Category: Orchid Culture

Orchid Society of Santa Barbara – November 8, 2023 Meeting, 7:30 pm

Posted on by moflo

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.

Orchid Society of Santa Barbara – October 11, 2023 Meeting, 7:30 pm

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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.

Orchid Society of Santa Barbara – September 13, 2023 Meeting, 7:30 pm

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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.

Orchid Society of Santa Barbara – July 12, 2023 Meeting, 7:30 pm

Posted on by moflo

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.

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

Posted on by moflo
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.