Speaker – John Budree 
Topic – Growing better orchids in south Florida
Meeting starts 7:00 – Doors open at 6:30.
Venice Community Center
Ramnarine John Budree, was born in Trinidad and migrated to Florida about fourteen some years ago. In Trinidad he grew many different types of orchids and took part in collecting and showing at many shows, but there was always something more. He wanted to learn more about orchids, wanted more of a challenge. He wanted to grow and flower them, of course. So when he came to Florida, he got involved with orchids on a different level. Here he was able to grow all of those types of plants he could only read about and even meet all of those people that grew and wrote the
articles that he had read in AOS magazines.
So he started on his journey/adventure. He started to go to many of the
shows and what you do when you go to a show, YOU BUY ORCHIDS, which you
know nothing about, in the hope you can grow or flower it [yea right].
He always liked Paphiopedilum but he was told he couldn’t grow them.
This became a challenge to John and he found these plants very
interesting as well. He met some of the biggest and the best at growing
orchids, Jack Schendowich, Warren Kelly {Orchid World}, Bob Skully {Jones
& Skully}, Mr. Frank Smith {Krull-Smith} and Sheldon Takasaki {Carmela
Orchids}. These people really know how to grow orchids but not just
orchids, Paphiopedilum, Cattleya, Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, and Oncidium,
e.g.. Krull Smith has more AOS awards than any other orchid grower past
or present.
At the 19 WOC., in Miami, in 2008, John had an opportunity to work with
Frank Smith, a excellent grower and very experienced Paph. grower. He
tried to absorb as much of Frank Smith’s knowledge as possible, and did
an exhibit on his own. After that, he started to grow many types of
Paphs. and today he owns over 1750 as well as about 2000 other types of
orchids. Of course, he says, he has also lost count of the ones he
killed. In short he have been growing Orchids for about 35 years, from
flask to flower and has accumulated about 45 AOS awards