2025 SAOS Newsletters
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December 2 - Holiday Auction
Courtney Hackney, Auctioneer Extraordinaire
The auction was tons of fun with Courtney at the helm. Courtney was in rare form and his good humor spread through the group, encouraging lively bidding.
November 4 - Becoming an 80 Percentile Grower
Fred Clarke, Sunset Valley Orchids
Fred talked about how and why orchids grow as they do. He explored the fundamentals and talked about how to mimic nature to best grow them. It was a great discussion of orchid plant culture.
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our November Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to Courtney's November Virtual Show Table on Rumble and YouTube.
October 7 - Growing and Flowering Better Cattleyas
Dr. Courtney Hackney, Hackneau Art and Orchids
Courtney talked about growing cattleyas to get the best blooms. He talked about the epiphytic lifestyle, to make sure your plants get enough light, mositure and nutrients so your plants have enought energy in reserve to bloom well.
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our October Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to Courtney's October Virtual Show Table on Rumble and YouTube.
September 2 - Novelty Phalaenopsis
Phillip Hamilton, Bredren Orchids
Phillip talked about growing the summer blooming novelty phalaenopsis with lots of practical information on the do's and don'ts. He showed us the results of his novelty breeding, phals with colorful, often fragrant flowers and lovely foliage.
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our September Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to Courtney's September Virtual Show Table on Rumble and YouTube.
August 5 - Orchid Mounting Workshop
SAOS Members
Sue Bottom and Eric Milstrey presented a slide show and demo on Orchid Mounting. Eric did a demonstration of how to mount an orchid. After the demonstration, enthused members took a plant with a mount, wire, and tag to one of the tables and with the help of team leaders, mounted their own orchid to take home.
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our August Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
July 1 - Epicatts and Schombocatts
Jim Roberts, Florida SunCoast Orchids
Jim talked to us about epicatts and schombocatts, some of his favorites for hybridizing in the cattleya alliance. Epicatts is the old term for hybrids between encyclias and other genera in the cattleya alliance. Schombocatts is another previously common term for the hybrids between Schomburgkias (now Myremecophila and Laelia) and other genera in the cattleya alliance.Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our July Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
June 3 - Beautiful, Unique and Weird Orchids
Nicholas Rust, Rusty Exotics
Nick presented a photo montage of the beautiful, the unique and the weird in the orchid world. His entertaining talk included cultural tips for growing a wide variety of orchids.
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our June Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
May 6 - Bifoliate Cattleya Species
Ben Oliveros, Orchid Eros
Ben talked about bifoliate cattleya species, those beautiful cattleyas that bloom in the spring through fall with clusters of flowers. He talked about they typical and various color forms of these species, and showed us many of his awarded cultivars.
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our May Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
April 1 - Orchid Pests and Diseases
Sue Bottom, St. Augustine Orchid Society
Sue talked about the different kinds of problems you may occasionally have with your orchids, from cultural issues to pests and diseases. Many times you might suspect the problem is disease or pest related, when in actuality a slight change in your cultural habitats can eliminate the problem.
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our April Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
March 4 - Brassavolas
Claude Hamilton, Hamlyn Orchids
Claude talked about the different Brassavola species and some of their many hybrids. These mostly white, star shaped flowers are night fragrant, with native habitats ranging from Mexico, Central America and the West Indies into South America.
Dave Off of Waldor Orchids made a guest appearance presenting the April Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
February - Restoring Native Orchids
Mike Sands, Tangled Roots Nursery
Mike spoke about his renovation project involving the repopulation of epiphytic orchids and other native plants in Palm Beach County. Mike and his partners are working to restore 'Old Florida' to Rotary Peace Park.Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our February Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.
January - Vandaceous, but not Vandas
Keith Emig, Winter Haven Orchid Nursery
Keith talked about other varieties in the vandaceous alliance besides the vandas and ascocentrums we all love to grow. More unusual vandaceous orchids include the Aerides, Angraecoids, Neofinetia, Renanthera and Rhynchostylis.
Courtney weaved his orchid tales for our January Virtual Show Table, using pictures of blooming orchids sent in by members. Here's a link to his presentation.