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.
In case you missed it, our Society display at the show was spectacular, packed with gorgeous orchids from our members and perfectly arranged by our designer Phil Watt! Thank you to everyone who contributed their plants and helped with the setup and removal of the display.
The sales booth was great fun again this year and kept us hopping for three days straight! Show attendance was high and our booth location perfectly situated to let us engage with the show visitors. We nearly ran out of plants to sell, which is great news. Thanks to our sales staff, member contributors, and our sponsor Santa Barbara Orchid Estate for a very successful show. Special thanks to Angela Watt our booth manager and treasurer!
Awards
The Santa Barbara International show has historically focused on awarding cymbidium orchids due to the bloom season and large number of local growers, so there are more flower trophy awards for cymbidiums than any other category. These days, other genera are recognized at the SBIOS with a few trophies and by American Orchid Society awards and show ribbons. Here is a sampling of the show Trophy winners.
Best Orchid in Show: Paphiopedilum Leonard’s Pride ‘Petrus’ FCC/AOS, S/CSA, CCE/AOS exhibited by Paph Paradise (Dave Sorokowsky).
Grand Champion Cymbidium: Cymbidium (Regal Princess x Flaming Vulcan) exhibited by Hatfield Orchids (George Hatfield)
Sweepstakes Best Display and American Orchid Society Trophy: Cal-Orchid (James and Lauris Rose)
The complete list of award winners is available on the show website: SBIOS Awards
The 75th Santa Barbara International Orchid Show “Orchids – The Adventure Returns” at Earl Warren Showgrounds Friday-Sunday, March 10-12, 2023, 9am-5pm. Complete information on the show is on their website SBIOS.
Want to see the orchids at their freshest before the doors open? Here’s how.
Volunteer: Be sure to check out the Volunteers page and sign up to donate a few hours to make this show one of the best in the world.
OSSB Display Setup: Wed, March 8, 9am-1pm – bring your orchids in for the Society Display. Assist display designer Phil Watt with installing the display. From lights to theme props, and of course orchids of all descriptions, you get to experience setting up an orchid display and get an inside view of the exhibit hall during setup.
Ribbon Judging: Thurs, March 9, arrive around 8:30 for 9am start. Be an Orchid Judge during the Ribbon Judging session. It looks like signups on the website have closed for this so hopefully you are on the list. A team effort, ribbon judging lets you get to know the details of exhibits, plants on display, all while hunting down the judging entries for your expert evaluation. Your team will be led by an experienced judge who will explain what to look for in the best orchids.
Sales Booth: Fri, Sat and Sun, March 10, 11 and 12, 9am-5pm, JOIN US to staff the Society sales booth in the Sales hall. For some, shows are nice but Shopping is the real thrill. We will have plants donated by members and by the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. Bring your divisions and spare plants before 9am on Friday to this once-a-year fund raising opportunity!
Register Plants: Got something fantastic to display? Orchids need to sign up too. Register your plants for judging via online until 7pm on Tues, March 7 or in person at the show on Tues, March 7 through 6 pm on Wed, March 8. See the Exhibitor Guide on the show website to fill in the plant registration forms.
Visit our local nurseries on the California Orchid Trail! Click that little down arrow on the main page of the Show website and scroll down for a map and list of orchid nurseries that will be open during show weekend including Cal-Orchid, Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, Gallup & Stribling Orchids, Westerlay Orchids, Ambriz Kingdom of Plants and Orchids Royale (by appointment).
Remove the old pot, decide where to divideCarefully pull apart the roots and pseudobulbsOne 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.
The excitement is building as we look forward to the first orchid show to be held in Santa Barbara since March 2020. Volunteers from our society will be setting up a display, ribbon judging flowers and hosting a sales booth just like the good old days. More details later but mark your calendar and plan participate in all the activities starting on Wednesday, March 8th.
