Category Archives: Meetings

• Speaker: Ted Kellogg
• Topic: Orchid Names from Lan to Lorenara  

Ted needs no introduction, having contributed to our society for many years and currently serving as Immediate Past President and Webmaster. He is an active AOS judge and has been growing orchids and sharing his knowledge and experience for nearly 50 years.

Recorded orchid names have existed for over 2500 years. Through these years, the names people give orchids have continually changed. Ted will give a brief history of how we got to the names we use today. He’ll define and illustrate the ways names of orchid species and hybrids originate and are changed. Examples of commonly grown genera will be illustrated. Ted will address the reasons for the recent changes in orchid names and what the orchid pot name tag at a big box store really means. The intent of his presentation is to help both new and more experienced orchid growers understand the nature of orchid names.

We had planned to hold a Members’ Market at our monthly meeting on Wednesday, November 6, where members would have the opportunity to sell their orchids and supplies.

Due to a lack of participants, with members perhaps wanting to hold their orchids for the upcoming show season, we reluctantly had to cancel the planned event.

In its place, two of our members and one of our local growers will be selling orchids and orchid-themed items as below:

Carol Marcus will be selling cards, art and other items perfect for holiday giving. Carol created the beautiful poster for our 2014 “Orchid Paradise” Show and Sale which was featured in our November newsletter.

Jane Camarota will have a selection of purses for sale with the proceeds benefitting the Orchid Boutique.

Plantio La Orquidea will be selling orchids for those members who were unable to visit their huge orchid sale last weekend. A number of our members went to the sale and reported that they were dazzled by the quality, huge selection and excellent prices.

Speaker: Jamie Lawson

Topic: “Orchids in Love”

  Jamie and Jackie Lawson with their kids, Brian and Lanie, settled in Central Florida in 1990 after a year traveling through Mexico and Central America in their motorhome.  Having their interest piqued by the orchids they saw in the wild, they immediately bought a couple of orchids, took out the ugly white tags and went to their first orchid society meeting and immediately realized they had a lot to learn.

Although Jamie doesn’t claim to be an expert, he has traveled extensively to various growers, both commercial and backyard, and picked their brains.  He is also a member of four orchid societies which he regularly attends and is the past Moderator of the Slipper Orchid Study Group of Florida.

Jamie has an orchid flasking lab in Micco, Florida, Hummingbird Highway Orchid Lab, where he does seed flasking and mericloning.  Everyone is invited to visit the lab and learn about orchid propagation techniques.

Jamie’s talk will be on “Orchids in Love” and will feature pictures and videos of Orchids and bugs doing it. A review of his previous presentations calls “Orchids in Love” a triple X-Rated romp through the steamy jungle bedrooms of the exotic and sensuous world of orchids!

Jamie Lawson in his Lab

Jamie will have orchid seedlings and flasks for sale.

Speaker: Bill Thoms

Topic: Orchid Collecting in the Phillipines

Bill Thoms, renowned orchid grower,  internationally recognized speaker and world traveler, will be discussing his experiences collecting orchids in the Phillipines.

Bill and his wife, Doris Dukes, have been growing orchids in Central Florida for more than 40 years and have received almost every award granted by the AOS. They received more Awards for Culture than anyone else in the world, (93 in over 29 genera, including 42 in the bulbophyllum alliance), capped off with a 97 point  Certificate of Cultural Excellence for Bulb. Sue Blackmore.

Bill has collected orchids in various parts of the world and has spoken throughout the United States and internationally on a wide range of orchid topics. His presentations are spiced with funny stories and great slides so whether you grow thousands of orchids, only a few, or none at all, you will have a wonderfully entertaining time and benefit from Bill’s long experience.He makes many of the most important requirements for growing world class plants easy to understand and remember.

Don’t miss this great opportunity to learn how to grow these fascinating plants and to hear one of the most knowledgeable, interesting and funny speakers in the orchid world. Bill will have plants from his collection, supplies, and other orchid related items for sale.