American Orchid Society Webinar by Eric Sauer – recorded on August 26, 2020
Join us on Valentines Day for a webinar from the American Orchid Society (AOS) to discover the fascinating genus Maxillaria. Maxillaria is one of the larger genera in the orchid family found from Florida through the West Indies and Central America to southern Brazil and northern Argentina. They are mostly epiphytes that grow at moderate altitudes.
In cultivation, Maxillaria prefer intermediate conditions with high humidity and bright light, but not full sunlight. Pots and baskets with well-drained mix that retain a little moisture are best. Care should be taken to not disturb some species when repotting.
The AOS hosts seminars on a wide range of orchid topics that are available online to AOS members and to the public at https://www.aos.org/
American Orchid Society Webinar by Beth Martin, AOS Judge
Recorded on November 15, 2023
Happy New Year 2024 and welcome to another exciting year of orchids!
This month we are tapping the rich educational resources of the American Orchid Society (AOS)for our January meeting topic with a Webinar on the genus Brassavola.
Brassavola consists of around 15 showy, epiphytic species native to Mexico and the Caribbean south to Argentina. The flowers are large with narrow petals in shades of white, cream, and green and are long-lasting and fragrant at night which attracts their pollinator, the hawk moth.
The AOS hosts seminars on a wide range of orchid topics that are available online to AOS members and to the public at https://www.aos.org/
Our speaker for Wednesday, November 8th will be Joe Ambriz!
Joe Ambriz: Laelia anceps Color Forms and Culture
Most of us are very familiar with Laelia anceps, but not everyone can make them thrive. Native to Mexico and Honduras, these orchids usually bloom here in Santa Barbara in autumn to early winter. They love well-drained potting mix or growing mounted.
For this month’s meeting, Joe will teach us about the various color forms and his methods to get the best results growing Laelia anceps.
A little background on Joe, who has been growing orchids and tillandsia for over 15 years. He was given his first Cymbidium orchid in 2002 by our own Phil Watt, but it met an untimely demise (yes, in his words, he killed it!). This was unexpected given his experience with successfully growing vegetables, landscape and house plants that led him to ask questions like “How?! Why?!” He knew he must try again. Joe’s professional background is performing as a percussionist and teaching marching percussion in Santa Barbara. In 2007 he started working for 7-Day Nursery as a nursery specialist and then as assistant manager, specializing in plant design, landscape, and home consultations with particular focus on temperature tolerant orchids, tillandsia and caudiciforms. By 2016, having outgrown his own and his grandparents’ backyards, Joe moved his huge tillandsia collection to a greenhouse in Carpinteria founding “Ambriz Kingdom of Plants”. Today, he grows orchids, tillandsia, and other interesting plants. His orchids and displays have won awards and trophies at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show. His displays are truly awesome and not to be missed.
There will be a plant table provided by our speaker.
Our speaker for October 11th will be Donna Ballard!
Donna Ballard: The Difference Between Seedlings and Meristem Orchid Cultivation, Plus a De-Flasking Demo
Donna will explain the methods used to produce orchids by sowing seeds vs. tissue culture and then demonstrate how to de-flask seedlings for growing on in community pots.
Donna is a native Californian, is studying to become an American Orchid Society judge, and hopes to earn her accreditation soon. After over 30 years of loving, caring for and studying plants, she went on to work as a professional interior house plant maintenance technician until 4 years ago. She has since retired and works as a part time volunteer at the Huntington Botanical Gardens Thornton Estate Orchid Conservatory in San Marino.
She currently has approximately 460 sq feet of greenhouse, shade house and interior growing areas where she has over 1300 Cattleyas, Paphiopedilums, Cymbidiums, Dendrobiums, Sarcochilus, miniature Vanda and novelty Phalaenopsis orchids as well as several other genera.
Frank Methmann: Cattleya Culture and Repotting Demo
If your cattleya orchids have ever looked like this, then you MUST attend the meeting. Frank will present his tips and techniques for how he grows healthy cattleya orchids.
Cattleya species are native to the American tropics and along with their hybrids are very popular due to their spectacular flowers. Considered to be easy to grow, cattleyas tolerate less-than-ideal conditions rewarding growers with beautiful flowers.
Frank has lived in Santa Barbara County most of his life. His interest in plants started at Carpinteria High School when he had a vegetable garden, then a bonsai collection and collected a few orchids. Around 1997 he decided that he wanted to get more involved in orchids, so he sought out the local orchid group in Santa Barbara and joined the Orchid Society of Santa Barbara. His collection quickly grew from winning plants at meetings and purchases. Some members gave him some orchids as a gesture to welcome a new member. He continued to obtain more orchids and learned more about them. He learned how to breed them, which has now gotten out of control! In 2002 he became the Vice-President of the Orchid Society of Santa Barbara and served one year. A few years later he became the Vice-President of the Santa Barbara Cymbidium Society and went on to serve two terms as President. He has served in other volunteer roles in both societies, including about 10 years as the Orchid Society of Santa Barbara’s Fall Orchid Show manager.
Opportunity Plant Table from Cal-Orchid
This month there will be a plant table from Cal-Orchid.
Celebrate summer with the Orchid Society of Santa Barbara at the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate located at 1250 Orchid Drive
The August meeting is on Sunday, August 13th at 12:30 pm. This meeting will be a Summer Potluck Picnic and Silent Auction at Santa Barbara Orchid Estate!
A great time to relax with your orchid friends amongst the summer blooming orchids at beautiful SBOE!
Potluck Bring your favorite picnic food: main course, side dish or salad, and dessert. Remember to bring your own plate, utensils (if you forget there are usually enough to go around), and beverage. SBOE will provide tables and chairs.
Silent Auction In addition to great food, there will be a Visual Feast of donated orchids at a Silent Auction! Please bring a few of your spare amazing plants and be prepared to bid! Proceeds will go to the Society.
Our speaker on Wednesday, July 12th will be Lourens Grobler who will present
My favourite African orchids and how to grow them
Lourens has been growing orchids since he was 10 years old. He now co-owns Afri Orchids, nursery specializing in species from around the world. The collection includes approximately 4000 species and a few hybrids. He is co-author of Field Guide to the Orchids of Northern South Africa and Swaziland, published in 2008. He has been an accredited South African Orchid Council Judge since 1998. He recently chaired the Judging Committee of the 21st World Orchid Conference held in Johannesburg.
We will be meeting on Wednesday, 12 July at 7:30 pm in the same location as our monthly meetings, Trinity Lutheran Church.
There will be a plant opportunity table provided by Lourens.
The local Summer Orchid Sales events will be held July 14-16 at SBOE and Cal-Orchid. Lourens will be one of the guest vendors at Cal-Orchid with Laelia anceps and African orchid species for sale.
You will recognize Jen Poulakos as a familiar face that we see regularly at Santa Barbara orchid events and who travels the world seeking orchids in the wild. This month, she will be sharing her firsthand account of an orchid hunting trip to Costa Rica that is home to some most spectacular orchids in the world. There are more than 1,400 species including the national flower Guarianthe skinneri (formerly Cattleya skinneri).
Guarianthe skinneri
Jennifer Poulakos: “Orchid Adventures in Costa Rica”
Jen Poulakos’ addiction to orchids began in the mid-1980s when she purchased her first orchid (a phalaenopsis) during an Orchid Show held at the Gainesville, Florida Oaks Mall. After moving to Ventura, California in the early 1990’s she joined the Ventura County Orchid Society (VCOS) where she met orchid experts that provided her with cultivation knowledge, orchid plants and long lasting (and treasured) friendships. She has served the Ventura orchid society in a variety of roles as past secretary, board member, current newsletter editor and president
Gayle Brodie started growing orchids over 20 years ago and is an accredited judge with the American Orchid Society. Her collection is housed outdoors and in an 8′ x 12′ greenhouse, and she has received 24 AOS awards in nine different genera and Best Orchid in Show at the 2017 Santa Barbara International Orchid Show. She has been a very active board member and officer of the Conejo Orchid Society for over fifteen years and has volunteered weekly in the orchid greenhouses at the Huntington Library for the past eleven years. She lives in Thousand Oaks with her husband Steve and her Corgi Amber, happily retired from her career as a CPA.
Gayle is a regular attendee at our monthly meetings in her role as an AOS orchid judge. In addition to judging orchids, she is an enthusiastic orchid grower and a great source of practical information on how to achieve excellent (and award winning!) results. Her talk will focus on how to recognize and compensate for potting challenges. Can’t wait to see her recommendations for how to deal with real-world issues that can come up while caring for orchids.
