Palomar Orchid Society – Page 2 – It's All About Orchids!

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.

September 2025 – Tim Culbertson ‘Lycastes’

Wed, 09/03/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

This month we are excited to welcome back Tim Culbertson, who will be speaking to our society about Lycastes. One of Tim’s passions has always been plants. He began growing orchids as an offshoot from working at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia just after college. From the very beginning it was all about Paphs, particularly awarded and select clones of historic importance, of which his collection numbers nearly 3000. Tim currently manages the Paphs at Sunset Valley Orchids and he does hybridizing of a wide variety of genera. While he loves finding old, rare steppingstones in Paph breeding, he finds growing up… [Continue Reading]

August 2025 – Dave Sorokowsky on “Don’t Fear the Slippers: A Guide to Successful Paph Culture”

Wed, 08/06/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

We are excited to welcome Dave Sorokowsky, who is speaking to our society for the first time. Dave’s talk is “Don’t Fear the Slippers: A Guide to Successful Paph Culture.” “Don't Fear the Slippers” is an in-depth review of how to grow Paphiopedilum, covering easy, beginner plants all the way through the most challenging species. There are tips for novice and seasoned growers alike. Dave is a shared speaker with SDCOS. He will be speaking at their meeting on Tuesday, Aug 5th on “Paphiopedilum rothschildianum” for those of you who would like to attend at Balboa Park or via Zoom… [Continue Reading]

July 2025 – Carol Klonowski on “Latest Phalaenopsis Breeding Trends from Taiwan”

Wed, 07/02/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

We are delighted to welcome back Carol Klonowski, who will speak on the “Latest Phalaenopsis Breeding Trends from Taiwan.” Taiwan is synonymous with Phalaenopsis hybridization and culture and is the largest producer of export pot plants in the world. Their history of breeding both Standard and Novelty types of Phalaenopsis takes us on a journey from the early days of the Taiwan orchid industry through some of today’s latest colors, patterns, and plant types. This talk will expand your understanding of this wonderful genus and hopefully convince you to add ‘just a few more’ plants to your phalaenopsis collection.Carol is a shared speaker… [Continue Reading]

June 2025 – Mr. Bruce Kidd on ‘Pest Management in Orchids’

Wed, 06/04/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

We are delighted to welcome back Mr. Bruce Kidd to our society 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… [Continue Reading]

May 2025 – TJ Hartung “Fragrant Orchids”

Wed, 05/07/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

It is our pleasure to welcome to our society for the first time TJ Hartung, who will speak to our society on “Fragrant Orchids”. TJ is a shared speaker with SDCOS and he will be speaking on Tuesday evening, May 6 on “Vanilla Orchids” in Balboa Park. His presentation will be streamed on Zoom for those members who are unable to attend in person. Contact Alex Nadzan for the SDCOS Zoom link if you’d like to participate on Zoom. TJ is a retired computer systems specialist and systems analyst who designed computers and wrote computer software to manage hotels. His love for… [Continue Reading]

April 2025 – Arnold Gum ‘A Photo Tour of the Orchids and Lessons Learned from a Trip to Cali, Colombia and a Local Orchid Show’

Wed, 04/02/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

We are delighted to welcome back one of our favorite speakers, Arnold Gum, who will take us through photo highlights and the lessons he learned from a whirlwind tour of five different biomes surrounding Cali, Colombia and the Asociacion Vallecaucana de Orquideologia Show he attended. Arnie’s trip involved an exploration of Lake, Mid-altitude, high altitude cloud forest and Pacific Slope Biomes in areas surrounding Cali, Colombia with an eye to understanding how and where orchids grow in the wild (In situ) and lessons pertinent to keeping these surprisingly durable orchids alive in our collections. He saw over 100 orchids in bloom with… [Continue Reading]

March 2025 – Alex Nadzan & Ed Danielewicz ‘Orchid Culture – Repotting and Dividing Your Orchids’

Wed, 03/05/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

Our first culture meeting of the year will review the basics of repotting and dividing orchids and feature demonstrations on repotting of easy to grow orchids in our climate. This is a very timely session as most orchids are beginning to put out new roots and pseudobulbs which is an ideal time to repot and divide your orchids. Two of our experienced growers, Alex Nadzan and Ed Danielewicz, will conduct the session. Alex Nadzan, POS President, will briefly review repotting basics including reasons and timing for repotting, then demonstrate how to repot and divide a few of his cattleya orchids. Ed… [Continue Reading]

February 2025 – Fred Clarke ‘Cycnoches, Mormodes, Catasetums – Recent Trends’

Wed, 02/05/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

We are pleased to host one of our favorite and well-known speakers, Fred Clarke. Fred’s talk will focus on the amazing world of Catasetinae. The talk entitled‘Cycnoches, Mormodes, Catasetums - Recent Trends’ will provide a detailed look at the best of today's breeding and new directions hybrids are taking including themaking of Fredclarkeara After Dark. Finally, Fred will cover the best practices for growing these remarkable plants. Cycnoches, Mormodes, and Catasetums are three related genera from the Tribe Cymbidieae. Individually, each has been considered an orchid oddity, or “botanical”,of interest mainly to the seriously addicted enthusiast. These plants have a brief… [Continue Reading]

January 2025 – Phyllis Prestia and Fellow Judges on AOS Outreach Judging

Wed, 01/08/2025 4:00pm – 7:00pm

Our first meeting of the New Year will be held on the Second Wednesday, January 8, and will be a different type of program in that Phyllis Prestia, Head AOS Judge of the Southern CA Judging Section, will conduct an AOS Outreach Judging program for our society. A team consisting of Phyllis and accredited judges will attend our meeting, explain the judging process, review the society bloom table/show-and-tell table to see if there are any worthy candidates for AOS judging and then critique them. Society members will receive a plant registration form and a score form to try their hand… [Continue Reading]

December 2024 – Holiday Dinner

Wed, 12/04/2024 4:00pm – 7:00pm

Our 2024 Holiday Dinner will be held on December 4, 2024 starting at 4:00 pm in the George and Patricia Gowland Meeting Room located in the Carlsbad City Library. Dinner will be catered at the cost of $30 per person, which includes good Chinese food, soft drinks, water and delicious desserts. Every guest will be gifted a blooming or near blooming orchid. Almost 30 people have already signed up, so if you still want to attend, please contact Bill Wong ASAP either by phone (760-931-0502) or by email, since we can accommodate at most 5 or 6 more people. We… [Continue Reading]