March 2 Tidbits About Dendrobiums

Posted on by Lorna Kissling

March’s presentation will be given by Karl Varian, a member of our society, and an AOS judge since 2022 for the Dallas Judging Center. Karl has picked up many interesting tidbits on Dendrobiums that he’ll be sharing with us, including what parts of the world are ‘home’ to Dendrobiums and how to grow this diverse group of orchids. Karl has been growing his collection of orchids since about 1960, so he has a lot of experience to share! We’ll have our orchid table judging and the raffle following Karl’s talk. Snacks are provided – come join us!

Orchids 101 will be in the greenhouse at 2pm. Lorna will be talking about being Bugged By Bugs!

We had a great Valentine Show and Sale at the Dallas Arboretum! A lot of people came by to enjoy the Spring-like displays and buy orchids. Many picked up information on our society and our coming October Show and Sale (Oct. 10-12). We appreciate all of you who volunteered to staff the table, talk with the public, and sell orchids! Many thanks, also, to the helpful and friendly staff of the Dallas Arboretum!

February 2 Barkeria Surprises: New Species and Hybrids

Posted on by Lorna Kissling

Two unexpected, very attractive new species of Barkeria have recently been described. For our February meeting, Dr. Robert Marsh will review their characteristics, relationship to other species within the genus, and native environments. Then he’ll turn to surprising observations and unexpected – but hoped for – breakthroughs in his own Barkeria breeding program. Dr. Marsh has nearly 70 years of experience with growing orchids and has been a member of GNTOS since 1982. He and Dennis Szeszko founded MAS Orchids (MASOrchids.com), which provides information, culture tips, and photos of Barkeria species and hybrids. As usual, our program will be followed by an orchid table judging for members and an orchid raffle for everyone!

Orchids 101 will be a Q&A led by Charlie in the greenhouse at 2pm.

Remember that the Dallas Arboretum Valentine Show and Sale is coming up February 14-16 (Friday thru Sunday) at the arboretum. GNTOS will be there, so we are looking for people to man the tables we’ll be using. We still have 2-hour time slots open on all 3 days. You can sign up at this SignUpGenius link.