Join us for our June Meeting featuring a presentation on Masdevallia by Tim Culbertson!

Meeting Date: Wednesday, June 11th at the Farmington Senior Center. Doors open at 6:30pm for socializing and the general body meeting starts at 7pm.

Where: The Farmington Senior Center
321 New Britain Ave, Unionville, CT 06085

Event: Masdevallias by Tim Culbertson

Our speaker this month will be Tim Culbertson, one of his passions has always been plants. He began growing orchids as an offshoot from working at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia just after college. From the very beginning it was all about Paphs, particularly awarded and select clones of historic importance, of which his collection numbers nearly
3000. He currently manage the paphs at Sunset Valley Orchids, and does hybridizing in a wide range of genera. He is an accredited judge with the American Orchid Society, and has served in various capacities with various orchid societies in California and on the East Coast. He loves meeting other people who like orchids too, and doing so often finds him traveling to shows, vendors, and peoples’ greenhouses to see the latest and greatest in new hybrids and to get the best orchid gossip. He likes to be involved in plants as much as possible: in addition to Longwood, he’s worked at the Smithsonian Institution tending to their orchids, and for years for the United States National Arboretum, collecting rare plants and documenting cultivated species and hybrids for their herbarium. In short, he really likes plants.

For the meeting, he will be sharing a presentation entitled “Masdevallias You Can Actually Grow.” It’s been such a pity that these absolute gems trace most of their heritage to cold-growing, cloud forest species. Some modern hybridizers are pushing back on those temperature requirements to make new Masdevallia hybrids which are compact, floriferous, colorful, and that grow and bloom in normal intermediate conditions in mixed collections. These plants are easy to grow and flower, are vigorous, and have low demands on light and fertilizer, and as such are wonderful plants! He will help to identify important species in the backgrounds of historically important and modern Masdevallias, as well as
discuss the different directions of breeding warmth tolerance. By the end of this presentation, you will have a new appreciation of what goes into breeding trends for these types of plants, as well as an appreciation of their beautiful flowers and ease-of-growth.

There will be a show table, so don’t forget to bring along your blooming plants for the show table. It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table!

Join us for our April Meeting featuring a presentation on Phragmipedium by Jason Chang!

Phrag. Fritz Schomburg (besseae ‘OZ Selected’ x kovachii ‘Full Moon’)

Meeting Date: Wednesday, April 9th at the Farmington Senior Center.  Doors open at 6:30pm for socializing and the general body meeting starts at 7pm.

Where: The Farmington Senior Center

321 New Britain Ave, Unionville, CT 06085

Event: Phragmipedium by Jason Chang

Our speaker this month will be Jason Chang, who started growing orchids in the mid 1990s. He began this hobby as a windowsill grower, although he has occasionally supplemented with artificial lights in the past as well. More recently he has transitioned his collection into a basement greenhouse powered exclusively by LED lights, where he grows a wide variety of genera including cattleyas, paphiopedilums, phragmipediums, neofinetia, and catasetinae.

At the meeting Jason will be discussing one of his (many) favorite orchids, the popular South American “ladyslippers” of the genus Phragmipedium. He will be reviewing some of the more common species and hybrids, and will offer from a hobbyist perspective some historical and cultural notes.

There will be a show table, so don’t forget to bring along your blooming plants for the show table. It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table!

Join us for our March Meeting featuring a presentation by Cordelia Head from J&L Orchids on Miniature Orchids for the Home

 Meeting Date: Wednesday, March 12th at the Cheshire Senior Center.  Doors open at 6:30pm for socializing and the general body meeting starts at 7pm.

Where: The Cheshire Senior Center

240 Maple Ave, Cheshire, CT 06410

Event: Presentation on Miniature Orchids for the Home

Our March meeting will feature a guest speaker from J&L Orchids. Cordelia Head is one of three previous owners of J&L Orchids and is proud to be associated with the new owners, the Carreno family. She has been growing orchids for more than forty years. Cordelia is on many international orchid committees involving orchid conservation and orchid judging. She is an American Orchid Society accredited judge and served on the Awards Committee for several years.

Cordelia has been fortunate to travel extensively throughout Central and South America in search of orchids. She has discovered many new species and has three named for her. Cordelia has lectured both nationally and internationally, including the World Orchid Conferences in Miami, France, Malaysia, Vancouver, Glasgow and many others.

Preorders: will receive a 10% discount and can be placed by contacting us directly or through our website at https://jlorchids.com using the coupon code:

CTOS25

Email preorders should be sent to preorders@jlorchids.com or call 203-261-3772

Call by noon Wednesday with any preorder

The talk will focus on Miniature orchids for the home. An evergreen presentation that discusses the wide breadth and variety of orchid species that are suitable for home growing. This covers the origins of the different species and their environments, as well as some tips about how they can be grown

There will be a show table, so don’t forget to bring along your blooming plants for the show table. It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table!

Please print and fill out the ID card for the show table

Join us for a talk by Dave Sorokowsky from Paph Paradise

‘Don’t Fear the Slippers’

Meeting Date: Wednesday, November 13^th at the Cheshire Senior Center.  Doors open at 6:30pm for socializing and the meeting starts at 7pm.

Where: The Cheshire Senior Center is located at: 240 Maple Ave, Cheshire, CT 06410

Event: Dave Sorokowsky a culture talk on Paphiopedilums ‘Don’t Fear the Slippers’

Our upcoming November meeting will be a lecture by Dave Sorokowsky from Paph Paradise in California with a talk on Paphiopedilums. He will be accepting pre-orders for pickup at the meeting.

Here is the preorder information: For pre-orders you can just select from the website online inventory https://paphparadise.com/. The deadline is November 3rd. Do not purchase through the online store. Email orders directly to Dave: dave@paphparadise.com Orders over $100 will receive a 10% discount. There will be no shipping charge since he will be bringing the plants with him.

Daves Bio:

“After receiving his degree in biochemistry from the University of Toronto, Dave opted to step
outside his chosen field and operated a tropical fish import business for eight years.  Upon
returning to school, Dave received a degree in enology and viticulture from Brock University in
St. Catharines, Ontario.  While attending Brock, Dave began acquiring orchids one 2” pot at a
time and before he graduated, Dave had over 100 orchids.  Winemaking and a passion for
orchids prompted Dave to seek a warmer climate in California about one year later.  Dave has
been growing paphiopedilums for about 20 years and seriously hybridizing for over 10 years.
He is an accredited AOS judge and his paphiopedilums have received over 100 awards to date
from the AOS and CSA. Many of those awarded plants playing important roles in his breeding
program. In 2018 Dave left winemaking in order to focus all of his time running Paph Paradise
Orchids.”

If you are a beginner or a seasoned grower, Dave is sure to have some useful advise for successfully growing and blooming slipper orchids. With a generally compact habit and lower light requirements than other orchids Paphs tend to be a good choice for the home windowsill grower or perhaps for a grow rack setup. In a greenhouse I tend to tuck them on the North shady side of benches behind and under other high light orchids where they grow luxuriously and flower constantly. When the greenhouse cat is doing his job and the mice aren’t eating the flower buds, they are long lasting attractive flowers and there are generally slippers in bloom at all times of the year. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the meeting this month!

There will be a show table, so don’t forget to bring along your blooming plants for the show table. It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table!

Please print and fill out the ID card for the show table here

Join us for a talk by Kim Fedderson from Fair Orchids

‘A Look at Cymbidium’

Meeting Date: Wednesday, October 9^th at the Farmington Senior Center.  Doors open at 6:30pm for socializing and the meeting starts at 7pm.

Where: The Farmington Senior Center is located at: 321 New Britain Ave, Unionville, CT 06085

Event: Kim Fedderson: A Look at Cymbidium

Our upcoming October meeting will be a lecture by Kim Fedderson from Fair Orchids in Hillsborough, NJ with a talk on Cymbidiums.

From Kim “I was genetically imprinted on all things botanical in my father’s retail orchid & tropicals nursery.  I elected not to go into the family business full time, but have always maintained my interest and a large collection of ‘this and that’. I have grown orchids since 1968, specializing in ‘slippers’ (primarily Paphiopedilum), with Paph fairrieanum my favorite species, smaller Vandaceous plants (see Neofinetia falcata ‘Maplewood’ at left) and a sprinkling of Cattleyas, Aussie Dendrobiums & Cymbidiums. I do a little breeding in several genera, so I often have a variety of extra plants, seedlings and occasionally flasks for sale”

His talk will be A Look at Cymbidium: An overview of the more important species, hybrid types, and cultural requirements. There will be plants for sale at the meeting and as we mentioned at the last meeting his speaker fee to the society will be reduced based on the amount of plant sales at the meeting, so if you have some extra space and are looking for something new consider not only supporting Kim, but the COS! I am certainly looking forward to this talk since cymbidiums are some of the easiest orchids to grow as a houseplant and are in my opinion under appreciated by the hobby as a whole. Some of the standard plants can take up a significant amount of real estate, but newer hybrids are on the smaller side. Looking forward to seeing everyone there at the meeting!

There will be a show table, so don’t forget to bring along your blooming plants for this month’s show table. It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table!

Please print and fill out the ID card for the show table here

Join us for our Annual Re-potting Clinic

Meeting Date: Wednesday, September 11^th at the Cheshire Senior Center.  Doors open at 6:30pm for socializing and the meeting starts at 7pm.

Where: The Cheshire Senior Center is located at: 240 Maple Ave, Cheshire, CT 06410

Event: Orchid Re-potting Clinic

Our September meeting will be a Repotting Clinic with orchid supplies for sale. At the last meeting we announced the new 25% members discount on all books and supplies, I would encourage everyone to take advantage of the discount, the prices for pots, mixes, and stakes are very reasonable and you are supporting your society with your purchase! The supplies list is posted under the ‘Supplies’ tab on our website, NOT on the sidebar under the calendar, that is an outdated supplies list that we can’t seem to delete! Please reach out ahead of time to, ctorchidsociety@gmail.com if there is anything you would like us to bring to the meeting for you. We will be bringing a selection of supplies but will not have everything on the list unless it’s specifically requested. As we head into the cooler months of fall many orchids are putting on new root and shoot growth, so take advantage of this and get some repotting done! We have everything you need from pots to stakes and everything in between.

If you are uncertain or intimidated about repotting your plants or just want to join in the fun this month’s meeting should be a popular event. Bring in your overgrown plants or plants in old potting media, our orchid experts will be on hand to coach you in how to repot or divide your plant. If you would like someone to re-pot your plant for you we can also do that for a small fee of $5 per plant. This is a hands-on event so be prepared to dig in and get dirty! We will have extra pruners and repotting tools, but strongly encourage you to bring your own if you have them so we have enough to go around.

Even if you don’t have any orchids to repot, come on out and join us at the September meeting, there is always something new to learn, and as always, we encourage you to bring your blooming plants for the Show Table! It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table! See you there!

Please print and fill out the ID card for the show table here

COS Picnic Reminder

Join us for our annual Summer Picnic and Plant Swap at Black Rock State Park!

When: Sunday August 11th 10am-3pm – We are asking everyone to arrive around 10am for setup before a brief business meeting around 10:30am, followed by a barbecue lunch and socializing.The picnic is under a covered pavilion and will take place Rain or Shine

Where: Black Rock State Park Picnic Pavilion: 2065 Thomaston Rd, Watertown, CT 06795

Directions: From Route 8 north: take Exit 38. Turn left at the end of the exit ramp to first traffic light. Turn left at traffic light onto US Route 6 west. Park entrance is a 1/2 mile on the right on US Route 6.

From Route 8 south: take Exit 38. Go straight ahead at the end of the exit ramp to US Route 6 west. Park entrance is on the right.

You can use 2065 Thomaston Rd for your gps.

The pavilion is visible across the field from the Main Entrance and is adjacent to the parking & bathrooms. Very easy to locate, there should be staff at the entrance who can direct you if you have any difficulty finding the pavilion.

Picnic Info:

The COS will be providing Hot Dogs and Hamburgers and we are asking that everyone bring a side dish, appetizer, dessert, or drinks to share. Please respond to Karen KuzielKarenKuziel@pchiggins.com directly if you are planning on attending and have not already signed up with a dish or reached out to her! We need a rough headcount or burgers and dogs to plan food. If you are a member and want to bring a guest, please let us know so we can accommodate, there is a $5 guest fee.

There are picnic tables at the facility, but we encourage you to bring your own folding chairs if you would like something a bit more comfortable. Feel free to bring yard games for a bit of competitive sport!

Since we are not holding a regular meeting with a speaker this month we are planning on holding a plant swap! Bring along your extra divisions or plants to swap. Orchids are prolific growers and we always have a few extra divisions sitting around taking up space. This is a chance to open up some space for something new in your collection. So join the summer fun and swap a plant!

There will be a show table, so don’t forget to bring along your blooming plants for this month’s show table. It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table!

Please print and fill out the ID card for the show table below 🙂

Orchid ID Cards for Show Table

Join us for our annual Re-potting Clinic

Meeting Date: Wednesday, November 8th at the Farmington Senior Center

Doors open at 6:30pm for socializing and the meeting starts at 7pm.

The Farmington Senior Center: 321 New Britain Ave, Unionville, CT 06085

Featured Event: Orchid Re-potting Clinic

The November ‘Re-potting Clinic’ is coming up early this month, we apologize for any confusion that that last minute meeting change caused last month, it was caused by circumstances out of our control. As a result, we are meeting in Farmington in both November and December!

If you are uncertain or intimidated about repotting your plants or just want to join in the fun this month’s meeting should be a popular event. We have a large amount of potting media that we mixed up for this event, with different formulations to suit a wide variety of plants. Media mixes, pots, and supplies will be available for sale to members at a reasonable price. Feel free to bring your own media and supplies, our orchid experts will be on hand to coach you in how to repot or divide your plant. If you would like someone to re-pot your plant for you we can also do that for a small fee of $5 per plant. This is a hands-on event so be prepared to dig in and get dirty! We will have extra pruners and repotting tools, but strongly encourage you to bring your own if you have them so we have enough to go around.

On the agenda this month is a vote for a proposed increase in membership dues. As we approach the new year this is a reminder that it’s time to renew your membership. This year we are proposing a dues increase to be voted on by the membership attendant at the upcoming November meeting. The annual membership dues were set back in the early 2000’s and as we all know the price of just about everything has gone up over the past 20 years. We are proposing an increase from $20 to $30 for the individual membership, $25 to $35 for the family membership, $200 to $300 for the lifetime individual, and $250 to $350 for the lifetime family. The increase in membership dues will allow us to continue booking amazing speakers for the upcoming year without breaking the budget. If you have anything to say on the matter please come out and vote at the November meeting.

Don’t forget to bring along your blooming plants for this month’s show table. It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table! See you there!

Please print and fill out the ID card for the show table below