THE GNTOS SPRING ORCHID SHOW AND SALE IS SATURDAY & SUNDAY, APRIL 13 &14

April 7th’s meeting will cover the different areas we need take care of to make a successful show. There are so many ways to participate: helping set up, helping tear down, helping venders load and unload, clerking during judging Friday evening, staffing the GNTOS sales table, welcoming visitors, bringing food for those who are working the show, etc. Lots of YOUR help makes for a smoothly run show. Sign-up sheets will be passed around during the meeting to help fill any remaining open spots.

Orchids 101 will begin at 2pm in the greenhouse, led by Charlie. It’ll be a Q&A. Come with your questions about growing orchids!

At the show, there will be plenty of vendors and several orchid displays, including one on orchid conservation. With such beautiful displays, there are plenty of opportunities for taking pictures of the gorgeous orchids we love to grow. Remember, the vendors know a lot about growing the orchids they sell, so feel free to ask them any questions you might have about the orchids you buy. Come on out – learn and enjoy!

SHOW HOURS for the public: Saturday 9-5, Sunday 9-3

Show setup will be on Friday, April 12. The show location is the same as for last year’s show – Texas A&M’s Water & Land Resources Bldg. at 17360 Coit Road, in Dallas. Parking is free.

Members: You can help pay for the costs of the show by signing up to sponsor the various orchids classes for judging. Click here to find what classes are still available. Each sponsorship is $25 – all sponsor will be listed on the placard for the awarded plant for each class.

Emily Quinn will lead our meeting in March with a workshop on caring for, and hopefully curing, sick plants. Orchids will be brought in to examine and identify the problem, whether bugs or care issues. We will have examples of products to use as treatments. We’ll also have a slide show which will illustrate other problems and solutions. Emily is an accredited AOS orchid judge and the Training Coordinator for the Dallas Judging Center. She enjoys most orchids but has a special place in her heart for bulbophyllums and other oddball orchids. After the talk, we’ll have our usual member plant judging and raffle. Come join us and get tips on keeping your orchids healthy!

Orchids 101 will be in the greenhouse at 2pm with Lorna talking about general repotting for orchids (topic changed from summering orchids outside).

NOTE: Our Spring Orchid Show and Sale will be April 13-14, with setup on Friday, April 12. Location is Texas A&M’s Water & Land Resources Bldg. at 17360 Coit Road, in Dallas. Watch for more details!

Our February meeting will be a little different than our usual type of program – we will be viewing an AOS webinar “Black Orchids”. Just as “blue” orchids aren’t truly blue, the “black” color of these hybrids is usually a very dark purple. It has taken some years and lots of hybridizing to get this very dark coloration on orchids and this webinar will talk about these unusually-colored orchids. Join us!

Orchids 101 will be in the greenhouse at 2pm with Charlie leading the Q&A discussion.

Our first program for 2024 will be about preparing your orchids (and yourself!) for the upcoming April show. Emily Quinn, an AOS Judge and member of GNTOS, will be speaking to us about grooming your orchids to make them look their best, and things you should not do to your plants. Everyone who plans on bringing orchids should try to have a listing of the plants you think you will put in the show and what class you think they are in. If in doubt, bring to the meeting either the plant or a picture of it. Remember, if it is not in the right class, it might not get judged, and the registration committee will not have time to check on each plant as it is getting registered. After the program, we will have our usual member plant judging and raffle. Join us!

Orchids 101 will be in the greenhouse. Lorna will be talking about pest control.

The December meeting is our semi-annual auction. Please be sure to bring plants, or divisions or other orchid related items to put in the auction. This is our only fundraising function we have to sustain our society. Also bring some finger food to share so we can have a snack while we bid. There will be no raffle or member table judging.

GNTOS members will also be voting on the slate of nominated officers for 2024:
President – Jim Williams
Vice-President – Emily Quinn
Secretary – Linda Horton
Treasurer – Barb McNamee

The usual Orchids 101 will return in January.

Dallas is hot. And cold. Sometimes humid and other times as dry as a software manual. Daniel Callahan, a member of GNTOS and an AOS judge with the Dallas Judging Center, is going to help us to adapt to and overcome the challenges we face in trying to grow orchids in Dallas. There will be lots of tips and tricks for all types of growers! We’ll be having our usual raffle and members’ table judging.

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

(AND REMEMBER to set your clocks back Saturday, Nov. 4!)

Remember that our December 3 meeting will be our 2nd auction this year! Be looking over your collection to see if there are some plants you could donate. These auctions help us raise funds for our really popular Spring Orchid Show and Sale, along with a few other events we attend to get the word out about our society. Please consider donations to the auction – and come prepared to purchase some new favorites for your collection!

Now what? Learn the “now what do I do?” on October 1! Pick up some tips on keeping your orchid alive longer, maybe even get it to rebloom! There is an old orchid adage: “An expert orchid grower is someone who has killed more orchids than most people will ever own”. So even if your previous orchids have succumbed under your care, you can learn and do better next time! We will have our usual snacks provided, along with the table orchid judging for members and the raffle for everyone.

Orchids 101 will be a Q&A session led by Charlie – as usual, if it’s too hot, we will meet in the classroom rather than stay in the greenhouse. See you there!

A reminder: Our December meeting will be the 2nd of our 2 auctions for this year. This Fall, look over your orchids – would you like to replace some orchids with some new ones? Did you get several divisions this year from a repotting? You have a chance to donate some orchids to help the society pay for its Spring Orchid Show and Sale AND pick up some new orchids for your collection. So, begin thinking about what you can donate now.

Our next meeting will be an informal Greenhouse Chat. Bring questions you may have – come to listen and learn! We’ll have our usual table judging for members and a raffle.

Orchids 101 will be in the classroom if the greenhouse is too hot. Lorna will be leading the discussion on how orchids receive their names, followed by a general Q&A.

Remember to plan ahead for our 2nd auction for this year, the first Sunday in December! Be looking over your orchids for possible donations, as we depend on you all to help provide the orchids we will be auctioning. The funds brought in help us pay for the annual Show and Sale in the Spring, as well as other things. We appreciate your help!

Perú is considered one of the most biodiverse countries and harbors approximately 10% of the world’s orchid species. César Ushima will be reviewing some of the most important and lesser known native orchids from Perú. He was born and raised in Perú and has been growing orchids since an early age. He worked in the Peruvian National Park Administration, where he had the opportunity to see orchids in their natural habitat. César is currently an Associate Orchid Judge for the American Orchid Society (AOS). Join us as we learn more about these Peruvian beauties! We will have our usual member table judging and raffle.

Orchids 101 will begin at 2pm in the greenhouse with Lorna leading the discussion “Bugged by Bugs?” If it’s too hot in the greenhouse, meet us in the classroom. We’ll find a corner to talk!