7431 Fallbrook Ave, West Hills, CA 91307
Plants that will be available are:
Doug’s presentation will provide practical tips on pest management without using harsh chemicals that can do damage to the environment and us. Come and learn different ways to manage pests on our orchids and other plants. Doug has been practicing integrated pest management in his personal collection and in the collection at the Thornton Estate for the past several years.
Douglas Overstreet has grown orchids continually since he was 10 years old. He comes by his interest in plants and animals naturally. His family have been American farmers since 1684. The first orchid he purchased in 1972 was Cattleya Trimos, a primary hybrid between C. trianaei and C. mossiae. The first orchid he flowered was a phalaenopsis hybrid. Doug moved to California in 1975 and continued his love affair with orchids. In 1984, his collection began to grow by leaps and bounds with his first professional job. He also became a very active participant in the local orchid community. He began to work with orchids professionally in 2000 as a private consultant. Gradually, this became his full-time occupation. He has managed private collections for leading hobbyists in Southern California for the last 15 years. He is an Accredited American Orchid Society Judge in the Pacific South Region. An accomplished writer and educator, Doug has written articles for many different publications including Orchid Digest and has served on the Editorial Committee of that publication as Assistant Editor. He has spoken for orchid societies and other groups nationwide. Prior to joining the Huntington full time as a horticulturist, he was a frequent guest lecturer for the Huntington. Currently, he is the orchid specialist in charge of the Thornton Conservatory and the Ernest Hetherington Memorial Cattleya Collection.
Sepulveda Garden Center at 7:00 pm, 16633 Magnolia Blvd, Encino, CA 91436, Doors Open at 6:00 pm
Due to the need to be at the Huntington to set up the Society display Tuesday, October 6, and Wednesday October 7, We will not have our meeting at the Sepulveda Garden Center Wednesday night, October 7, 2026. We hope that you will join us at the show. It is open to the public Friday, October 9, 2026 through Sunday October 11, 2026.
Presented by Arthur Pinkers
The genus Lycaste are a new world orchids in Central America down into South America that grown in a variety of temperatures and environments. They come in a variety of colors and sizes. When blooming, they put on a wonderful display of flowers with some being very fragrant.
Arthur Pinkers has been an orchid enthusiast since the age of sixteen, when he acquired a plant of Slc. Glittering Jewel (Sl. Gratixiae x Slc. Hermes), which infected him with the orchid bug.
His 40 plus years of experience growing orchids started in the Pacific Northwest with a greenhouse to fend off the cold, rainy days. About a decade ago, a job change brought him to sunny Santa Clarita, California, where the conditions for growing orchids are extreme.
Growing up in the Seattle area, Arthur attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology. He worked for many years as a chemist and had the good fortune of having his dream job as the Lab Director for Beall Orchid Company until shortly before its closure in 1990.
Arthur has been an Accredited AOS Orchid Judge for more than 20 years, served in most executive positions on the Board of the Northwest Orchid Society. He is currently the President of the San Fernando Valley Orchid Society.
He was the center photographer for the Pacific Northwest Judging region 1993–2004 and now is the Center Judging Chair at the Pacific South – San Marino Judging Center and serves as one of the photographers for the Pacific South Judging Center. Many of Arthur’s outstanding orchid photographs have been published in Orchids and the Orchid Digest.
Arthur tends to his large collection of orchids under shade cloth. Although he has an interest in a wide variety of orchids, botanicals are a special draw to him for their diversity and charm.
There will be no meeting on Wednesday August 5, 2026. We are traditionally dark for this meeting, Our next meeting will be Wednesday, September 2, 2026. The doors will open at about 6:00 pm. The meeting will start about 7:00 pm. If you have questions, please email Arthur Pinkers@gmail.com. Happy Orchid Growing.
The Los Angeles County Election Board is using the Sepulveda Garden Center the week of November 3 – 7 for the election. The meeting is moved to Monday, November 17, 2025. The doors will open at 6:00 pm and the program will start about 7:00.
Peter T. Lin will be presenting a talk on one of his favorite topics: Mini-Catts, also known as miniature Cattleyas. Peter will be sharing a fast-paced Power Point presentation on these charming orchids. The journey will begin with a review of the miniature species, early hybrids, and then to some of the relevant hybrids of today. He will also review how to grow these wonderful plants.
Peter started growing orchids over 30 years ago, but then stopped due to school and starting a career. It wasn’t until about 14 years ago that the orchid “bug” came back and he is now heavily involved once again. He is an accredited judge with the American Orchid Society and a hybridizer of mini-catts. He enjoys meeting with other orchid enthusiasts, and can often be found at various orchid shows and societies around the country. He also has thousands of photos of his orchids that he maintains on Flickr. You can view them by typing this address into the internet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/minicatt/collections/
His website: www.diamondorchids.com
Due to limited growing space, Peter likes to specialize in miniature orchids, both species and hybrids, and has received numerous AOS awards. His other interests in orchids include Dendrobiums, Angraecoids, and Neofinetias. He maintains a collection of a thousand or more orchids at his home in Southern California in 3 small greenhouses, as well as in the house under fluorescent lights.
Peter will be taking pre-orders for plants that he will bring to the meeting. There will be a 10% discount for pre-orders. Members can view his catalog on his website: www.diamondorchids.com and can order by phone: 909-573-6751 or email: lin.peterT@yahoo.com
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, June 4, 2005. The doors will open at 6:00 pm. The meeting will start at 7:00 pm. I hope to see you all there.
We are very pleased to announce that George Hatfield will be speaking to us on Cymbidiums. George is a premier hybridizer of pendulous Cymbidiums and is known around the world. He has been working on heat tolerant Cymbidiums that can grow in our climate with out special environments. He has earned many awards from the American Orchid Society and from the Cymbidium Society of America when it was granting awards. Many customers have purchased orchids and receive awards. He has spoken around the world and currently is the President of the World Orchid Congress. In addition, he has served on numerous Boards of Directors of orchid related organizations. He has supported our society with donations that have helped to fund our Societies programs. He has written numerous articles for various orchid magazines and periodicals and spoken at many societies and conferences around the world. He has served as the president of the American Orchid Society, the Chairman of the Pacific South Judging Center and been an Judge at several certified levels since 2000.
George has been growing orchids for over 30 years. He started Hatfield Orchids in 2005. We are very fortunate to have such a distinguished orchid grower, Judge and speaker come to share his passion with us.
Our April Meeting will be focusing on Culture and Orchid Problems We encourage you to bring orchids that you want advice on to the meeting we can look at them and provide you with suggestions about how to grow them better. We will have materials to for potting orchids along with showing how to virus test and provide you with various cultural tips. We will also have our plant forum where we share orchids that we have in bloom and a bit on how we grow them.
We will not be meeting Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at the Sepulveda Garden Center, Instead, We will meet in Santa Barbara, CA at 9:00 am to install our exhibit at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show at the Erl Warren Fair Grounds Exhibit Hall. The show will be open to the public Friday March 7, through Sunday March 9, 2025 from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. I hope you will join us at the show and say hello. A couple of us will be near our exhibit to help out and answer questions.
We will resume our normal meetings at the Sepulveda Garden Center April 2, 2025. The doors open at 6:00 pm and we will begin the meeting about 7:00 pm.
