The Friday lectures concluded with the Pleurothallid Alliance Meeting.  Bryon Rinke who has won hundreds of awards in the past few years, many being Pleurothalids, talked on growing this genus in Kansas.  His cooling system was an idea we may incorporate into our local growing areas.  Using cooling mists and a swamp cooler, Bryon is able to grow this cool to intermediate growing genus in the hot, humid summers in Kansas.     Ian Rich gave a talk on growing Pleurothallids in his house in Colorado at a higher elevation than Denver.  In his valley, they have a very short summer and very cold winters.  He unsuccessfully tried to talk his wife into letting him build a high humidity growing area in the middle of their living room.  The heater went out one day and he crawls under his house to fix it and finds a cool, humid area.  He builds some benches to hold the plants, a light stand and a timer under the house.  There’s just enough headroom if he sits just so to clear his head from the floor joists.  Mice were a minor problem until the snakes under the house took care of that.  Does he need to haul the plants indoors every fall thru spring so they don’t freeze?  What innovative growers!.

Saturday was again a full day with the American Orchid Society General Meeting, the International Phalaenopsis Luncheon and lectures.  Norman Fang of Norman’s Orchids talked about Harlequin Phalaenopsis breeding.  Growers in Taiwan have quickly jumped on this bandwagon producing many fine hybrids.  At first, breeding was spotty until the  breeding stock improved as did the experience of the breeders.  Now, many of the hybrids are breathtaking.  This type of Phalaenopsis is gaining popularity in Hawaii, and leading the way is Kauai’s orchidist Wayne Ajimura and Oahu’s Aaron Araki.  The next speaker was Joe Lankton, a former drag racer, who gave a colorful talk on some of the newest hybrids.  White and pink phalaenopsis are still the standards; bright reds, yellows and spots are now the rage.  While much breeding is done in Taiwan, some outstanding hybrids are being bred in the U.S. by such breeders as Eric Goo,  a hobbyist grower in Phoenix, Arizona, who has produced more than his share of outstanding reds from his tiny hobby greenhouse in horrendously hot and dry Phoenix.  Saturday’s lectures ended with the meeting of the Encyclia Enthusiasts and Colorado’s Denise Wilson’s talk on orchid conservation.

The evening began with a lively auction that raised $25,000 by the generous bidders with hot items such as orchid ties, front row opera tickets and boxes of Cattleyas from Hawaii’s own H & R Nurseries and  Kodama Orchid Nursesry.  The night ended with a formal dinner and comedic entertainment.  Good food, great company and a hilarious entertainer made for a memorable night. CLICK ON THE LINK TO SEE PHOTOS http://www.midpacificorchids.citymax.com/page/page/1486755.htm