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Sunset Valley Orchids held its Winter Open House on Saturday, December 3, 2022. Attendees enjoyed shopping for new plants to add to their collection, meeting up with fellow orchid-lovers and eating delicious street tacos.
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Sunset Valley Orchids held its Christmas Open House on December 4. Last year’s open house was cancelled due to Covid, and it felt good to visit the greenhouses again. Submitted by Debra Funakoshi If you like to grow species orchids, you will definitely want to visit Andy's Orchids. Here are a few of the orchids that were in bloom at their open house last weekend. The World of Orchid Show at the S.D. Botanic Garden was fantastic! Creative Director Rene van Rems and his team did a great job designing the exhibit. Visitors were greeted by an impressive green archway covered in pink Phalaenopsis. Orchids loaned by members of the San Diego County Orchid Society and Palomar Orchid Society were displayed by color in a naturalistic setting. Rene also designed impressive floral arrangements using a variety of orchids. The show ran from April 3 - May 2. The San Diego County Orchid Society and commercial vendors sold orchids on the weekends. The show was created to draw attention to the conservatory, which opened to the public last year. Submitted by Debra Funakoshi I am really enjoying the Cymbidiums that are blooming in my yard now. I would like to tell you a little about them. The three in the top row were purchased from Casa de las Orquideas. The lavender orchid was purchased last year as a seedling - I like the color of the flowers and the unusual patterning on the lip that is repeated on the lower petals (when that happens, an orchid is called 'peloric'). If you like colorful flowers or the unusual, then check out what Casa de las Orquideas has to offer. The white and green orchids in the second row came from a private collection. The flowers on both are very large with a heavy substance. I hope you have Cymbidiums that you are enjoying now, too. Submitted by Debra Funakoshi I am enjoying my early-blooming Cymbidiums. They add a welcome splash of color to my landscape as there is not much else in bloom now. About a year and a half ago, I started using Gubler's Pro-Blend Orchid Food, with very good results, not just with my Cymbidiums but with all my orchids. My plants have been producing more flowers than ever. I've tried other fertilizers, but so far I like this one the best. Gubler provides Phalaenopsis and other orchids to retail outlets like Lowes, Albertsons, Ralphs, etc. This is the formulation they use to grow their orchids. I use one scoop in two gallons of water every time I water. Other Cymbidiums in my yard are in bud; can't wait until they bloom! Submitted by Debra Funakoshi Andy's Orchids held a Fall Open House September 18-20. I went on Friday, thinking that there would be fewer people than on the weekend. I was wrong - there wasn't an empty parking space to be seen for several blocks. I decided to try my luck going on Sunday - and it turned out to be a very good time to attend. It wasn't crowded, and I was able to enjoy all the beautiful orchids in bloom and wander through the greenhouses. Due to Covoid-19, everyone was wearing a mask and did their best to maintain social distancing. Here are some of the orchids that were in bloom. Submitted by Debra Funakoshi I attended the Casa de las Orquideas Seedling Sale in June. I purchased 7 new seedlings. Of course, I will have to wait awhile before any of them bloom, but I enjoy being able to obtain many varieties at once. It's hard not to, because the descriptions for each new seedling are very enticing. They describe the two parents used to create the new cross, and what they expect the new cross to look like. I purchased a seedling called Cym. Solar Star, a cross of Cym. Woody Wilson 'White Knight' x Cym. Solana Rose 'Nancy'. The resulting cross should produce large white flowers and some pale pinks. Some could also be spotted. I was looking for a plant with white or light pink flowers, so this is right up my alley. We are so fortunate to have this resource close by! Below are some of the mature, blooming plants that they also had for sale. Submitted by Debra Funakoshi Andy's Orchids held a Summer Open House June 19-21. I visited on Friday. It was nice being able to attend an in-person orchid event. I guess a lot of people felt the same way. When I arrived, I saw a long line of people waiting to check out. Everyone was wearing masks, and there was plenty of room to practice social distancing. I really enjoyed looking at all the orchids in bloom; you can see some of them in the photos I took that day. There is nothing like orchids to lift one's spirits! Several weeks ago, I stood in line at the post office to get stamps. I wanted to see the new commemorative stamps. I overheard a clerk ask a customer which stamps she wanted. She answered that she wanted the stamps with orchids on them. Orchid stamps! When it was my turn, I asked the clerk about these orchid stamps, and she showed me the stamps depicting beautiful images of wild orchids. Of course, I bought some. In case you haven’t seen them yet, I am including an image of the stamps below. And if you haven’t purchased any for yourself yet, what are you waiting for? The USPS had an unveiling of the stamps at the American Orchid Society Library at the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Coral Gables, FL. http://www.aos.org/news-and-events/wild-orchids-forever-stamps.aspx Submitted by Debra Funakoshi  |
