Our January 2014 speaker will be Linda Wilhelm of Woodland Orchids in North Carolina. Linda will present a program titled, “The Magnificent Stanhopeas” – a discussion of species and hybrids of the genus and how to grow them.
Linda Wilhelm started growing orchids in 1980 after a vacation inFloridawith her mother. Already intrigued by orchids, she finally bought a small cattleya seedling, not knowing at the time that it would take seven or eight years to get a bloom. It was the beginning of an addiction. After meeting her future husband, Rolf in 1985, the addiction became severe when he too got involved with orchids.
When the hobby got out of hand and developed into a serious passion for both Linda and Rolf, they started their business Woodland Orchids. They specialize in breeding warm tolerant Oncidiinae (several of their new hybrids have received awards from the AOS), compact cattleyas and also line breed a number of different species and have made some wonderful Stanhopea hybrids.
An Accredited Judge with the AOS, Linda is very active in the judging program, having served in various positions with the CarolinasJudgingCenterincluding the job of the Training Coordinator, 5 years as the Chair of the Center and six years as a Trustee for the American Orchid Society. She enjoys being involved in shows outside her region, including offshore shows in the islands. “It offers such an opportunity to see a different variety of orchids as well as an opportunity to extend my group of friends.” She is a frequent guest speaker at orchid societies all over the USA as well as Brazil, Trinidad, Barbados and Guatemala.
We hope you will join us for this wonderful program.