Jun 212013
 

SFOS July 2013 Membership Meeting

Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The Hampton Inn Miami Airport West
3620 N.W. 79th Ave.
Doral, FL  33166
8:00 PM Program beings

The July meeting will be presented by long time supporter of SFOS, Mirta Russis Heineman.  Mirta will present a program titled “A Peak into the World of Epidendrums”.  The program will focus on the most common Epidendrums we can grow here in South Florida.

Mirta was born in Cuba and came with her family to the States in 1961.  She did not speak English and therefore could not go back to college until she had tackled that rich and tricky language.  After her children had finished High School she went back, graduated, and became a teacher.

Mirta bought her first orchid from the tailgate of a truck that was selling tempting specimens after one of the Miami Shows closed.  This was some 20 years ago.  Ask her about The First Time?  She’ll tell you with a smile, “Phalaenosis”.  After that she bought many orchids – but with very little luck in keeping them healthy until she started taking classes to learn how to take care of the little darlings.

After she retired she devoted more time to her new challenge.  She joined six different orchid societies and attended just about every class that she heard about – all to learn more about orchids.  She has traveled many times to many cities and countries to attend shows, conferences, and classes – and to rescue orchids.

She has been president, a vice president, and has occupied almost every board position in many orchid societies where she is a member.  For the last two years she was the President of COS.  This enthusiasm for orchids has taken her to many of our local societies to make presentations and attend shows.  She has also taught at AOS.  We hope you will join us for this wonderful program.  Guests are always welcome!!

May 172013
 

SFOS June 2013 Membership Meeting

Wednesday, June 19, 2013
The Hampton Inn Miami Airport West
3620 N.W. 79th Ave.
Doral, FL  33166
8:00 PM Program beings

Our June meeting is always a very special evening.  Tonight we will install the 2013-2014 Officers and Board of Directors and present awards for the outstanding orchid plants entered for SFOS judging throughout the year.  Then when those activities are complete we will have a wonderful program presented by long time members and supporters of SFOS, Segundo and Yolanda Cuesta of Quest Orchids.

Segundo and Yolanda started hybridizing orchids in 1984 and in 1992 opened their retail orchid business.  The started with two greenhouses and today have 50,000 sq, ft. of growing space.  Quest Orchids specializes in Art Shaped Cattleyas and cloning old standards.  They also have a new breeding line of standards flowers with compact plants, which has been very successful for them. Quest Orchids also participates in about fifteen Shows across the country each year, including the SFOS Annual Orchid Show.

Segundo will present a program titled “Growing Cattleyas in South Florida”.  Their program will cover culture, disease and pest control.  They will have several handouts for you to take home.  Quest Orchids will be providing the raffle table this evening.  Quest Orchids is located in Miami (Horse country) at 12110 SW 43 Street, Miami FL 33175, 305-219-2883 hours are Tuesday 9:30 to Saturday.  They are closed on Sunday and Monday.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting and remember guests are always welcome!!

May 092013
 

SFOS May 2013 Membership Meeting

Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Hampton Inn Miami Airport West
3620 N.W. 79th Ave.
Doral, FL  33166
8:00 PM Program beings

Our May program will be presented by Dr. Brian Monk. The title of Brian’s program is “Tolumnias: We Were All Weeds Once“.

Brian Monk was born in Milton, Florida in 1969. Shortly after his birth, Brian’s family moved to Charleston, West Virginia where he spent the next 18 years. As a young man, Brian’s intense passion for nature led to his profession and his many hobbies including bird watching, orchid growing, and natural history.

In 1992, Brian received his B.S., cum laude, from Hampden Sydney College in Virginia followed by a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Virginia Tech in 1997. In 2005, while working as a Veterinarian in Orlando, Florida, Brian met the love of his life Mary-Margaret, in Ft. Lauderdale. Because of Brian’s passion of all things orchids, he and Mary-Margaret form Blu Llama Orchids, Inc. Brian and Mary-Margaret were married on April Fool’s Day in 2006 and reside in Ft. Lauderdale with their five cats and their ever expanding orchid collection.

Brian started growing and hybridizing orchids in his backyard, but this has recently expanded to 4000 square feet of greenhouse space. He will grow anything green, but focuses on his hybridizing projects, which include the development of multi-floral white and pink paphiopedilums, warmth tolerant red Oncidiinae, and standard pink Cattleya with an all-white lip.

Brian’s photography has won awards online, in the 2007 Miami International Orchid Show and at the 2008 World Orchid Conference. He has had a solo exhibit of his fine art photography at the Leu Gardens in Orlando and has been a featured artist at the AOS Gardens.

We hope to see you at the meeting!!!

Mar 182013
 

SFOS March Membership Meeting

Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The Hampton Inn Miami Airport West
3620 N.W. 79th Ave.
Doral, FL  33166
8:00 PM Program beings

Paul and Mary Storm are hobbyists who have a passion for anything “SCHOMBO” and their nursery in Sarasota, Florida holds what is believed to be the largest collection of Schombo/Laelia and Myrmecophila species and hybrids anywhere. Paul was a featured presenter at the Mid-America Winter Orchid Conference in Ohio a few years ago, as well as at the Symposium on Orchid Species sponsored by the Coalition on Species at Fairchild Gardens in Miami.

Paul and Mary look forward to returning to the South Florida Orchid Society with  ‘SCHOMBO-SEX 102’ They will also be providing the raffle table for the evening as well as selling Schom species, hybrids, and seedlings. Pre-orders may be arranged by viewing their web-site at: mekealohaorchids.com. In addition Meke Aloha exclusively uses ORCHIATA as their potting media of choice and if anyone wishes to purchase gallon or 40 liter bags of ORCHIATA please order in advance stating the amount desired as well as the size of the bark (Medium/Coarse). Paul and Mary are not equipped to process credit card purchases; you can pay by cash or checks only.

Guests are always welcome at our meetings and we know you will enjoy this program.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Jan 162013
 

Please join us at our new location for a wonderful program presented by Dr. Ruben Sauleda, a long time member and Past President of South Florida Orchid Society. Ruben’s program is titled “Flasking and Propagation of Orchids” which covers from pollination to flowering. Ruben will also provide the plant raffle table and have plants for sale.

Dr. Ruben P. Sauleda began growing orchids at the age of 12. At the age of 16 he established Ruben In Orchids. Almost half a century later Ruben In Orchids is recognized internationally and is the oldest orchid business in Florida. After graduating from Miami Senior High School, he attended Miami-Dade Junior College where he received an Associate of Arts. He was the first biology student in the first graduating class to receive a Bachelor of Science at Florida International University. He was then accepted to Florida Atlantic University where he received a Master of Science in biology working on the orchids of the Bahama Islands. During this time he was asked by Dr. Donovan S. Correll to collaborate on the Flora of the Bahamas by contributing the treatment of the orchids. After graduating from FAU, he was accepted to the University of South Florida, where he received his Ph.D. in Orchid Taxonomy. He has held positions as a Research Associate at Fairchild Tropical Gardens, Florida Atlantic University, the University of South Florida and several other research institutions. He has taught classes at Florida International University and Miami-Dade College.

Dr. Sauleda has also written several books on orchid culture and has written over a hundred articles in scientific journals. He was Chairman of Education for the 2008 World Orchid Conference in Miami and was responsible for arranging all the lectures, overseeing all the photography and was the editor of the proceedings. His specialty is flasking and he is presently the leader in reproducing Encyclia, Cattleya, Schomburgia and Tolumnia species and hybrids.

Please join us at our new location, Hampton Inn Miami Airport West, 3620 NW 79th Ave., Doral, Florida 33166. The meeting will begin at 8:00 PM and refreshments will be provided. We know you will enjoy the wonderful program Ruben will present.

Oct 092012
 

Our October meeting will be a real treat. We have Greg Allikas presenting a new program titled “The 25 Best Orchids I Have Seen in the Past Three Years”. Greg photographs about 200 award winning plants per year which represents about 10% of the total given by AOS, so this will be a good overview of the best orchids judged by the AOS.

Greg has been a commercial photographer in the Palm Beaches and an orchid grower since 1970. He is the awards photographer for the AOS West Palm Beach Judging Center and the Florida-Caribbean Judging Center in Miami and many annual Orchid Shows in south Florida. His photos are regularly seen in the AOS publications including the annual calendar and Awards Quarterly and the Orchids magazine. He has written articles for both the Orchids magazine and Orchid Digest and has been published in the Russian magazine, World of Orchids. Together with Ned Nash, Greg has published three orchid books: Four Seasons of Orchids, The World’s Most Beautiful Orchids, and Pocket Guide to Orchids. In 2005, Greg was honored to consult on and supply photography for a United Nations postal administration endangered species stamp release featuring 12 endangered orchid species.

Greg has traveled internationally to photograph orchids in their native habitats as well as to do award photography at International Shows. He is a popular speaker in demand at orchid societies across the U.S. We are thrilled to have him here to present a program for us.

This will be a wonderful program and we hope you will all attend and be sure to invite your friends.

Carol

Sep 012012
 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Fire
Fighters Memorial Building
8000 NW 21 St., Miami, FL 33122
8:00 PM Meeting begins

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_29FqElAnXOo/ScVBLaDKIdI/AAAAAAAAAAM/rY_llvF6Ryk/S220/gbt+amaryllis+shot+copy.jpgGeorgia Tasker, a long time member of the South Florida Orchid Society, will present our September program. Georgia will present a program titled “Biodiversity in Ecuador, including the Galapagos Islands”.

Georgia Tasker is a writer on staff at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Coral Gables. She writes for The Tropical Garden magazine, has a gardening blog on the Fairchild website, and has written 3 handbooks in her on-going series, “Gardening With Fairchild”.

Prior to joining the Garden staff in 2009, she was a garden writer with The Miami Herald and the author of 3 garden books. She is a graduate of Hanover College in Indiana and received the first certificate in tropical botany from FIU in 1984. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University. She has been awarded the Barbour Medal from Fairchild and the first lifetime achievement award from Tropical Audubon Society.

She is a photographer, amateur birder, butterfly gardener and passionate traveler, having been to the Arctic and the Antarctic, Madagascar, Africa, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Australia, China, Japan, all of Europe, Central America and much of South America. Just recently, she watched whales in Baja California, Mexico and spent six weeks in Myanmar, India, Bhutan and Nepal.

We hope you will join us and bring a friend for this wonderful presentation by Georgia Tasker.

Aug 022012
 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Fire
Fighters Memorial Building
8000 NW 21 St., Miami, FL 33122
8:00 PM Meeting begins

Our August program will be present by Carlos Cahiz of OFE Orchid Supplies. Carlos is currently serving on the board of SFOS as a Director and has been a long time supporter of our Society. The program Carlos will present is titled “An Introduction to Orchid Growing Supplies” and Carlos will be bringing actual samples of orchid growing products and explaining how to use them. The orchid growing products will include fungicides, fertilizers, insecticides, baskets and pots, and various orchid media, growing media, sprayers, and clippers.

Carlos was born in Valencia, Venezuela and graduated from the University of Kansas. He has worked in the family orchid supply business for the last twenty-three years.

OFE Orchid Supplies will provide orchids and supplies for the raffle table. He will also be selling supplies and you can also order supplies ahead for delivery at the meeting by calling Carlos at 305-253-7080.

We look forward to seeing everyone at this wonderful meeting. It is a great opportunity to ask questions from an expert in the field of orchid supplies.

Jul 092012
 

Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Fire Fighters Memorial Building
8000 NW 21 St., Miami, FL 33122
Click here for a map.
8:00 PM Meeting begins

Kathy Whalen from St. Germain Orchids in Homestead, Florida will present our July program.

Kathy’s program is titled “Caring for Cattleyas” and will include a demonstration on how to properly repot Cattleyas.

With over forty year’s expertise and a bold presence in the agricultural life of Homestead, Florida, the family of St. Germain Orchids continues the legacy of superior quality orchids and warm genuine service. Founded by two siblings with tremendous entrepreneurial spirit, St. Germain orchids began as a roadside stall enticing passersby with vibrant, fresh blooms. Years of enduring effort and an unwavering passion for orchids expanded the family run business into what has become the region’s premier vendor of nearly 200 types of Cattleya orchids. While an extensive variety of orchids can be found at St. Germain’s, exotic Cattleya varieties is there specialty.

Bring your friends – we know everyone will enjoy this wonderful program!

 

Jun 012012
 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Fire Fighters Memorial Building
8000 NW 21 St., Miami, FL 33122
Click here for a map.
8:00 PM Meeting begins

Our June meeting will be special for all SFOS members and guests. We have Roy Tokunaga from Hawaii to present a program for us. Roy is one of the owners of H & R Nurseries in Waimanalo, Hawaii and is credited with 30-plus years of experience in hybridization with several thousand hybrids delivered. Most of his work has been in the Dendrobium and Cattleya alliances.

Roy has been an accredited AOS judge since 1990 and a long time member of South Florida Orchid Society. Roy will present a program titled “Dendrobiums: species, hybrids, and culture.” This program will focus on growing for the Florida hobbyist. H & R Nurseries will provide the raffle table and have plants to sell.

Guests are always welcome at our meetings. We hope you will join us for this wonderful evening!