speaker biographies

Art Mendoza and his wife Aurora bought their first Cymbidiums in March of 1984 at Stewart's Orchids in San Gabriel. Ever since then, they haven't stopped buying orchids.

On that day, in 1984, they bought a Thethy's 'Black Magic' that had three spikes in a gallon pot for $135. The flower was a very dark red with a purple lip. It was the most expensive orchid they bought that day. They also bought a one gallon pot of Sunshine Falls 'Fern Graham' that was light green and arching for $50. They have been able to divide these orchids and have sold a lot of their divisions.

Cymbidiums are the Mendozas' choice because they are easy to grow and it doesn't need a green house. They can be grown outside under a shade cloth. With water and fertilizer and a little care they will give you beautiful blooms that will last up to three months.

Currently, they have at least 500 types of cymbidiums in their collection, from standards to novelty/intermediates to arching/pendulous types and other genera as well. Overall, they have at least 2500 pots, including seedlings and backbulbs.

James attended University of Ca. Santa Barbara as an anthropology major.  In 1971 he began working at Santa Barbara Orchid Estate. After 16 years there, and becoming manager, he left to establish his own nursery with his wife, Lauris.  In 1987 they purchased Orchids By Rowe, a 2 acre cymbidium nursery 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean in 1987, and totally redesigned the former cymbidium cut flower range to what is now a world renowned orchid nursery providing one of the largest varieties of orchid species and hybrids in the U.S.

Cal-Orchid maintains an active breeding program and stud collection built upon decades of international travel.  James is very well known for having a distinctively selective "eye" for the new unusual plant, and Cal-Orchid's new and long-time customers enjoy reaping the benefits.

The nursery's inventory features the Cattleya, Cymbidium, Odontoglossum, Masdevallia,  Lycaste, Paphiopedilum alliances as well as a good assortment of African species. More recently, James and Lauris have become recognized for their superior "Pacific" line of reed-stem Epidendrums, which have evolved over 12 years of selective breeding.

James has published in the AOS, Orchid Digest, and CSA magazines, and is well respected for his vast knowledge as well as his distinctive sense of humor. He lectures all over the world…from Japan to South Africa, to Europe, at orchid shows and World Orchid Conferences.

He is a Cymbidium Society of America Judge, former member of the AOS Conservation Committee, and active member of the Japan Grand Prix Organizing committee where he has judged every year at the world famous Tokyo Dome.

TOPIC: The Native Orchids of Peru

Tonight’s program will focus on the Orchid species of Peru in situ with visits to local nurseries to see a greater variety of blooming plants.

Mark is a recent past president of the San Fernando Valley Orchid Society and has traveled extensively in Central and South America and Europe in search of native orchids. The Orchid plant family is the largest of all the flowering plant families which is evident by the many thousands of known species. His main interest is in species because of their interesting diversity and adaptation features, rather than their large inflorescence and bright coloration.

His travels took him to Mexico, Belize, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica, the Caribbean – Islands of Puerto Rico and Dominica (the Nature Island) as well as Europe. He has legally collected plants in Belize and Mexico and has taken many photos of the plants growing in their natural habitat in the countries he has visited.

He specializes in species, mainly Bulbophyllum, Paphiopedilum, Cattleya, and exotics. Mark maintains two greenhouses: one intermediate and one warm, and a large outside growing area with many cymbidiums and outdoor tolerant varieties.

Our speaker believes that studying orchids in their natural habitat and conditions provides the most information on how to cultivate them successfully in captivity. Through his presentation he hopes to pass on to all of us some of this valuable knowledge.

TOPIC: Mini Paphiopedilum Breeding.

Harold Koopowitz grew up in South Africa where he attended university majoring in both Botany and Zoology. He completed a doctorate at UCLA in 1968.  A professor at UCI since graduating, he was also the Director of the UCI Arboretum for twenty years. He is now Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, where he still occasionally lectures. 

Harold has done orchid research in the wild looking at Phragmipedium populations in both Ecuador and Peru, and has also worked in Zimbabwe for several years on Aerangis verdickii.  Dr. Koopowitz is author of several books and a large number of research papers. His most recent book is "Tropical Slipper Orchids" from Timber Press and he will be available to sign your book if you wish.

He is a member of the Species Survival Committee for Orchids, for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.  In addition, he is a member of the International Orchid Commission.  He is well known for his work on slipper orchids, both species and hybrids. Harold recently stepped down from being Editor in Chief of the Orchid Digest.

TOPIC: Marvelous Miniatures, Gems of the Orchid World

Harry Phillips was born in San Diego, California on July 9, 1953. His father taught him to appreciate plants at an early age. In January of 1963, Harry’s brother Andy Phillips (of Andy’s Orchids fame) was born, and six years later is when it all started. They were both exposed to exotic plants and flowers at an early age, but when Andy became interested and later obsessed with orchids, Harry somehow resisted becoming involved with them for as long as he could. He assisted Andy in his passion by building his first two green houses, and Andy would reward him with a hybrid that was in bloom, tell him to bring it back when it goes out of bloom, and exchange it for one in bloom. Well this would only last about a year until he decided that he wanted to keep one and get it to re-bloom, the beginning of the end.

In 1986 Harry, with his soon to be wife Leslie, moved with Andy and his orchid collection to Encinitas, California. Being constantly exposed to all of Andy’s orchids was beginning to have an effect on Harry. Shortly after, Andy left for four months in Costa Rica, and placed Harry in charge of the collection. When Andy returned he found that Harry had not killed too many plants and managed to become even more addicted. Andy, now feeling more confident about leaving his orchid collection under Harry’s care, began to plan a cycling trip through South America, which ended up lasting two years. After that it was all over for Harry -- he was completely addicted to orchids.

Harry assisted Andy part time for 10 years, going full time around 1996. His interest in miniature orchids began several years ago while constantly being exposed to Andy’s minis. He decided he would try some for himself, and that was the way the story starts. Harry would like to share some of his thoughts on growing and choosing the right mini for your conditions, or creating a growing area with miniatures in mind. Once you get to know and appreciate them, miniatures will be a larger part of your collection.

Tom Biggart

Tom Biggart is the owner and head grower of Granite Hills Orchids in El Cajon, California, a small town 15 miles east of San Diego. His nursery is a hobby business, which means he doesn’t make a living growing plants. It is more of a labor of love! Tom loves plants in general, and orchids are his main passion.

He is very interested in Encyclias and has a large collection of Encyclia species and hybrids. The Australian cool growers are a current interest. Mr. Biggart is in business with the Harveys of Cedarvale Orchids. They are major Australian growers and hybridizers of native Dendrobiums.

Tom is a retired elementary school teacher with orchids as his new students. He would love to have anyone stop by to talk orchids should one be in the San Diego area.  Tom will be supplying the plant opportunity table for this meeting, and will also be offering select plants for sale.

Topic: "40 Orchids Everyone Should Have In Their Greenhouse"

Francisco Ramos is a newcomer to OSSC, and he will be narrating a presentation originally prepared by OSSC Past President Red Marsh (1984), with photography by OSSC Past President Trudy Marsh (1990-1991).

Francisco first became interested in orchids on his birthday, two years ago. His uncle Hector was his original inspiration. He invited Francisco to the Santa Barbara Orchid Show where Francisco was fascinated by the colors, textures, fragrances and varieties displayed. He knew he had to learn more. He purchased his first two orchids, cymbidiums at that show. From then there was no turning back. Francisco currently has approximately 32 different species growing outdoors at his home in Oxnard, CA. His collection has become more exotic with each passing season. Meanwhile, his original cymbidiums wished him a happy eleventh birthday by blooming.

Until recently, Francisco really didn’t know how to properly care for his orchids. He simply provided food, water, humidity (from the beach) and sunlight. This summer, with coaching from the owners of Cal Orchid Inc. in Goleta, CA, Francisco started to maintain his plants, pollinate the blooms, photograph and catalog his collection. He has acquired books and discovered great sources of information on the Internet. Another grower who has encouraged Francisco and his hobby is Andy Phillips from Andy’s Orchids in Encinitas, CA. Francisco recently visited Andy’s booth at the Southland Orchid Committee's Harvest Moon Orchid Festival at the Huntington Library. One day, Francisco hopes to own a greenhouse and to acquire as many of the 38,000 species of orchids as he possibly can.

Topic: "Development of the Harlequin Phalaenopsis"

Norman Fang earned his degree in Ornamental Horticulture from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. As a student, he managed the Raymond Burr Orchid Collection on campus. He received a number of scholarships to study plant tissue culture, eventually studying under the renowned Dr. Murashige at the University of California at Riverside, and Dr. Tanabe at the University of Hawaii. In 1986, he won the First Place Research Paper Award and was named Outstanding Horticulture Student by the American Society for Horticulture Science. In 1987, he started his own highly successful nursery, Norman's Orchids, which has received more than 350 AOS quality awards and 18 AOS Show Trophies. In 1994, the California Junior Chamber of Commerce named Norman their Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Norman is active in a number of organizations that help him continue to develop his skills, as well as teach others about the fine science of orchid propagation. He is a frequent guest speaker at orchid societies and conferences. Norman is an accredited AOS judge with, and the leading commercial-grower donor to, the Pacific South Judging Center. He also endeavors to generously support several other judging centers and societies. He served seven years on the Research and the Education Committees of the AOS. Norman is a veteran exhibitor at major American shows such as The Fascination of Orchids Show, San Francisco International Orchid Show, Santa Barbara International Orchid Show, New York International Orchid Show, Ft. Lauderdale Orchid Show and Miami International Orchid Show, bringing back new insights to help improve California's Southland Orchid Show, on whose board he served many years. He has traveled and judged in Asia, South Africa, Canada and South America. Norman is AOS Representative for the Taiwan Orchid Growers Association, and has been the AOS Judging Coordinator for the Taiwan International Orchid Show since 1996. He is also one of the founding members of the International Phalaenopsis Association, is a Life Member of the AOS and is currently Vice President of AOS.

This month the plant table will be supplied by our guest speaker, a sampling of which can be found on his commercial website, www.orchids.com. Those of us that were at the picnic in July saw the beautiful Phalaenopsis he grows, so we are looking forward to the opportunity table.

Peter Tobias first started growing orchids in Chicago in the early 1970s but his hobby “...really only got out of control” when he moved to Encinitas, a coastal town just north of San Diego, in 1980. His collection is primarily species orchids, most of which are grown outdoors. In 1999 he visited the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil, and after that he started his own little rainforest, with the rain provided by hand, in his two large backyard avocado trees. Peter was a founding member of the San Diego County Orchid Society’s Conservation Committee. The success of that endeavor in San Diego led to the idea that orchid lovers nationwide, and even internationally, might support an organization devoted to orchid habitat protection. In his talk, Peter will describe the current activities of the Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA) and its plans for future conservation projects. Protection of native orchid habitats is the goal of the Orchid Conservation Alliance. Until now, there has not been an organization focusing on orchid habitat. Many people work to save pandas, elephants, whales, and California condors, but very little work to save orchids. If we do not act, who will? The OCA’s intent is to raise funds to support orchid conservation projects by pooling resources from orchid societies, individual orchid growers, and other organizations and persons with a desire to help. We also may increase our impact and ability to target more ambitious projects by establishing partnerships with other conservation organizations having congruent interests. Because orchids are most efficiently conserved in their native habitats, conservation of suitable habitat is the primary goal of the Orchid Conservation Alliance. Orchid habitat also includes other flora and fauna, and conservation of other rare flora and fauna may be considered in setting priorities for habitat conservation, but the goal of orchid conservation will be the primary criterion. At times, other related activities, such as reintroduction of orchids into degraded or restored habitats, studies of orchid related biogeography, ecology, taxonomy, biology, and public education and publishing may also receive support. At this time, the specific habitat to be preserved is under study, in collaboration with conservation organizations in several areas.  This month’s table will be OSSC’s contribution to conservation by recycling our unsold plants from our March auction.

Hatfield Orchids is owned and operated by George Hatfield, who has over 15 years of experience in raising award quality Cymbidium orchids. Hatfield Orchids is fortunate enough to be located in Ventura County, California, which has an ideal climate for the propagation of Cymbidium orchids. The operation is run by family & friends, and orchids are their passion.

George is active in the Cymbidium Society of America and the American Orchid Society, as well as several Southern California regional orchid organizations. George is an orchid judge for both the CSA and AOS, and is currently the Chairman of the Santa Barbara judging region for the CSA. George is also a past-president of the CSA and was the Chairman of the CSA Cymbidium Congress from 1998-2001 and president of the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show in 2002 & 2003. Hatfield Orchids is known for producing some of the top pendulous Cymbidiums in the country. In fact, the Grand Champion of the Santa Barbara Orchid Show in 2006 was a stunning plant from Hatfield Orchids.

Dr. Hasegawa is the owner of Paphanatics, Unlimited, located in Santa Ana, California. Paphanatics, Unlimited has been specializing in Paphiopedilum since 1975, and Norito has been collecting, growing and studying orchids for over 30 years. His involvement has been at many levels as a hobbyist, author, and commercial grower. He specializes in Paphiopedilum orchids and had Harold Koopowitz as a partner in Paphanatics, Unlimited for over 20 years. And he is probably the only current OSSC member that has a genus (Hasegawara) named after him.

Norito is co-author, with Harold Koopowitz, of the book "Novelty Slipper Orchids". He is also a former trustee of The American Orchid Society and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Orchid Digest Corporation. Dr. Hasegawa travels internationally to keep orchid fanatics up to date on Paphiopedilum happening.

Blooming plants from Paphantics, Unlimited will make up the spectacular plant opportunity table at this meeting.

Mr. Nomer is the president of the South Bay Bromeliad Associates, editor of the OC Cactus club and member of some other garden clubs and botanical gardens. He has been interested in plants since he was a child, taking vocational agriculture in high school and building a greenhouse on the side of his home. Tim was going to be a landscaper but switched to chemistry instead and later moved into the computer area, keeping his interest in plants. Tim calls himself a total photo nut and he loves to visit local garden and botanical shows. This gives him an excuse to go exploring new places and get out on the weekends.

After digital cameras became available, he started taking many more photos, including the tags of plants in shows and the botanical gardens. He downloads them into photo albums and found after a while he started recognizing the plants when he saw them.

Seeing vibrant new growth and other stages of rare flowers and unusual seed pods on less common plants fascinated him. The camera allows him to take the gardens and shows home. With common photo album software, he enlarges parts of plants and flowers and enjoys shows years later. He grows a few orchids, more bromeliads, and loves cacti and odd or unusual succulents.

A few years ago, a member of the San Diego cactus club stood up at a meeting and asked members to give back something to the club by becoming more involved. He took this to heart and started making picture displays of flowers and plants, and won prizes at local shows, such as The Intercity Show at the LA Arboretum each August, and the CSSA show at the Huntington in July. Tim also summarizes plant shows by creating digital slide presentations, which gives incredible flexibility as one can clip out plants or flowers and label them easily. He really enjoys finding the best pictures and most unusual plants to share with others.
This evening’s presentation will draw on seven recent years of orchid shows. It is not too soon to gather ideas for our own Southland Orchid Show coming in October!

Dr. Arditti received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1965. He then joined the faculty of University of California, Irvine (UCI) in 1966, served as a professor there for 35 years and devoted his entire career to research on orchids before retiring in 2001 to become Professor of Biology Emeritus.

Dr. Arditti is the author of over 375 scientific papers, popular articles and books, including The Fundamentals of Orchid Biology, which was selected Book of the Year by the American Association of Book Publishers. He was also the Founding Editor of Orchid Biology, Reviews and Perspectives and recipient of the Gold Medal from the Orchid Society of South East Asia in Singapore. Dr. Arditti has traveled the world over, recently returning from a lecture tour in Korea. He is in the process of editing his new work of 2000 pages.

He is a grower and hybridizer of mini-Cattleya orchids. He resides in Diamond Bar and grows orchids in two small greenhouses, as well as many seedlings under lights in his home.

He started growing orchids in high school, and worked at Stewarts Orchids for a few years. Due to college and starting a career, he left the orchid world for twenty years. Five years ago he returned and focused on mini-Cattleyas.

Mr. Lin is also a probationary judge with the A.O.S. and has received numerous awards for his plants. He is a member of six orchid societies, and is very passionate about his hobby, which is a great balance for his day job at Disneyland.

Peter will provide the plant opportunity table, and each of us will have the opportunity to win one or many of his mini-Cattleya’s for our own collection. So make sure to attend this one!

Barton Mozlen, our clinician for the evening, retired as a high school teacher after thirty five years, and also worked for Stewart Orchids in sales for twenty years. At present he works for both Andy’s Orchids and Norman’s Orchids, helping them with their shows. Aside from this he also runs his own gardening business which employs seven young people, six in high school and one college student. He said they do repotting and can even spot the mosaic virus.
Orchids have been his hobby since 1960, when he was sixteen. He also travels in his spare time to South America and South Africa in search of orchids.

Topic: "Rare and Unusual Orchid Species"

Mr. Parsons is considered by many to be one of the finest flower photographers in the United States. His photography and encyclopedic knowledge of orchids is known both nationally and internationally. He has been photographing orchids, wildflowers, and almost every other kind of plant for over 25 years, and has a slide collection that numbers well over 80,000 slides! Ron loves to travel, photograph orchids and wildflowers in situ, visit orchid and other plant enthusiasts collections, and most of all, to take photographs of plants and flowers that he likes. His love of photographing orchids has taken him to faraway places such as Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico and Australia, to name a few.

Ron has co-authored several books, including 'Masdevallias: Gems of the Orchid World', and the forthcoming 'Calochortus: Mariposas and Their Relatives'. His knowledge is wide-ranging, giving talks nationally and internationally on these and other topics: 'Bulbophyllum', 'Rare and Unusual Orchid Species', 'Dendrobrium Species', 'Masdevallias and Draculas', 'Pleurothallids', 'Cattleya and Laelia Species', 'Orchids of Southeast Australia', 'Oncidium Species', 'Monopodial Orchids', 'Miniature Species' and 'Orchids Under Lights'.

Ron has also given talks at societies for Cacti & Succulents, Carnivorous Plants, Gesneriads and California Wildflowers. He comes to our February meeting from his home town of San Francisco.

About Our Speaker:

Dr. Averyanov is the orchidologist at the St. Petersburg Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The institute has one of the largest herbarium collections in the world, including tropical orchids. Close cooperation between botanists at Komarov and their counterparts at the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources in Hanoi, Vietnam started in 1963. From 1979 to 1991, Komarov Institute has organized and funded yearly expeditions to study the flora of Vietnam. Dr. Averyanov was a major participant in these expeditions. He collected herbarium specimens, and described many new orchid species. Among them are Paphiopedilum helenae named for his wife, and Paphiopedilum hiepii named for his long time friend and traveling companion, Dr. Nguyen Tien Hiep of the Vietnamese Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources.

We know very little about the rich flora of North Vietnam. After the war, Vietnam has been closed to western explorers for many years. The area is mountainous and has few roads. Many orchid habitats are inaccessible, except on foot during dry season. Prior to the late 1990’s Dr. Averyanov was one of a few foreign botanists allowed access for exploration of North Vietnam’s flora, making his research invaluable to orchidologists and botanists not only in Russia, but the entire world. He has published many articles in the Orchids, the Magazine of the American Orchid Society. His book, “Slipper Orchids of Vietnam” with an introduction to the flora of Vietnam was published in 2003 by Timber Press. This is a valuable resource on the slipper orchids as well as their habitat, geography, climate and companion plants.

When academic research funding became scarce in Russia, Averyanov was forced to turn to other sources. Since 1991, National Geographic, AOS, and several orchid groups including the San Diego County Orchid Society have funded his explorations. Let’s hope that such support continues.  

Coming on the heels of his "Mostly Cattleyas I & II", Bill takes his presentation to the next level by using the power of digital projection and PowerPoint to present a dynamic multimedia presentation. Bill looks at flowers, orchids, species, Cymbidiums, Paphiopedilums, and even some Cattleyas in ways that even the most orchid savvy among us should find interesting, with some treats for the newer folks, too. Graphics, vintage orchid art, and "right into the flower" orchid pictures will highlight important concepts, with fun for all.

About Our Speaker:

Bill Ryan, together with his wife Vicki, has been growing orchids in Southern California for over 25 years. They have served in various capacities with several societies over the years. Bill is currently serving as the “Past President” of San Gabriel Valley Orchid Hobbyists, and Vicki is serving as a board member and the Artwork Manager for The Orchid Digest. Their collection of way too many plants to care for properly is divided into Vicki’s plants (those with flowers) and Bill’s plants (those with bugs).

Topic: "How to Display Your Orchids at Home"

Our featured speaker for October will be Alberto Ossa of the Silverlake district in Los Angeles, California.  He has had many years of experience in arranging flowers in general and orchids in particular.

Alberto has had a love affair with orchids since he bought his first orchid, an Enciclia citrina, 20 years ago, and has been involved with the Southern California Orchid Society for almost that many years.  He has been the Society’s vice president, has designed many top award-winning orchid displays for the Society at both the New Otani and Huntington Shows.  Alberto currently serves as the OSSC Ribbon Judging Chair, and has been given the highest honor by the Society by being elected to the Golden Circle Board.  Mr. Ossa has also been involved with the Huntington Library, working closely with the orchid conservators in the greenhouses in the past and most recently the Cloud Forest in the new Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory.

Author of Vandas: Their Botany, History, and Culture, Martin Motes is a second generation orchidist who has been growing orchids for nearly 50 years. He is president of Motes Orchids, a major breeder of vandas. He has produced hundreds of new hybrids, for which he has received scores of American Orchid Society awards including three FCC's and three Awards of Quality. He is an accredited A.O.S. judge. He has observed tropical orchids growing in the wild and has spoken at orchid conferences around the world. His articles have appeared in The Fairchild Garden Bulletin, The South Florida Orchidist, The Orchid Digest, The Orchid Review and The American Orchid Society Bulletin.

Martin was an assistant professor of English at Wright State University for several years. He was the director of horticulture therapy at Grant Center Hospital and was a consultant on horticulture therapy at the Hospital Corporation of America.

He has lived most of his life in Miami, Florida, but also spent 6 years in Ohio and 2 years in Yugoslavia as a Fulbright lecturer. He has traveled extensively in the Mediterranean and has observed orchids in Peru, Equador, Panama, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Florida, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Belize, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Malaya, Thailand, and Australia. Martin has been interviewed by both print and TV journalists in topics ranging from community issues in southern Florida to horticultural therapy and orchids. he gives more than 20 lectures a year.

To get away from the orchid greenhouse, Martin reads and occasionally,
writes poetry, tends his vegetable garden, and fishes.

Our featured speaker will be Marguerite Webb of J&L Orchids in Easton, Connecticut. The title of her talk is "Good Things Come in Small Packages", and it focuses on the world of miniature orchids. Marguerite, along with her partners Cordelia Head and Lucinda Winn, have built J&L's reputation internationally over the past twenty six years as an exceptional orchid species nursery for unusual, hard to find orchids, with a passion for miniatures. Marguerite has contributed numerous articles to the American Orchid Society magazine Orchids.  Marguerite will be in Santa Barbara at Cal Orchid selling plants the weekend before her talk at the OSSC, but don't worry if you are unable to go to the Santa Barbara Orchid Fair, as Marguerite will be bringing plants for sale to our meeting.

He won the 2004 AOS Dillon-Peterson essay competition with an article on the same topic, which was featured in the May 2005 issue of Orchids magazine, and his presentation will be an expanded version of that article. Christopher is currently the editor of the San Diego County Orchid Society Newsletter and serves on the Board of Directors for the SDCOS, while working part-time as an orchid consultant and nurseryman. He is also finishing student teaching, in hopes of becoming a public school biology teacher at the secondary level. Mr. Croom has been growing orchids for eight years, and has worked on and off for Andy’s Orchids, which is home to one of the largest collections of orchid species in North America, and is also where the nickname of “Dr. Fragrance” was bestowed on him in 2000, by Andy’s brother, Harry. He currently writes the descriptions for Andy’s website, and keeps 200 species orchids of his own, all of which are grown outdoors or in a light garden. His discussion will feature the various scents that orchids produce, insights on how the sense of smell works and the relationships between orchids and their pollinators, and photos of numerous species orchids, in addition to a “scent typology” which Mr. Croom is currently refining. While his expertise is in species, his work as an orchid consultant has helped him to appreciate the parentage of hybrids and the scents that hybrids also have, so his presentation will be useful for all orchid growers who appreciate fragrance. Also, his knowledge about outdoor orchid cultivation will be additionally useful to anyone wanting to reap the benefits of the best horticultural microclimate in the world (ours, that is). So come to our meeting on May 8th to learn about orchids and their fragrances!

Norito Hasegawa is the owner of Paphanatics, Unlimited, located in Santa Ana, California. Paphanatics, Unlimited has been specializing in Paphiopedilum orchids since 1975. Norito has been collecting, growing and studying orchids for over 30 years. His involvement has been at many levels as a hobbyist, author, and commercial grower. He specializes in Paphiopedilums and had Harold Koopowitz as a partner in Paphanatics, Unlimited for over 20 years. Norito is co-author, with Harold Koopowitz, of the book Novelty Slipper Orchids. He is also a former trustee of The American Orchid Society and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Orchid Digest Corporation. Dr. Hasegawa travels internationally to keep orchid fanatics up to date on Paphiopedilum happenings. 

Dan, who has been growing orchids since childhood, is one of the most highly regarded growers in the Southern California area.  He was President of our distinguished OSSC in 2001 & 2002, and continues to contribute to our society by regularly conducting the "orchid culture Q & A" session at OSSC meetings. Dan took over his family's collection and grows about 60% Cattleya, plus many other genera. His recognized displays in area orchid shows have earned him many awards. So, please join us to hear Mr. Dan Dickey's tutorial on the culture of orchids.

Mr. Lauri is currently a graduate student at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont. For his dissertation, he is doing a systematic study of the genus Piperia. Piperia is native to Northern America and is particularly diverse here in California. He is also a member of the Southland Orchid Show Committee, and served as President of OSSC during 1995 and 1996.
He will be speaking on orchids that you may not know even existed and could possibly be found in your own back yard or in the hills and mountains surrounding us, and promises to be of great interest.

Loren Batchman, together with his wife Nancy, owns Casa de las Orquideas, an orchid nursery in Solana Beach, California. They have been growing orchids there for over 35 years. Loren is acknowledged as one of the leading hybridizers of Cymbidiums in this country, and has many hundreds of hybrids registered under his name. He is also the editor of the CSA Journal, the official publication of the Cymbidium Society of America. Mr. Batchman is also a certified judge of both the American Orchid Society and the Cymbidium Society of America.

The thrust of their breeding programs is intended to provide new and different materials for outdoor growing in California for both the amateur and serious collectors of orchids. They are widely known for their high color Cymbidiums and are constantly working to develop clear, clean colors suitable for outdoor growing with no special shade requirements.

Over the many years, Loren has done many talks on a wide range of subjects. He has chosen to talk about "Plant Selection for Hybridization" at our meeting, and time permitting, he may do a short demonstration of virus testing kits.

As it is the start of the Cymbidium flowering cycle, his talk will be most interesting and should not be missed.

Carol Siegel is a member of, and one of the driving forces behind, the Greater Las Vegas Orchid Society. She is a much sought after speaker and has presented to many different Orchid Societies and other organizations. She has also written numerous articles on orchids including one on the Native Orchids Of Nevada, her home state. As she limits here speaking engagements, we are very fortunate and privileged to have been able to secure her services for our October meeting.
Carol's lecture is on "The Sex Life of Orchids", and it will focus on the fascinating world of orchid pollination and orchid pollinators. She'll share the incredible story of how orchids will stop at nothing to get pollinated. They will lie. They will cheat. They will promise and not deliver. If they do deliver, they will give as little as possible.

In an amusing and thoughtful way she'll show the ways in which orchids use color, pattern, movement, fragrance, traps, sexual mimicry, and outright lies to lure pollinators.

Her photographs are stunning and her presentation humorous and entertaining. It is truly a meeting not to be missed.

Mr. Clark is well known in orchid circles as one of the best and most innovative hybridizers and growers in California.  This fact is born out by some of his breakthroughs in hybridizing of Catasetums, Cycnoches and Mormodes. The back cover of the spring 2005 edition of Orchid Digest features Fred's specimen of a new hybrid genus Fredclarkeara After Dark, "Black is Black" AM/AOS, the first true black orchid.

Fred Clarke has been growing orchids for 28 years and has been hybridizing for 18 of those years.  His Diacrium and mini-Cattleya crosses are well known among orchid circles and are great plants that many of us may have in our collections.  Fred is primarily focused on the development of orchids for Southern California outdoor-growing conditions.  He will have a number of these specially hybridized plants available for sale to members.

Royale Orchids started as a cut flower Cymbidium grower some 40 years ago by the founders, Roy and Alice Hipkins, hence the name ‘Royale’.  Today, the nursery covers a 38 acre rural property in an area which is renowned for its clean air and spring water.  It is currently managed and under the guidance of Kevin Hipkins.  Their main interests are Cymbidiums and Odontoglossums, but, being a diverse nursery, they also dabble in Paphs, Dendrobiums, Masdevallias, and many other genera.

They participate in orchid shows and events throughout the world, representing Australia in the USA, Colombia and Ecuador at international events.  In 2004, they won Best Foreign Exhibit at the prestigious Santa Barbara International Orchid Show for the second successive year, as well as supplying the Reserve Champion Cymbidium at that show.  He will again be in Santa Barbara for the Santa Barbara International Orchid Fair (July 8-10), and I am sure he would welcome meeting any of our members there.

 Royale Orchids will be supplying the raffle table for this meeting.

For this meeting, we are truly privileged to have one of the icons of the orchid industry of California. Further, during this 65th year of celebration as the oldest Orchid Society in Southern California, our speaker will be able to relate events of our society's early years, as he was one of its very early members, joining shortly after the end of World War Two.

Mr. Hetherington began his career in 1936 as an orchid grower for the Bracey brothers at their world renowned firm of Armacost and Royston. Ernest had able tutors who were of the old school and demanded extremely high standards. Cattleyas were the firm’s specialty, and Ernest became very active in the breeding program carried out at Armacost and Royston. This early training and interest was the foundation for all of his future successes achieved during an illustrious career.

During the Second World War, he served with distinction in the Air Force Intelligence Division and was stationed in the Southwestern Pacific. After the war he returned to his duties at Armacost and Royston.

Ernest points out that at that time there were no good cymbidiums or white phalaenopsis, no miniature cymbidiums, and only a few good cattleya hybrids. He played a pivotal role in bringing about change.

In 1947, a new orchid company in the San Gabriel Valley, Stewart Orchids, recruited Ernest to manage and expand their operations, which at that time comprised three employees. The breeding programs mainly focused on two genera: cattleyas and cymbidiums. Ernest was responsible for breeding the first American orchid hybrid registered after WWII that was released in quantity – Cymbidium California (Alexander 'Westonbirt' x Blue Smoke). During the 1950’s, Stewart Orchids expanded their breeding programs under Ernest's watchful eye. Great strides were made in breeding, resulting in many of the best known hybrids that were developed during that exciting period in history.

Ernest established a propagation laboratory at Stewart's, enabling the dissemination of large quantities of high quality orchid seedlings at more affordable prices. Under his astute eye, Stewart Orchids became the leading commercial orchid nursery in the country, employing about 100 people.

Ernest was also integrally involved with the larger orchid community and was an active member of our very own Orchid Society of Southern California. He served as President of this society in 1955. As a member, in 1949, he established a point scoring system for this society to evaluate excellence in orchid flowers; this system was later combined with the American Orchid Society’s judging system. Ernest has served as chair of the Fifth World Orchid Congress, as well as President of the Cymbidium Society of America, and too many other positions to mention here. He is currently involved with the County Arboretum, the AOS awards committee, and chairs the Orchid Digest’s publication committee. He is also very involved at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in many capacities, but his real obsession is maintaining and expanding the orchid reference materials maintained there.

He has a great love and enthusiasm to document and record orchid history and pass it on to all orchid lovers and enthusiasts; thus the choice of the topic to be presented.

Thanks to The Orchid Digest Corporation for certain extracts contained herein which have been taken from their 2004 year end publication dealing with cattleyas. This special edition was dedicated to Ernest for all he has achieved during the course of his career in the Orchid World.

Mr. Bentow holds a B.S. degree in Biology from UCLA, having graduated in 1976.  He has been growing orchids since 1994, having started his collection with a few hybrids purchased in Hawaii. He soon thereafter changed his interest to species and now concentrates mainly on species.

The orchid plant family is the largest of all flowering plants which is most evident in the many thousands of known species.  His main interest in species is because of their interesting diversity and adaptation features, rather than their large inflorescence and bright coloration.

Mark has made several trips to Central and South America in search of orchids.  These trips include visits to Costa Rico, Belize, Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador. He is currently planning possible trips to Brazil, Venezuela or Nicaragua.  He has legally collected plants in Belize and Mexico and has taken many photos of the plants growing in their natural habitat in the countries he has visited.

Our speaker believes that studying orchids in their natural habitat and conditions provides the most information on how to cultivate them successfully in captivity.  Through his presentation he hopes to pass on to all of us some of this valuable knowledge.

Topic:  "Alien Invaders!  Dealing With Orchid Pests and Problems". 

Mr. DeLano has worked for Fairplex (in Pomona) since 1991 as their Horticulturist. He supervises the year-round landscape activities (maintenance, planning, design, and installation) and most aspects of landscaping and garden design for the Los Angeles County Fair, with the exception of the Floral Buildings interior displays.

Previously, Don worked for Fairplex with various managers to put on the Fair time public display located in Flower and Garden Show building and hillside area: from 1974-1983 under the instruction of Bob Lamp; 1984-1991 in conjunction with James Wilkerson.  

As a graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, he has a Bachelors of Science Degree in Ornamental Horticulture (1976) and extensive post-graduate studies in Genetics, Plant morphology, Plant Pathology, and Plant Bio-Diversity.  He held the position of Lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona in the Ornamental Horticulture Department from 1975-1984, continuing with the department as their Facilities and Greenhouse Structure Advisor, Research and Nursery Technician, 1984-1991.  Additionally, he acted as Cal Poly Pomona’s liaison with Raymond Burr for his donations to the university’s Horticulture program 1983-1991, and helped facilitate Raymond Burr’s move from the hills of North Hollywood to Geyserville along with the relocation of his orchid nursery at that time to Petaluma, California.  Most of the Nursery is currently located on the Raymond Burr Winery property in Dry Creek Canyon.

Over the years, Mr. DeLano has worked with many plant societies in Southern California, holding offices in numerous individual branches including the Begonia Society, Fuchsia Society, Gesneriad Society, Fern Society, and the African Violet Society.

Beyond horticulture, Don was involved with the Pomona YMCA as chief of the local Indian Guide/Indian Princess program for 2 years, then served as vice-president and finally president of the Claremont High School Marching Band and Drill Team Boosters covering a 3-year span.

Currently, he actively promotes most aspects of gardening, plant care, and plant identification via various programs presented throughout Southern California to many Gardening Clubs and Plant Societies, as well as local civic groups.  Programs are also presented covering the history and uses, past and current, of Fairplex, and how plants are used to enhance one’s enjoyment of the Fairplex Facility.  He presents an average of 3 programs per month. 

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Ron Harlan, an expert who knows through his passion for tropical fish and orchids that water straight from the tap is not beneficial  Some of the best growers use reverse osmosis  ("RO")  to provide water that is closer to nature and thereby ease the process of growing orchids.

Dr. Harlan is a biology professor and chairperson of the Biology Division at Glendale Community College.  He is also the owner of Back to Nature Filtration. Founded in 1985, Back to Nature Filtration was the first manufacturer to produce hobbyist RO units for the tropical fish hobby and, since 1990, has served the orchid hobby.  With the combination of biology, specimen collecting, and reverse osmosis, Ron is in a unique position to give his talk. Dr. Harlan will cover the different kinds of RO equipment, watering, misting, humidifying, and orchid health.  He will then open up the talk to your questions and will also have some of his products for display and sale. 

You do not want to miss this month's meeting, when the Orchid Society Of Southern California welcomes a “speaktackular” special guest, David Banks of Australia. Mr. Banks, a leading expert on native Australian orchids (especially Dendrobiums), a world renowned author and traveler, and editor of the Australian Orchid Review, will be lecturing on "The World of Bulbophyllum Species". David's friendly personality and in-depth knowledge makes him a favorite among orchidists everywhere. G’day and see you "down under" in Burbank!

This topic will be presented by Allison Mia Starcher, author of Good Bugs for Your Garden.  Allison is an illustrator, writer and avid gardener, and her illustrations can regularly be found in Fine Gardening Magazine.  She has also appeared on a variety of television programs discussing gardening methods that encourage "good bugs" to make your garden their home.  Ms. Starcher will bring copies of her book for purchase that she will gladly sign.  I hope everyone will be able to attend this intriguing presentation!

Topic: "Semi-Hydroponics™ and You"

A few months ago I wandered upon an orchid culture seminar that asked: Are you tired of rotten roots and rotten media?  OK…  Tired of repotting your collection every year?  YOU BET!  Are you sick of trying to remember a dozen different watering and feeding schedules?  ARE YOU KIDDING?  Would you like to take a vacation without putting your neighbor through a six week course on care and watering? WHAT VACATION???  Well, be sure to join us for this month's SPEAKTACULAR SPEAKER, Jim Rowley, to find out how when he talks about Semi-Hydroponics™ and You!

Mr. Rowley, a native of Southern California, has grown orchids for the past eight years.  Jim was tired of low quality bark, rotten roots and yearly repotting.  He happened upon an Internet discussion of Semi-Hydroponics (S/H) from the person who perfected the method - Ray Barkalow.  Jim moved his collection out of bark and into S/H over three years ago.  The ease of culture and overall health of his plants moved him to start lecturing on S/H culture and starting his own home-based business selling the necessary supplies with free phone and/or e-mail support.

No slide show here!  Jim will bring plants from his collection to illustrate how the culture works and how you can get started.  For those eager to convert, Jim will have available for purchase all the necessary supplies and MSU based fertilizer for pure water.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Mr. Croezen is a retired high school teacher from Ontario, Canada who has been propagating orchids from seed since 1986, both in his lab at home and at the University of Guelph's Botany Department.  He grows several orchid genera, exclusively under HID lamps, and has a special interest in the Native North American Cypripediums, particularly Cyp. reginae.  Peter's second hobby is orchid mycorrhizas, isolating symbiotic fungi from orchid roots, obtaining pure cultures and using the symbionts in the propagation of endangered orchid species.  His interest in orchid conservation has taken him three times to Peru, where he has taught orchid cultivation courses at UNALM, Lima's Agrarian University and Lima's Pestalozzi College.  He has been instrumental in setting up two orchid propagation laboratories in Lima, for orchid conservation, and trained the lab technicians for them.  Peter has visited orchid habitats on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Central Eastern Peru and in the Amazonas jungles of Northern Central Peru.

This month's "speaktacular" topic will illustrate some of the beautiful orchids that may be found in the South African bush, as well as some of the beasts.  Hendrik van der Hoven, who is travelling all the way from South Africa, has been involved with orchids in some form since about 1960.  Hendrik's main interest is in growing species as well as photographing orchids in the wild.  He is the President of the Cape Orchid Society and an orchid judge with the South African Orchid Council.  Mr. van der Hoven will be bringing some exclusive African Orchids for purchase.  "Daaronder Totsiens!" (translation: Farewell from the  bush!)
 

Harold will illuminate us on Phragmipediums in situ, including the infamous Phragmipedium kovachii. He is one of the fortunate few to have seen and studied Phragmipediums in their natural habitat.

Harold grew up in South Africa where he attended university majoring in both Botany and Zoology.  He completed a doctorate at UCLA in 1968.  A professor at UCI since graduating, he was also the Director of the UCI Arboretum for twenty years.  He is now Professor of Biology in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, where he does research in plant ecology of Narcissus in Spain.  Harold has looked at Phragmipedium populations in both Ecuador and Peru, and has also worked in Zimbabwe for several years on Aerangis verdickii.  He is author of several books and a large number of research papers.  He is a member of the Species Survival Committee for Orchids, as well as the Species Survival Committee for Bulbs for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.  In addition, he is a member of the International Orchid Commission.  He is well known for his work on slipper orchids, both species and hybrids.

Harold is the Editor in Chief of the Orchid Digest.  His most recent books include "Orchids and their Conservation" and "Clivias."  He is currently working on a new book on "Tropical Slipper Orchids" for Timber Press.

Doug's presentation will give an overview of "orchid judging" and what is meant when we say an orchid is "award quality", how and by whom these standards were devised, and how they are applicable to today's orchid world. Doug is a well recognized orchid grower and speaker. Some of the many hats that Mr. Conkin wears are: Probationary Judge in the American Orchid Society judging system, Pacific South Region, past and current President of the East-West Orchid Show, creator of "Anyone Can Grow Orchids...Even You" video tapes and OSSC auctioneer. Doug has the ability to present the complex world of orchids in a manner suitable for the advanced enthusiast and yet easily understood by the novice. So, please join us to learn what makes an award winning orchid.

Marilyn Levy was born in Detroit, Michigan and began growing flowers with her father when she was very young. She began growing orchids 30 years ago. At first she began growing on a windowsill, then an indoor light system and finally she advanced to building a greenhouse. After a 34 year career as a schoolteacher in the Detroit area, Marilyn and her husband retired to the San Diego area in 1987 and there built a greenhouse, two lath houses and a large indoor ‘grow light’ system. She is an accredited judge of both the American Orchid Society and the Cymbidium Society of America.
She has had tremendous experience and success growing a large number of plants of many different genera. She will share her secrets with us so that we too can successfully grow warmth tolerant plants with the cool growing plants and……get them to BLOOM! You certainly will not want to miss this talk!

After the army Bill went to work for the Atomic Energy Commission until the reactors were shut down. He then worked for many of the top corporations in the defense industry. Bill later moved to Marquadt to work on rocket engines. He began successfully selling Cattleya and Cymbidium Hybrids through the AOS. Bill made many collecting trips to Mexico, Panama and Peru with the advice about particulars from his good friends George Kennedy and Dr. Fowlie. He has been published often in the Orchid Digest. Bergstrom Orchids Nursery is in Hawaii where Bill lives with his wife Dorris and cat Sibelius. You may look at his plants and contact him at his website: http://bergstromorchids.com.  Bill's prime enjoyment today, along with being an AOS judge, is growing the weird and wonderful.

Larry Moskovitz has been growing orchids since he was 12 years old. Years later, in the mid 1980's, he started Orchidanica, an orchid company devoted to propagating rare and unusual orchids. He earned a degree in photography from Southern Illinois University, and has taken many courses in botany and landscape gardening. In addition, he has taught courses in orchid growing.

Larry served as President of the San Francisco Orchid Society and has been speaking to orchid groups throughout the U.S. and Canada since 1989. He is listed in the AOS directory of speakers for orchid societies. He is now located in Fallbrook, CA near San Diego, CA, and will be providing the opportunity table for this meeting.

George Hatfield, who has over 15 years of experience in raising award quality Cymbidium orchids, is the owner of Hatfield Orchids, which specializes in Pendulous & Upright Cymbidium seedlings. George is active in the Cymbidium Society America and the American Orchid Society, as well as several Southern California regional orchid organizations. He is an orchid judge for both the CSA and AOS, and is currently the chairman of the Santa Barbara judging region for the CSA. George is also past-president of the CSA and was the Chairman of the CSA Cymbidium Congress from 1998-2001, and served as president of the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show in 2002 & 2003. Articles written by him have been published in the American Orchid Society Awards Quarterly and the Cymbidium Society of America Journal. Mr. Hatfield will share his experience and knowledge with a dynamic slide show and lecture and also provide a great raffle table.

Mr. Gordon is a retired US Air Force officer living and growing Phalaenopsis orchids in Southern California for the past 30 years. He lectures nationally and internationally on Phalaenopsis culture, and is the author of beginner, journeyman and advanced Phalaenopsis culture books that are the standard texts of the orchid world. Mr. Gordon considers himself a "Phalaenopsis evangelist". He is also the author of a basic book on general orchid seedling care which introduces the reader, at the semi-scientific level, to the world of plant nutrition and water quality, essentials to long term successful care. Bob will have books available for purchase and will sign on request.

Andrea Niessen was born in Cali, Colombia to a German family. She received her high school degree from the Cali German School and was an exchange student in California where she graduated again at the St. Lucy’s Priory High School. She went on to earn a Biology degree with an emphasis in Botany at the Universidad del Valle, Cali. She then worked as a research associate at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in the Pastures Entomology Department and later in the Virology Unit. Andrea then earned a Masters of Science from the University of Florida, majoring in Electron Microscopy and minoring in Virology. She has been a dedicated hobby orchid grower all of her life. Andrea has served as a board member and president (1992 to 1997) of the local orchid society, Asociación Vallecaucana de Orquideologia. Andrea has lectured about Colombian Orchids in Colombia, USA, Canada, Belgium and Germany. With her husband, Juan Carlos Uribe, she has maintained her own orchid nursery since 1989, Orquideas del Valle Ltda., which has grown to include two retail shops, one in downtown Cali and the other in the town of Ginebra, and also two nurseries, one for warm growing and the other for cool growing plants. She can be contacted through her web site, www.orquivalle.com. Ms. Niessen will be providing an exotic raffle table of Columbian orchids.

Helen Congleton is a hobbyist who started growing orchids in a small patio twenty-seven years ago on a dare from her husband to "grow something more challenging than African violets." Four years later she and her husband moved to a new home, so that they could build a greenhouse and grow more orchids. Their collection rapidly filled the new greenhouse and expanded into an outdoor growing area. Helen is know internationally for her fine collection of Paphiopedilums (Lady Slipper Orchids). She enjoys making a few crosses and growing seedlings, and will be supplying the plants for our raffle table. She is a member of the Orchid Digest Corporation and the AOS, and is a CSA orchid judge.

Dr. Arditti is Professor of Biology Emeritus   -   Developmental and Cell Biology University of California at Irvine.   He  has written, edited ,  and taught comprehensive and detailed references for professionals, growers, plant scientists and hobbyists.  Dr. Arditti, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, spent his career doing research on orchids at the University of California at Irvine.  Joseph Arditti has made extensive visits to the Bogor Botanical Gardens in Indonesia, National University of Singapore, and Singapore Botanic Gardens as well as the University of Malaya.

Helmut first encountered orchids as a child during frequent day-hikes in the Bavarian Alps, where he found various species of Cypripedium, Dactylorhiza, Orchis and Ophrys. He began raising orchids under the tutelage of the late Robert Dugger of Solana Beach, CA. He has published numerous papers on orchidology in various journals. including the Orchid Digest, and created a large number of hybrids in several alliances. He is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the San Diego campus of the University of California. Currently he is an AOS student judge.

Paul is a legendary, long time member of OSSC since 1952.  Mr. Gripp is most known for his association with the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate where he began with a managerial position in 1957.  He later purchased the Estate in 1967, retired in 1986, and currently his children share ownership.  Paul has remained active within the Estate as a Senior Citizen Volunteer.  Mr. Gripp and the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate are one of the world's foremost collectors and propagators of orchid species and hybrids, specializing in outdoor temperature-tolerant varieties.  Paul has held many distinguished offices: President, Cymbidium Society of America; President, Santa Barbara Orchid Show (four times); Member, Research Committee of the American Orchid Society (fifteen years).  Paul's favorite saying: " When you can say you like all orchids equally, you can call your self an orchid man." Alas, Paul's favorite orchid: "All orchids, equally."