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.