May 2 Meeting
Carol Klonowski To Discuss Orchids of the Vanda Alliance
At the Houston Orchid Society monthly meeting on May 2, Carol Klonowski, AOS Accredited Judge and president of the Orchid Society of California, will discuss orchids of the Vanda alliance. She is also starting her tenure as a Trustee for the American Orchid Society and writes for Orchids magazine.
Carol Klonowski has been growing orchids since the 1980s when a friend in Berkeley, California, gave her a Cattleya and it bloomed out with three big, dark lavender flowers and an intoxicating fragrance. She built an entire greenhouse in her backyard to accommodate the precious plant, which only led her to buy more orchids. Then another friend gave her a gift membership to the Orchid Society of California, and orchid growing has been a serious hobby and passion ever since. She can recall going to monthly meetings where orchid legends such as the late Frank Fordyce would be available to answer the many questions an eager hobbyist would ask.
At the meeting, Carol will present the latest developments in Vandaceous orchid breeding, which stems from a fascination not only with new species in the Vanda alliance but also improved versions of foundation species used in older crosses. Together, the two groups are producing new and exciting crosses that every orchid grower should consider adding to their collection.
With recent changes in the taxonomy within the Vanda alliance, you may be surprised at what cool-growing orchids now reside under the “Vanda” name, as well as redefinitions of many well-known intergeneric names.
Please bring your blooming plants for the show-and-tell table. The meeting begins at 7:30 pm at First Christian Church, 1601 Sunset Boulevard, Houston.
If you haven’t already ordered your official Houston Orchid Society name badge, you can now order yours online.