Author Archives: cwood2010

Presenter: Jim Thomas
Topic: Winter preparations for your orchids and growing area. Bring your plants for expert help. Guests welcome.

The VAOS Growers Clinic, held the 2nd Wednesday of each month, continues to draw a growing number of beginner growers and guests. Hosted by Jim Thomas with support from Carol Wood and Richard Amos, this working session is structured to cover the basics of orchid culture, repotting, pests and diseases, specific types of orchids and other topics of interest to hobby growers.
Last month’s clinic focused on orchid pests and diseases – identification, prevention and treatment. Seventeen members and five guests joined us for a slide presentation and open discussion on this topic. This is a great venue for experienced members to share their knowledge with beginner growers and new members and participants in our Mentor program are encouraged to join us. Bring in your problem plants. Email suggestions for future topics to Jim Thomas.
The next Growers Clinic will be held at the Venice Community Center on October 10th at 7pm. This will be an open question and answer session with growing tips offered by our experienced growers. Guests are welcome.

“Today’s Mini and Compact Cattleyas”

Fred Clarke will present a detailed look at the species and latest developments in the breeding and growing of these colorful flowers. Learn about the best of the best in today’s breeding and the new directions these hybrids are taking. In conclusion we cover the ‘best practices’ for growing these remarkable plants. A PowerPoint presentation.
Fred Clarke has been growing orchids for 35 years and has been hybridizing for 30 of those years. With over 28 years as a professional grower and manager in the horticultural industry, Fred applies these skills at his orchid nursery; Sunset Valley Orchids, located in San Diego, California.

He is a passionate orchid grower whose curiosity in orchids is broad and varied. Although developing Cattleya hybrids has been his sustaining interest, he is also actively creating new Aussie Dendrobium and Paphiopedilum hybrids.

His pioneering work in Catasetum intergeneric hybrids led to the development of several notable hybrids, most recently the grex, Fredclarkeara After Dark, which produced “the blackest flower ever witnessed”. This grex has received eight FCC’s, eight AM’s and the coveted ‘Award of Distinction’ on the first flowers shown for judging!

Fred is an Accredited Judge in the Pacific South Judging Region. His plants have received hundreds of quality awards from the American Orchid Society.

Fred Clarke
Sunset Valley Orchids
1255 Navel Place
Vista, CA 92081
(760) 639-6255
fred.clarke@worldnet.att.net
www.sunsetvalleyorchids.com