For our May meeting (which is a week later than usual because of the Victoria Day holiday weekend), our speaker will be Dan Doucette. Dan has spoken to our group before and his illustrated presentations are always fascinating. For this meeting his topic is:

The Wildlife of Socotra: Jewel of Yemen

Among serious plant enthusiasts, the island of Socotra, in the Arabian Sea, is legendary for its botanical treasures. Horticulturist and World Traveler Dan Doucette has been dreaming about visiting this otherworldly island for over a decade and that dream finally came true in February 2023. Dan spent two weeks on the island on a private tour. He visited many well known sites and also more remote areas in the Haggier mountains during a 6 day camel trek. Join Dan as he shares his stories and photos from this shining jewel of Yemen.

The meeting takes place at RBG headquarters, 680 Plains Rd. W. , Burlington, Ontario, probably in rooms 3 and 4 (subject to confirmation). The formal meeting starts at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive any time after 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. Bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the Show Table. If you are so inclined, treats for the coffee break and orchids for the raffle are also appreciated. Members and guests welcome.

For our April meeting, the topic is “Tiny Slippers.” Miniature Paphiopedilums are not only stunningly beautiful but small enough that you just might find space to fit a few in your collection. This presentation will discuss the breeding for the perfect miniature plants and what species are used by hybridizers, and will showcase many of the recent  miniature crosses that have been created. After this talk,  you may be tempted to collect a few of these beauties at the next orchid show and so our speaker, Deb Boersma will also talk about cultural requirements.   

Deb is a recently retired Chemistry teacher from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario. She has been growing orchids for 30 years. She started by  growing under lights and then in a sunroom, but in 2014 she built a greenhouse to house her growing collection. She has about 500 orchids including Cattleyas, Sobralias, Paphiopedilums, Tolumnias and several other miscellaneous genera. She is the President of the Windsor Orchid Society and an associate judge in the  AOS judging program at the Great Lakes Judging Center, Ann Arbor. She has received several AOS quality awards, Best in Class awards  and she was the recipient of the Orchid Digest Diamond Award in 2016.  

The meeting takes place at the RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains Rd. W, Burlington, ON, (probably in Room 5 – subject to confirmation). The formal meeting begins at 2 pm, but you are invited to arrive as early as 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. Bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the show table, and if so inclined, any orchids or orchid-related items for the raffle or treats for coffee break. Masking (or not) is based on personal preference. Members and guests welcome.

At the OSRBG Show, many awards were presented. The Society congratulates all the winners once again and thanks all those who generously sponsored awards. For a complete list, see http://osrbg.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Award-Winners-2024-.pdf

Here is a photo of the winner of the IPA Trophy for Best Phalaenopsis Hybrid, Phal. Popin Fireworks ‘Potin Ocicar’

Repotting made easy (well, easier…)

For our March meeting we always issue a special invitation to orchid enthusiasts who came to the Show a few weeks ago and would like to learn more about repotting their orchids, and of course also to our current members: if you have a plant and are wondering whether or not to repot, bring it to the meeting and our experts, Pat Vuurman and Ben Boers, will give you excellent advice and assistance. If your repotting is up-to-date, congratulations! You can still come and lend a hand and add your wisdom to the discussion.  Orchid media will be provided; you will probably want to bring your secateurs, and gloves and pots. The meeting takes place at RBG headquarters, 680 Plains Road W., Burlington Ontario, in room 5 (subject to confirmation). The formal meeting starts at 2 pm but you are invited to come anytime after 1 pm to socialize and interact with vendors. Members and guests welcome. As usual, masking (or not) is according to personal preference.

Click on Reports of Shows and Other Events (above) to see

1 )Rob Vanderheyden’s report and photos of the OSRBG display at SOOS 2024.

2) Wendy Hearder-Moan’s report and photos of the OSRBG Show, February 2024, with an addendum by Ben Boers.

3) Pat Vuurman’s report and Rob Vanderheyden’s photos of the OSRBG display at the London Orchid Society Show, March 2024

Alina Furtak will be our speaker at the February meeting and the topic as noted above is “Phalaenopsis stuartiana and its influence in hybridizing.” Alina’s passion for orchids goes back many years. At an early age she was exposed to the world of flowers by her grandmother, who cultivated plants for the local flower market and subscribed to many botanical magazines. Alina is an active SOOS member, where she currently serves as Vice-President and often contributes by putting together displays at Orchid Shows. She is also an AOS member, serving as an associate judge at the Toronto Judging Centre, and as a proofreader for the Orchids magazine. Alina is an amateur orchid grower for over 15 years and is also an artist. Her favourite subjects are–you guessed it–flowers!

in addition to Alina’s presentation, Ben Boers, Show Director, will discuss the arrangements for our Orchid Show, coming up on February 24-25, 2024. There are changes to the usual format that members need to be aware of.

The formal meeting begins at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive as early as 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. The location is RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains Rd. W. Burlington, ON, probably in rooms 3 & 4. Please bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the Show Table and any orchids or orchid-related items that you may have for the raffle. Members and guests welcome. Masking (or not) in accordance to personal preference.

How did a bit of an ugly ducking, from two very diverse parents, become one of the most successful parents of all time in the Cattleya alliance?

“Cattlianthe Chocolate Drop and its Stunning Hybrids” is the topic for our January meeting. Jean Allen-Ikeson will give an illustrated talk about the development and culture of this beauty. We can expect to see lots of red! Jean Allen-Ikeson is well-known to OSRBG members, having addressed our group on several occasions. A judge in the Toronto Judging Centre, she was once OSRBG newsletter editor (in the late 1990s). Jean has written numerous articles for Orchids magazine and given webinars for the AOS besides being National Education Coordinator for AOS Judges and Chair of the Editorial Board of the AOS. She grows in a greenhouse and sunroom ‘up the escarpment’ from Dundas. 

The meeting will take place at Royal Botanical Gardens Headquarters, Rooms 3 & 4, 680 Plains Rd. W., Burlington, Ontario. The formal meeting begins at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive as early as 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. Please bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the show table and any orchids or orchid-related items you may have for the raffle. Masking (or not) according to personal preferences. Members and guests welcome.

Our annual orchid auction and holiday social will take the place of the usual meeting format on Sunday December 17, 2023. Members are asked to bring orchids and orchid-related items to be auctioned, finger foods to be enjoyed…and of course, cash to fund your auction wins! (Cheques and e-transfers also accepted.) This is always a good opportunity to pick up something new for your collection, or possibly a gift for someone on your list. Note that there will be no show table at this event but there will be a raffle for those who prefer to try another route for possibly adding an orchid to their collection. The auction takes place in Room 5,  Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Rd. W., Burlington, Ontario. It starts at 2 pm, but you are invited to arrive any time after 1 pm to socialize and interact with vendors. Members and guests welcome. Masking (or not) depending on personal preferences.

Note change of date!

Our speaker for the November 26th meeting is Joe Di Ciommo. Joe has been a member of OSRBG from the outset. He recounts that he attended the first ever Orchid show at RBG 40 years ago with his wife, Patricia, and her mother, Marie. When he heard that an Orchid society was being organized by Dr. Brasch and others, he decided to join. Over the years he served as President, Show Director, and was a member of various committees. His own orchid collection started under lights in the basement, then moved to a 250 sq. ft. greenhouse, then a 1,000 sq. ft. greenhouse. He started selling orchids 30 years ago, “to pay for the expenses”, he says. Joe has done his own hybidizing and has made hundreds of crosses such as “Di Ciommo Patricia, the orchid in the centre of the photo below. These days he works with his friend and colleague, Joe Barnes, who does the flasking, but in the past Joe also did this part of the process of orchid growing. He has won many AOS awards such as the CCM (Certificate of Cultural Merit) for the plant shown in the photo above. He will give us some tips on how to perhaps achieve a CCM for one of your orchids.

The meeting will take place at RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains Rd. W. Burlington, Ontario, probably in rooms 3 and 4. The formal meeting begins at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive any time after 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. Please bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the show table and any orchids or orchid-related items you may have for the raffle. Masking (or not) according to personal preferences.

For our October meeting we travel, in our imagination, to Costa Rica with Dan Doucette.

Even though Dan has been to Costa Rica 7 times, he still manages to find new and exciting orchids to photograph. In his talk, Wild Orchids of Costa Rica, Dan shares his experiences from dense rainforests on the Caribbean coast all the way south to the orchid rich, high altitude cloudforests on the border with Panama. 

Dan is a Seasonal Gardener and World Traveler.  He has been traveling for over 25 years and has photographed over 600 orchid species in the wild.

The meeting will take place at the Headquarters of Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Rd. W. Burlington, in rooms 3 and 4. The formal meeting starts at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive any time after 1:30 pm to socialize and interact with vendors. Please bring along your beautiful orchids in bloom for the Show Table, and any orchids or orchid-related items that you may have for the raffle. Masking (or not) according to personal preference. Members and guests welcome.