the roughly 70 species currently recognized, Gil's talk will cover basic information about different Stanhopea growing conditions in nature and the origins of Stanhopea collecting and identification. Hybridizing… [Continue Reading]

October 2012 – Alex Nadzan

Wed, 10/03/2012 6:30pm – 9:30pm

An Amateur’s Attempt at Orchid HybridizingOctober’s speaker will be our own Alex Nadzan who has been collecting and growing orchids for over 20 years with emphasis on Cattleya, Oncidium and Cymbidium species and hybrids. Alex was first bitten by the orchid bug in the late 1980’s when he attended an orchid show at the Chicago Botanic Garden and purchased from Orchids by Hausermann, Inc. two orchids, a Cattleya and Oncidium, both of which he still owns and manages to bloom on a yearly basis. His orchid collection, which now consists of a few thousand orchids, expanded after he and his… [Continue Reading]

September 2012 – Fred Clarke

Wed, 09/05/2012 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We are fortunate to have return one of our favorite speakers and long time member and supporter of the Palomar Orchid Society, Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids, who will speak to us on “Growing the Best Orchids”.Fred’s talk will cover multiple aspects of growing orchids including general orchid culture, repotting, potting materials, lighting, fertilization, what orchids grow best together, etc. Fred’s power point presentation will review the ‘best practices’ for growing a variety of orchids and include pictures of some of his novel hybrids and species. The presentation should be of considerable interest to both the novice and advanced… [Continue Reading]

July 2012 – Arthur Pinkers

Wed, 07/11/2012 6:30pm – 9:30pm

We 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… [Continue Reading]

June 2012 – Nico Goossens

Wed, 06/06/2012 7:00pm – 8:30pm

"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… [Continue Reading]

May 2012 – Paul Tuskes

Wed, 05/02/2012 7:00pm – 9:30pm

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… [Continue Reading]