Wayne Ferrell: “Visiting a few of the native orchids (along with a few very non-native ones) of California, Costa Rica, and the UK”
A former President, Vice President, Speaker Chair and Board Member of the OSSB, Wayne worked for many years at the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. Now retired, he continues to seek orchids wherever he goes. When traveling, he always keeps an eye out for native orchids. Additionally, while working at SBOE he had the opportunity to see and “naturalize” many non-native orchids in local landscapes and gardens. In this program, he will show photos of these and discuss their ecology.
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/
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 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.
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.
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.
