Category Guests

Aug 22 2016

September 7: Panel of Orchid Experts

04 1 Cymbidium Fairy Rouge 'Lavendar Fallers' Exibitor V Dinh Photo T Dark

 

When:  September 7, 2016

Time:   7:00 pm – 9:00 pm 

Topic:  Growing your best orchids at home!

This is a meeting you won’t want to miss.  Our next SFVOS meeting will feature a panel of experts who will give you all info on how to get the best results from your own orchids at home.    Our panel of experts will be AOS Judge and our new president, Arthur Pinkers,  Orchid Expert and cymbidium grower extraordinaire, Art Mendoza and our new Vice President and long time orchid grower, Mark Bentow.

The panel will discuss the best way to keep your orchids healthy, how to water and fertilize each type of orchid,  how and when to report and how to coax your orchids to re-bloom.

Bring your questions, and if you have a plant that needs special attention, bring it to the meeting and ask our experts what to do to bring your plant back to optimal health.

Don’t forget to bring your blooming orchids to show in our Plant Forum, and if you can, bring a snack to share with the group.    Bring a guest, and we will see you there!

 

 

 

 

May 11 2016

Arthur Pinkers will be our Guest Speaker in June

We are delighted to welcome Arthur Pinkers as speaker for our June 1st meeting.

Arthur PinkersArthur has been an orchid enthusiast for almost 40 years when, as a 16 year-old, he acquired a plant of Slc. Glittering Jewel (Sl. Gratrixiae x Slc. Hermes) and was infected by the orchid bug.  He and his wife Margie of over 25 years have two adult children who recently graduated from high school and are attending College of the Canyons.  Arthur grew up in the Seattle area and attended Western Washington University graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology. He and his wife currently live in Santa Clarita, California where Arthur is learning to grow orchids under extreme conditions, very different than those in his native Pacific Northwest.  Arthur worked for many years as a chemist and also had the fortune of holding his dream job as the Lab Director for Beall Orchid Company until shortly before its close in 1990.  Arthur’s interest in orchids covers a broad range of types with botanicals being a special draw.  Arthur has served on most executive positions on the Board of the Northwest Orchid Society and is a Past President.  He is a veteran Accredited Orchid Judge and serves as a photographer and as Chair of Information for the Pacific South Judging region. Previously he served as center photographer for the Pacific Northwest Judging region.

Arthur’s talk should be very informative on a subject that we have not had in recent history. Arthur will provide the POT, which will feature plants from Santa Barbara Orchid Estate and Orchids Royale.

 

Oct 27 2015

November 4th – Tim Culberton to speak on Lycastes at the SFVOS

 

In Tim’s own words:

Although I teach middle school kids for a living, one of my passions has always been plants.  I began growing orchids as an offshoot from working at Longwood GardeTimCulbertson.headshotns in Philadelphia just after college.  From the very beginning it was all about Paphs, particularly awarded and select clones of historic importance, of which my collection numbers nearly 1000.

While I love finding old, rare stepping stones in paph breeding, I also do a little hybridizing of my own, and growing up my own babies is a blast.  I enjoy making my culture the best it can be, and I have had numerous experiences with professional growers in California and on the East Coast, which has helped tremendously.

I am the youngest accredited judge with the American Orchid Society, and have served in various capacities with local orchid societies.  I love meeting other people who like orchids too, and doing so often finds me traveling to shows, vendors, and peoples’ greenhouses to see the latest and greatest in new hybrids and to get the best orchid gossip.  I like to be involved in plants as much as possible: in addition to Longwood, I’ve worked at the Smithsonian Institution tending to their orchids, and for years for the United States National Arboretum, collecting rare plants and documenting cultivated species and hybrids for their herbarium.

For your meeting, I’ll be sharing a presentation on recent advances in Lycaste breeding, culture, and growing.  These plants are easy to grow and flower, are vigorous, and have low demands on culture, and as such are wonderful plants!  Tremendous advancements in breeding Lycastes have been made recently, and I will share some of these with you, as well as help identify some of the important species in the backgrounds of historically important and modern Lycastes.

By the end of this presentation, you will have a new appreciation of what goes into breeding trends for these types of plants, as well as an appreciation of their beautiful flowers and ease-of-growth.  I will be providing a plant table of the newest, modern, cutting-edge Lycaste breeding, with both blooming and un-bloomed plants.

 

Sep 25 2015

October 7th, 2015 Presentation: Orchids: Sex, Lies and Deceptions

The Flying Duck Orchid

The Flying Duck Orchid  

Our guest speaker for our next San Fernando Valley Orchid Society General meeting on October 7th is our very own SFVOS member Pamela Aitchison, who will give us a presentation about the amazing world of orchid pollination. 

Orchid flowers are different than the flowers of most other plant species, and their reproductive methods are even more unique.   Many orchid flowers resort to clever illusions and trickery to lure their pollinators.  

Pam has been growing orchids for more than 30 years, and her collection includes Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, Epidendrums, Miltonias & Miltoniopsis, Oncidiums, Masdevallias, as well as Phalaenopsis, Cymbidiums, Vandas, Vanilla Orchids and Zygopetalums.

Pam is a UCCE Master Gardener, and has been teaching organic gardening for many years. She has spoken at many locations throughout Southern California including California State University Northridge (CSUN), the LA County Fair, and many schools and non-profit organizations in our region. 

Sep 22 2014

Dr. Daniel L. Geiger, Ph.D. to speak at the SFVOS on October 1st

Oberonia under the microscope

Please join us Wednesday, October 1st at the Sepulveda Garden center to hear Dr. Geiger’s talk and watch his PowerPoint presentation on this interesting subject.
Oberonia is a literally and figuratively overlooked genus of orchids with minute flowers. Daniel has become interested in this genus with some 150-300 species. An overview of the genus is provided, including many never seen before images taken with light and scanning electron microscopes. Most specimens available in the trade are misidentified; the process of checking the identification of a plant is detailed. Approaches to experimental culture of oddball orchids rounds out the presentation. This may be particularly interesting to growers who want to expand into under-appreciated orchids, or may be tempted with small research projects.

Dr. Daniel L. Geiger is Curator of Malacology (mollusks) at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, where he also oversees the electron microscopy facility. As a hobby orchid grower, he specializes in Oberonia and Hippeophyllum, which are grown in two terraria and a small greenhouse. Due to his botanical interest, he also holds an appointment as a Visiting Research Scholar at the Huntington Botanical Garden. He has written a number or articles for AOS Orchids and the Orchid Digest, and received an AOS exhibit award for a display on Oberonia. For further information please see www.vetigastropoda.com

Mar 16 2014

San Fernando Valley Orchid Society Annual Auction April 2nd

The SFVOS will be holding their annual Orchid Auction on the first Wednesday in April.    The doors open at 7:00 pm so that bidders can preview the beautiful plants before the auction starts. The bidding will start at 7:30 pm, and we will go until we run out of plants.    Refreshments will also be served.

We are very pleased to announce that Doug Overstreet has graciously agreed to be our auctioneer again this year. Doug is very knowledgeable about all orchids as as each plant comes up for bid, Doug gives us a brief description of each plant and describes the type of environment needed for that orchid to thrive.   If you haven’t seen Doug in action,  you must come and learn from his vast wealth of knowledge.

This auction is our major fundraiser for the year, some come out to help support your society.   It is a win-win situation as this is your chance to add some great orchids to your collection at bargain prices, while helping the SFVOS fund it’s various activities throughout the year. Come early to get a good seat and have enough time to check out all the orchid plants that will be put up for bid. 

The auction will be held at the Sepulveda Garden Center,  just like our regular meetings.  For the address, directions and a map, see the home page of this website.    You don’t need to be a member of the SFVOS to attend.  Guests are always welcome.     Plan to attend this great auction and bring a guest!   See you there.

 

Dec 26 2013

No January meeting for the SFVOS due to New Year’s Day Holiday

Unfortunately, there will be no meeting in January 2014 for the San Fernando Valley Orchid Society .  As you know, we meet on the first Wednesday of every month, but the first Wednesday in January 2014  falls on New Years Day.  The Sepulveda Garden Center is closed that day, and will not allow us to hold our meeting there.  Keep gardening, and we look forward to seeing you all at the February 2014 meeting.  Please remember to invite guests to our monthly meetings.

Dec 20 2013

58th Annual Paphiopedilum Guild

Mark Your Calendars for this Special Event.

Expert Speaker Presentations

Slipper Orchid Displays • Orchid Sales
*New Location* Montecito Country Club *New Location*
902 Summit Road • Santa Barbara, CA

Saturday & Sunday, January 18-19, 2014

Featured Speakers:
Bill Goldner (Woodstream Orchids – Huntingtown, MD)
David Sorokowsky (Paph Paradise – Modesto, CA)
Dr. Harold Koopowitz (Editor Emeritus, Orchid Digest)
Chris Purver (Curator, Eric Young Orchid Foundation – Jersey, Channel Islands)
Plus a Presentation of the Latest
Paphiopedilum and Phragmipedium Awards by the American Orchid Society

Continental Breakfasts • Lunch • Dinner • Auction
Show & Sales setup at 7:30am Saturday
Lectures starting at 9:00am

Gift Certificates for Best Species and Best Hybrid

Full Event Registration: $95
(Guests of full registrants may accompany registrants to the BBQ & Auction(only) for $35 each)
Registration Closes January 12, 2014

This event is sponsored by Orchid Digest

Oct 28 2013

Orchid Collection Donated to SFVOS by the Tom Family of Eagle Rock.

Jack tom.photo

The SFVOS was the recipient of a very generous donation of over 100 Cymbidium Orchid Plants by the Estate of Mr. Yee Quon (“Jack”) Tom. Jack Tom passed away on May 23rd, 2013.   Jack loved his orchids, and at one point had over 300 Orchid plants in his collection.  He took meticulous care of his prized collection and there were always blooming orchids in their beautiful hillside home in Eagle Rock.

Jack Tom was born eldest of seven in Guangdong Province, China on August 24, 1925. At 19, during China’s conflict with Japan, he left home to pursue his goals and ambitions. He was employed with various government agencies including Yuebei Iron Factory Accounting Department, Quijiang Wushi Training Department, and the Yangjiang County Taxation Department among others. After WW II, he worked in the Cashier’s Division at Guangzhou’s Sun Yet-Sen University. Mr. Tom arrived in Los Angeles in 1951 to work at his father’s restaurant. In 1956, along with friends, he opened the Taoyaun Restaurant in Chinatown.

In 1958, he returned to Hong Kong to marry Dora Chan. The newlyweds returned to Los Angeles to start a family. After the closure of Taoyaun Restaurant, Jack was employed as the chief chef at the famous Kowloon and Wan-Q Restaurants on the Westside. After 40 years in the restaurant business, Jack retired to focus on fruit trees and cultivating orchids. He especially enjoyed reading, listening to classical music, watching NBA basketball, and recreational cooking. In life, he always treated others amicably, with friendship. He took care of his wife, sons, and siblings with love. Jack believed he lived a good life, with a virtuous wife, with filial children, and experienced happiness and longevity. He is survived by and missed by Dora, wife of 55 years, his sons Stanley and Homer, daughter in law Joni, grandson Nathan, and his remaining brother and sisters in the U.S. and China.

We would like to thank the Tom Family for their generous donation.  I am sure Jack would be pleased to know that his beloved Orchids will be adopted and cared for by the members of The SFVOS.   If you would like to see a slideshow of Mr. Tom’s beautiful orchids, please visit http://www.tributes.com/show/95870991# and click on the photo of Jack  then select “Jack’s Orchids” from the photo albums available under the main photo.

Sep 24 2013

Bryce Augustine on Orchid Propagation

Bryce Augustine will be our speaker for the San Fernando Valley Orchid Society meeting on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013.  Bryce is a long time member of the Santa Barbara Orchid society and an American Orchid Society judge.   He owns and operates Monsoon Flora Orchids (monsoonorchids.com), which he established in 1991 and where he produces Paphs and Phrags in flasks, compots and seedlings.

He is a 20-year veteran of the American Orchid Society judging system as an accredited AOS judge and brought AOS judging to the central coast in April 2008 by creating a new Judging site in Santa Barbara where he served as its chairman for two years. His presentations are always fun and informative and this coming meeting will be no exception.  He will cover many different aspects of Orchids, covering how propagation from seedpods, rainforests, and your own backyard jungle are interrelated. If you were unable to attend the July meeting at the Malibu Orchid Society, you missed a real treat.  I went to that meeting, and learned a great deal.  He had a great PowerPoint presentation and a live demonstration.  After the meeting, I asked Mr. Augustine if he would come and talk to our group, and he graciously agreed.  He also brought some great items for the POT.  Some were “compots” of many small plants in a single pot.   Mark your calendars so won’t miss this fabulous speaker!