Welcome to the Conejo Orchid Society
Bl (L. latona X B. digbyana)
Grown by Bill Gunning
Welcome to the Conejo Orchid Society
Bl (L. latona X B. digbyana)
Grown by Bill Gunning
Bl (L. latona X B. digbyana)
Grown by Bill Gunning
Bl (L. latona X B. digbyana)
Grown by Bill Gunning
Our June guest speaker will be Fred Clarke of Sunset Valley Orchids in Vista. Fred has been growing orchids for 42 years and has been hybridizing for 38 of those years. With over 34 years as a professional grower and manager in the horticultural industry, he applies these skills at his orchid nursery; Sunset Valley Orchids, located in San Diego, California. He is a passionate orchid grower whose curiosity in orchids is broad and varied. Although developing Cattleya hybrids has been his sustaining interest, he is also actively creating new Paphiopedilum and Aussie Dendrobium hybrids plus some others to be named if they work out!
Fred’s pioneering work in Catasetum intergeneric hybrids led to the development of several notable hybrids, most recently the grex, Fredclarkeara After Dark, which produced “the blackest flower ever witnessed”. This grex has received over 100 awards worldwide with nine FCCs and 30 AMs from the AOS judges!
He is an Accredited Judge in the Pacific South Judging Region. His plants have received hundreds of quality awards from the American Orchid Society
The topic of Fred’s presentation will be “Aussie Dendrobiums and their Cultivation.” About this group of orchids Fred says that our friends down under have been breeding their native Dendrobiums and creating some fantastic flowers, and the word is out! Aussie Dens are easy to grow, tolerant of heat and cold, have fragrant flowers, and re-bloom from the old bulbs!!! They grow well in a wide variety of conditions; they are perfect plants for summering in the shade house and then bring indoors once night temperatures are in the low 40s or stay outside year-round in frost free areas. In conclusion we cover the “best growing practices” for cultivating these remarkable plants.
The objectives of the COS shall be to stimulate an interest in the collection, culture and appreciation of orchids; to foster and encourage culture, growing, hybridization and preservation of native and hybrid orchids; to disseminate information by exhibits, lectures and publications.
The Conejo Orchid Society (COS) was formed to provide a setting where orchid devotees could meet to share their enthusiasm and knowledge, assist one another with orchid culture, and learn from guest experts. What we all have in common is a love of orchids and a desire for orchid knowledge.
Members are encouraged to bring their blooming plants for display and judging. In addition there are refreshments, and a raffle of beautfiul plants at each meeting.