Join us for a presentation on Encyclias by guest Speaker Tim Culbertson
Tim is holding Paph. Yerba Buena ‘White Caps’ HCC/AOS, an exceptionally important cultivar in the development of modern green and white complex paphs. This cultivar was awarded in Oakland in 1967.
Meeting Date: Wednesday, June 14th at the Farmington Senior Center. Doors open at 6:30pm for socializing and the meeting starts at 7pm.
Presentation: Encyclias of Mexico and Beyond; including natural history of Mexico, and Central and South America, forest types and associated species
Bio: “Although I teach middle school kids for a living, one of my passions has always been plants. I began growing orchids as an offshoot from working at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphiajust after college. From the very beginning it was all about Paphs, particularly awarded and select clones of historic importance, of which my collection numbers nearly 3000. While I love finding old, rare stepping stones in paph breeding, I also do a little hybridizing of my own, and growing up my own babies is a blast. I was once the youngest accredited judge with the American Orchid Society, and have served in various capacities with various orchid societies in California and on the East Coast. I love meeting other people who like orchids too, and doing so often finds me traveling to shows, vendors, and peoples’ greenhouses to see the latest and greatest in newhybrids and to get the best orchid gossip. I like to be involved in plants as much as possible: in addition to Longwood, I’ve 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, I really like plants.”
Meeting Topic: “For your meeting, I’ll be sharing a presentation on Encyclias of Mexico and Beyond. These spectacular cattleya relatives grow well outside in subtropical climates like Southern California and much of Florida, and with their compact habit, great fragrance, and ease of growth, these are delightful plants for every collection. By extending the traditional definition of Encycliasto include recently separated groups like Anacheilum, Panarica, Prosthechea, Euchile, and others that I and many of you grew up calling Encyclia, we end up with a diverse, beautiful, fragrant, exciting group of plants and flowers; if we add those to the wonderful flora of Mexico and Central America, we have a group that every collector should grow. By the end of this presentation, you will have a new appreciation of the range of plant habits, floral forms, and fragrances of Encyclia broadly, as well as an appreciation of their lovely flowers and ease-of-growth.
