Category: Meetings

Our speaker on June 14th will be Jennifer Poulakos!

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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

Our speaker at the May 10th meeting will be Gayle Brodie!

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Gayle Brodie:  “Thinking Outside the Pot”

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.

There will be Two Speakers at the April 12th meeting!

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2023 SBIOS Phalaenopsis

Jerry McRoberts:  You Can Have Orchids Blooming Every Day on a Small Budget

Jerry McRoberts’ interest in growing plants began with vegetable gardening as a child in rural Minnesota. He was introduced to orchids by a friend while living in Menlo Park, California about 30 years ago. Visits to the Pacific Orchid Exposition in San Francisco sealed the deal. He moved to New England in the late 1990’s and began his adventure with growing orchids indoors. Always a bit of a “techie-tinkerer” he applied his tech interests to the challenge of indoor orchid-growing in New England, with the goal of having orchids blooming every day. Jerry moved to Santa Barbara about four years ago and now grows orchids both indoors and outdoors. At the meeting he will discuss how to have orchids blooming every day on a shoestring budget.

Frank Methmann:  Phalaenopsis and Cattleya Culture and Repotting Demo

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.

Monthly Meeting: February 8, 2023 at 7:30 pm

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Remove the old pot, decide where to divide
Carefully pull apart the roots and pseudobulbs
One plant has become two!

This Month’s Program

Potting Demo and Hands-on Workshop!

Spring is just around the corner and your orchids know it. If you look closely, you will see new light-colored roots and flowers in sheath preparing to burst forth when the days get a bit longer and the weather warms up. February is the perfect time to start repotting your spring blooming orchids.

Our expert member growers will demonstrate how to divide and repot common types of orchids, then it’s your turn.  We will have some donated plants ready to pot up along with potting mix, pots, mixing trugs, tools, tags, and gloves.

The goal is to prepare several flats of freshly potted plants to sell in the society booth at the upcoming SB International show.  Here is your chance to learn some tips and tricks plus contribute toward your society’s income.  100% of sales from the plants will be donated to the society to fund speakers throughout the year.

Do you have overgrown plants to donate? Bring a plant that can be divided into more than one pot and learn how to repot it!  Plants need to be in good condition and free of pests. Please limit the number and size of cymbidiums.

Monthly Meeting: January 11, 2023 at 7:30 pm

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Paph Lefty Kei ‘Monsoon Goddess’ FCC-AOS

This Month’s Program

Our speaker will be Marc Better who will present On the Move with Orchids: Something in Bloom All Year

Marc Better is an orchid hobbyist who has been growing plants in both northern and southern California for more than 30 years. Marc moved to Ventura with his orchid collection in 2018 and constructed a lath house in his yard, where he takes advantage of the temperate climate to grow plants near the beach. Marc will talk about the challenges and opportunities of moving a plant collection up, down and across the state to keep up with his career in biotechnology, and how the local environment influences the variety of orchids that can prosper. Over the years Marc has had greenhouses in three separate locations, but now prefers to navigate the challenges of local weather with an outdoor collection. He will offer a few tips on how to select plants that suit the local environment and how to ensure that with proper care there are flowers throughout the year.

OSSB Society News

Happy New Year!

Meeting Schedule: Starting this month, we will be meeting on the 2nd Wednesday each month in sync with AOS judging.

• 2023 Dues are due now: $40 per individual / $50 per household – see Angela at the meeting, pay no later than March
• Speakers Fund: No dues were charged for the past 2 years and costs for maintaining the society have impacted the society’s bank account. Your extra financial support will allow for high quality speakers as we ramp back up – donate at the meeting.

Volunteers: 2023 Officers, Chairs, Board Members, and other critical volunteer positions are nearly filled.

Signup sheets for Volunteers and Refreshments will be at the business table during the meeting.