Zoom Talk: “Spotted and Splashed Cattleyas”

Fred Clarke from Sunset Valley Orchids in the USA will be our speaker at the Orchid Society of Great Britain's next Zoom talk on Sat-1-Feb-2025.

Fred's talk is called 'Spotted and Splashed Cattleyas'. 

What a fascinating group of Orchids! We'll enjoy a detailed look at the latest developments in the breeding and growing of these colourful flowers. Spotted and splashed Cattleyas come in many colours and shapes. Learn about Fred Clarke's most important breeding plants and what hybrids are available for the orchid enthusiast.

Fred will also be sharing the ‘best growing practices’ for cultivation of these colourful and showy Orchids.

This Zoom meeting opens at 2.30pm, with members talking about their orchids ready for the talk to start at 3pm.

This meeting is for OSGB members only.

New members are always very welcome; to become a member of the Orchid Society of Great Britain visit our website: https://www.osgb.org.uk/subscriptions

The UK International Orchid Show at BBC Gardener's World Live, NEC

The International Orchid Show will, once again, take place as part of the BBC Gardeners’ World Live (BBC GWL) Exhibition (and the BBC Good Food Exhibition) at the NEC from Thursday 12th to Sunday 15th June.

It is hoped that this popular and successful show can continue to run for many more years to come and that this venue will again prove popular with orchid enthusiasts.

Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 June 2025

Only OSGB members can order tickets for BBC GWL via the OSGB website; for instructions, please go to the GWL 2025 tab and log into the members’ only area. Don’t leave it to the last minute – orders must be received by the Treasurer no later than Friday 23rd May.

Parking is not free at the NEC; it is likely to cost £8 per day if ordered in advance, or £10 on the day. There will also be other events happening within both the BBC Gardeners’ World Live Exhibition and the BBC Good Food Exhibition. Many of these events are free, but some will cost about £5 each. Parking and events can be ordered on line via the UKIOS (www.uk-international-orchid-show.com) and BBC GWL (www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com) websites.

THE WINTER AUCTION IS COMING SOON!

The Winter Auction will be held on Saturday, January 4th at our Cole Court venue; help us make this a highlight of the year! The Auction is a very entertaining meeting with lots of banter, enjoyed by all. It is also a good reason for getting out on, what can be, a cold and, otherwise, uninspiring day. For those who are new to this, here are a few notes on how the Auction works:

The doors will open for the meeting at 1.00 pm; plants arriving for auctioning will be registered and allocated a number. Members can bring up to 8 lots, and joint members up to 12. The plants are then placed on the auction tables.

Members who come to buy, rather than to sell, will register and be handed a personal number; any plants they buy will be assigned to that number.

The Auction will start at 2.00 pm with the plants being auctioned at random. Each plant will be held up for all to see and have a little information given about it; also, a very reasonable starting price suggested. After the sale of the final plant, a lot of arithmetic will be carried out to total up each purchaser’s spend and to ascertain each seller’s takings, not forgetting that 10% of each plant sale goes to the O.S.G.B.

The sellers expect to go home with their takings, so we try to run a cash auction as far as possible; please visit a cash point if you can before you come to the Auction. However, we will also be able to take credit/debit card payments by Zettle if you have been unable to get hold of any cash, or have brought insufficient with you!

The Auction is a fantastic means for O.S.G.B. members to ‘swap’ plants.

If you can’t grow an orchid as well as it should be grown, bring it to the Auction; you can bet that someone else would like to give it a go.

If you come to the Auction, you are sure to pick up a bargain or two; lot prices can start as low as £5.

Many of the plants auctioned in 2024 would have cost over £20 to purchase commercially, some of them much more. Also, several of the orchids seen in the 2024 Auction are now not commercially available; so, coming to the Auction gives you the chance to pick up a rarity that you may not otherwise be able to obtain.

We look forward to seeing you on the 4th!