South Florida Orchid Society

Ron Kaufmann: “Orchids of Tropical America”

Ron Kaufmann

Our speaker in January will be Ron Kaufmann, chair of the American Orchid Society Conservation Committee and a founding director of the Orchid Conservation Alliance. Ron has been growing orchids for more than 25 years and has travelled extensively to view orchids in the wild in Asia and South America, particularly Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia. His talk titled “Orchids of Tropical America” will discuss why orchids are among the most diverse families of plants, as well as stories about orchid explorers and the many ways in which orchids attract animals, including humans. This presentation is based on the book “Orchids of Tropical America,” which he co-authored with Joe Meisel (Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation) and Franco Pupulin (University of Costa Rica and Lankester Botanic Garden).

Ron is a marine biologist by training, and his scientific work includes studies of Antarctic and deep-sea ecosystems as well as marine communities in coastal Southern California. His orchid collection began with a reedstem Epidendrum and progressed to a diverse assemblage that contains mostly species orchids.

Ron has a long-standing interest in conservation. He joined the San Diego County Orchid Society’s Conservation Committee in 1999 and became chair in 2004. Since 1991, the Conservation Committee has awarded more than $300,000 to support projects in 24 different countries. Ron also helped to found the Orchid Conservation Alliance and serves on the boards of the OCA, AOS, Orchid Digest, and Fundación EcoMinga (an Ecuadorian conservation organization).

Most of Ron’s orchids are grown in a 36 x 24 foot greenhouse and several outdoor shade-covered areas around his house in San Diego. Friends have suggested that he build a second, much larger greenhouse to accommodate the many plants that often make walking through his greenhouse an exercise requiring extensive training in gymnastics and yoga to avoid serious injury. Thus far, this recommendation hasn’t been followed, although the temptation is always there.

Ron will be providing plants for our raffle table and will possibly have additional plants for sale.

Antonio Cotarelo

Antonio J. Cotarelo Gongoras – the flying orchids

Antonio graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of South Florida and worked for the Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM), Public Works and the Water and Sewer Department of Miami-Dade County for over 36 years, until his retirement in 2023.

He grew up in Venezuela where before the age of ten he saw his first cattleyas in bloom covering large oak trees. He never forgot that sight.  As a teenager, he convinced his parents to purchase two cattleya species, which he grew and bloomed.

Years later in Miami, he started growing orchids as a hobby, and he realized there were hundreds of species.  As many hobbyists do, he wanted to have orchids of all genera in his collection, but he eventually realized (after about 2000 plants!) that he would never accomplish that goal. He has now grown orchids for about 45 years.

His favorite orchid genera are Cattleyas, Gongoras and Stanhopeas. Specifically, with Gongoras and Stanhopeas, he is fascinated with the fact that nature would develop flowers that mimic insects in flight to attract their pollinators.

Plants for this months raffle are being provided by Motes Orchids

Extreme Heat & The Tree Canopy

Jane Gilbert

 Chief Heat Officer & Director of Urban & Community Forestry,
Miami-Dade County

Jane Gilbert

As Miami-Dade County’s first Chief Heat Officer, Ms. Gilbert works across departments and cross-sector partners to address the increasing health and economic risks associated with extreme heat.

Prior to joining the County, Ms. Gilbert served as the City of Miami’s first Chief Resilience Officer for four years.  As CRO, Ms. Gilbert led the climate and urban resilience strategy development and implementation for the City of Miami and, in partnership with Miami-Dade County and City of Miami Beach, for the greater Miami region.

Prior to her public sector work, Ms. Gilbert managed The Miami Foundation’s civic leadership agenda on sea level rise, Wells Fargo’s philanthropy and community affairs in South Florida and served as the Executive Director for 3 nonprofits in Greater Miami.

Ms. Gilbert holds a BA in Environmental Science from Barnard College and MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Ms. Gilbert, and the work she’s doing here in Miami-Dade County is featured in the September/October 2024 issue of the Smithsonian Magazine.

Please join us on Wednesday, September 18th, 2024 at 8:00PM for what promises to be an interesting and informative lecture.

Plants for our raffle table are being provided by
Soroa Orchids!

Omar Gonzalez

Omar Gonsalez

A chemist by trade and botanist at heart. I have found orchid growing a rewarding and enjoyable hobby. Work skills are used and are enjoyable for change. Solving problems is another aspect I enjoy.

I had moved back to Miami from Iowa in 2011 when I met a man that gave me some orchids: Spathoglottis, Vanilla, and Sobralia. It took a while for me to give up on a vegetable garden. Eventually I attended an orchid show before my first trip to Hawaii. I visited Akatsuka, Carmela, and became even more obsessed in Orchids.

Upon my return, I started growing seedlings under lights, after a year it was obvious that I needed a big yard. An opportunity to volunteer at the Bonnet House gave me lots of hands on experience in managing a Vandaceaous collection. From then on, I would learn from anyone that would talk to me, seeking out knowledgeable growers, attending society meetings throughout Florida. I would attend every orchid show from Miami to Fort Pierce. Especially if they had lectures. Eventually some growers took a liking to me and they were a pleasure to get to know. All their wisdom was used to make my collection grow and I figure out how to make them thrive through trial and error. In that time I cannot tell you of how many plants were lost due to being a stranger in my own back yard. I have gone on to do orchid seed culture, hybrids, as well as caring for collections in private homes or businesses. I enjoy growing a myriad of genera, thanks to Springwater Orchids, Redhawk Orchids, Bill Thoms, Andy’s Orchids, Tamiami Festival, Redland Festival, you get the picture. My hands on experience is extensive with Cattleya, and Vandaceous. I also take care of private collections.

Come hear me share the monsters divided, finding the best conditions for orchids, the pests and diseases and many other topics if time allows.

Lessons Learned: Wisdom from Growers and Orchid Growing. The hands on approach to orchid growing. Many failures and long awaited bloom teach more than we knew beforehand. I will share a presentation that will give some practical orchid care guidance.

Omar will be speaking tonight on the genus Encyclia.

Omar will also be providing plants for our raffle table as well as having plants to sell

Please join us at Pinecrest Gardens on Wednesday, July 17th at 8:00PM for what is sure to be an interesting and informative presentation!

Mark Margolis

Mark Margolis: Catasetems

I am a retired Dade County Public School science teacher. Taught 35 years in this community, married, with a daughter soon to graduate college. About forty years ago, I started taking an interest

in orchids, and then subsequently became obsessed with the Catasetum family. I am a backyard hobbyist and over the years, have acquired roughly 1000 catasetem babies. I started to take my plants for judging and began another journey in growing orchids.

I have now received about 140 awards, including two FCC’S. I enjoy spreading the news about my favorite plants, talking to many societies, local and around the country.

For my talk, I am going to explain the latest information on growing this exotic, misunderstood, easy to grow group of orchids.

This months raffle plants are being provided by Soroa Orchids!