Tim Culbertson: Holcoglossums.

One of my passions has always been plants. I began growing orchids as an offshoot from working atLongwood Gardens in Philadelphia just after college. From the very beginning it was all about Paphs, particularly awarded and select clones of historic importance, of which my collection numbers nearly 3000. I currently manage the paphs at Sunset Valley Orchids, and do hybridizing in a wide range of genera. I am an accredited judge with the American Orchid Society, and have served in various capacities with various orchid societies in California and on the East Coast. I love meeting other people who like orchids too, and doing so often finds me traveling to shows, vendors, and peoples’ greenhouses to see the latest and greatest in new hybrids and to get the best orchid gossip. I like to be involved in plants as much as possible: in addition to Longwood, I’ve worked at the Smithsonian Institution tending to their orchids, and for years for the United States National Arboretum, collecting rare plants and documenting cultivated species and hybrids for their herbarium. In short, I really like plants.

For your meeting, I’ll be sharing a presentation entitled “Sarcochilus: Gems of Spring”. These plants are easy to grow and flower, are vigorous, and have low cultural demands; they are natives of Australia and will grow easily outdoors in Southern California. Tremendous advancements in breeding Sarcochilus have been made recently, and I will share some of these with you, as well as help identify some of the important parents in the backgrounds of new and modern colors found in this genus. By the end of this presentation, you will have a new appreciation of what goes into breeding trends for these types of plants, as well as an appreciation of their beautiful flowers and ease-of-growth. I will be providing an opportunity to get some of the newest, modern, cutting-edge Sarcochilus species and hybrids.

Zoom attendance will also be available for those who want to watch from home.