The Long Beach Amateur Orchid Society (LBAOS) is a non-profit organization formed to promote appreciation of orchids and to provide a source of information, education and support for both novices and experts.

LBAOS members range from dedicated hybridizers and growers with hundreds of orchids to beginners who just want to keep a few plants alive. Knowledge and mistakes are shared with a great sense of humor. It's always nice to know that "the expert" kills a few plants, too!

Our monthly membership meeting is free, and visitors are always welcome! Monthly meetings include expert guest speakers, a plant opportunity table, and a friendly judging of members' orchids for continued growth and knowledge. Orchid culture demonstrations are given by experts and timed to the seasons. Please see our "Meeting Info" for more details.

An exciting plant auction takes place annually. Orchids from our members' gardens, as well as orchids donated from our vendors, are auctioned to the highest bidder. Over the years, some very sought after plants have made their way to the auction tables! Our next auction is scheduled for 03/12/12.

The plant opportunity table each month and the yearly auction are great ways to obtain orchid plants at a very reasonable price.

May President's Message

I hope everyone is well and busy with spring. Spring is really a time to work on your orchid projects. The biggest job to maintain your collection is repotting. Yes, it can be work, but nothing will improve your orchids like proper and timely potting. Many orchids can be repotted now; one big clue is if the orchid has started active growth. Look for new roots; they should still be short. Look for new growth buds pushing up. These two factors are excellent signs that the orchid is growing and may need to be repotted.

Never over pot an orchid. A wonderful rule of thumb: if in doubt about pot size, choose the smaller pot. Cymbidiums, many in the Cattleya Alliance, Paphiopedilum and Australian type Dendrobiums are all genera that can be repotted now. Maybe you are interested in mounting an orchid. Now is a good time for this job, too. Jim Hoyle, a member of our club, has a wonderful collection of mounted orchids. Remember that if you are going to do potting, have the supplies to get the job done: potting media, pots and labels. Our May meeting will focus on repotting orchids and will be given by Butch Arciaga and me.

Coastal California is an ideal area for growing Cymbidiums, so almost every orchid grower has this beautiful orchid their collection. Our April speaker, George Hatfield, is an expert on Cymbidiums. He gave a wonderful overview of the Cymbidium species that are used for today's hybrids. George had many good tips about care and culture for these popular and easy to grow orchids. A quick example was about Epson salts and how good it is for growing Cymbidiums. George was very generous with the raffle table he brought. Many thanks to George who had a long drive from Oxnard to speak to our club. If you missed his talk, you missed a valuable review of this wonderful orchid for growing in our area.

Do not miss our May meeting. You will receive many helpful tips and see examples of how to grow and repot orchids. Yes, you have until September to get this chore done, but the sooner the better.

Best Regards,
Gary Putnam, President

Photos from February Meeting

Oncidium Cultural Award: Onc. Twinkle Grown by Susan Brentnall
Paphiopedilum Cultural Award: Paph. Rainbow Zone Grown by Butch Arciaga	Oncidium 1st Place Award: Odont. Rawdon Jester x Odont. grande Grown by Butch Arciaga
Cattleya Alliance: 1st Place Award: Bc. Maikai 'Mayumi' Grown by Sumitra Bangchalotorn
Cymbidium Cultural Award: Cym. Dorothy Stockstill 'Forbidden Fruit' Grown by Butch Arciaga	Cymbidium 1st Place Award: Cym. Sarah Jean 'Ice Cascade' Grown by Espie Quinn
Photos by Tina Wilvers