Heart O' Texas Orchid Society

Welcome to Heart O' Texas Orchid Society!

If you have come to this site, you are most likely interested in Orchids or attracted by the beauty of them!

If you are an Orchid enthusiast, you should consider joining a society! At our society, we invite many different vendors/speakers from across the country, as well as from around the world. You get to see a lot of interesting Orchids, more than you would at any general garden store. Furthermore, the Orchids that some of the vendors bring with them come from many different countries and continents!

Please take a look at our meeting calendar and event calendar, and you will see that we have exciting events all year round! We will keep the calendars up-to-date, so please visit our site often.

If you are interested in being a speaker, and would like to participate in our speaker program, please click here to sign up.

News and Annoucements:

June Program
Bill Thoms
Bulbophyllums; Bizarre & Beautiful

Renowned orchid grower, world traveler and nationally recognized speaker Bill Thoms will be presenting a talk on Bulbophyllums; Bizarre and Beautiful (the largest genus in the orchid world!)

Be prepared to learn more about this fascinating group of plants than you ever dreamed! Bill Thoms and his wife, Doris Dukes, have been growing orchids around Central Florida for almost 40 years and to date have won more Awards for Culture than just about anyone else in the world, (67 in over 20 genera, including 25 in the bulbophyllum alliance (capped off with a 95 point Certificate of Cultural Excellence for Cirr. rothschildianum 'A-doribil' FCC/AOS).

They were one of the first to receive the new award 'Certificate of Cultural Excellence' for a score above 90 points, although they had received scores above 90 points many times before, and that was for a Miltoniopsis which is very difficult to grow in Tampa, Florida. They have received six First Class Certificates in the past few years as well as every other award given by the AOS.

Bill is the only person to receive an Award of Quality for a Bulbophyllum hybrid (named for Doris) as well as receiving the hybridizer's dream; an Award of Distinction for a Trias hybrid. Many of his crosses are winning awards around the country. He recently received a First Class Certificate on his plant of Bulb. annandalei 'A-doribil', an FCC on a clone of Bulb. longissimum 'A-doribil Crown' as well as an Award of Merit on a clone of Bulb. medusae so spotted it looks pink! In both 2006 and 2007, he received more than a dozen awards for his bulbos as well as 11 in the first 3 months of 2008. The AOS has just added a yearly award for the best Bulbophyllum exhibited named for him.

The talks are spiced with funny stories and funny associations so whether you grow thousands of orchids, only a few, or none at all, you will have a wonderfully entertaining time and be able to grow anything better. Many of the most important requirements for growing world class plants are made easy to understand and remember. He will also share secrets to producing more award-winning plants faster.

Don't miss this great opportunity to learn how to grow these fascinating plants by one of the world's best and to hear one of the most knowledgeable, interesting and funny speakers in the orchid world.

May Program
Dr. Eric A. Christenson
The Aerides-Vanda Alliance

Dr. Christenson is a research taxonomist with strong interests in the Aeridinae (Sarcanthinae), neotropical floristics, and the conservation of horticultural plants. He authored the definitive monograph of Phalaenopsis, published by Timber Press in 2001. He has done field work in both Guyana and French Guiana and authored the orchid treatment in the Vascular Flora of Central French Guiana for the New York Botanical Garden. He is also actively working with David Bennett of Lima, Peru, on a modern inventory of Peruvian orchids. To date they have published 800 illustrations as Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum, including more than 150 new distribution records and describing more than 100 new species from Peru. This includes the world¡¯s tallest orchid, Sobralia altissima, with stems normally +/- 27 feet tall and an extreme stem which measured over 44 feet tall! His bilingual Machu Picchu: Orchids was published in 2003 and forms the basis for further inventories in the region. His current work in Peru can be seen at: www.andesamazon.org. He also authored the orchids for A Tropical Garden Flora for the Bishop Museum, Honolulu.

Classically trained, Dr. Christenson has worked in most of the world's significant herbaria and national museums. He is an acknowledged expert in critically important historic specimens that form the basis for applying plant names. His overall research focus is the accurate definition of species, their precise distributions, and the correct application of names, three facets of botany required prior to considering conservation policies. He is honored by the genera Christensonia (Vietnam) and Christensonella (Brazil) in addition to a number of species such as Ascocentrum christensonianum (Vietnam).

A prolific author of more than 400 publications, Dr. Christenson is known for his articles that attempt to bridge the gap between taxonomy and horticulture as well as his in-depth book reviews. He is a strong advocate for orchid conservation, particularly ex situ propagation, and actively works with commercial growers to that end.

In addition to botany, Dr. Christenson is an avid gardener. His house in Bradenton, Florida is known for its unusual plants and complete lack of lawn.

Hits, since October 2003


Heart O' Texas Orchid Society
Home	Meetings	Events	Gallery	Resources	Contact	About	Member