The Greater Cincinnati Orchid Society
8767 Apalachee Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45249
October2013 Newsletter
Board of Directors
President / Barry Jones / Directors / Jane Jones, Ann Tsui, Barry Jones, Diana Dwight, Steve Helbling, Teresa Huesman, Amy Gondosch, Pat O’Connor,Vice-President / Jan Yates / Show Chair / Pat June
Treasurer / Amy Gondosch / Publications Chair / Brian Spitler
Secretary / Pat O’Connor / Program Chair / Jim Lurton
Past-President / Alexa Noel
The next meeting of the Greater Cincinnati Orchid Society will be on Tuesday, October1, 2013. Note that this is the first Tuesday of the month. The meeting will be held at the Civic Garden Center (CGC) on 2715 Reading Road. The formal meeting starts at about7:30 PM. There are a few announcements then the program. There will be time to socialize earlier. There will also be a Beginners Class at6:30 PM in the CGC Library. You can bring your plant(s) in and ask any of the Society’s experts any question that you have.
Beginners Class – October – Starts in the Library at 6:30 PM. Come to our discussion on Small Vandaceous orchids. Some of them arefragrant, some are colorful, all are very nice.
Beginners Class – November – Starts in the Library at 6:30 PM. The Beginners Group will be discussing Paphiopedilums will be discussed this month.
October Speaker – The program for the meeting will be Leo Schordje of Zion, IL, will present a program on "12 Months of Orchid Blooms". Leo will have plants for sale. Info and preorders at
November Speaker – Program will be Russ Vernon of New Vision Orchids in Yorktown, IN, (remember the January field trip). He will present Mini Cattleyas to the society. Russ will have plants for sale. Info and preorders at
October Refreshments – ????
We will need volunteers to bring refreshments for the meetings for next year. A sign-up sheet will continue circulating at the meetings until filled for the 2014 year.
Fall 2013 MAOC –The dates are October 19th & 20th, with set up on Friday the 18th. The name of the MOAC will be “Orchids N Art”, very clever Eric & Barry.
Speakers – The following speakers have been confirmed for Saturday:
Angela Mirro, from New York will be the keynote speaker after the banquet. Topic: Orchids in Art & Illustration.
Chris Purver, from the Eric Young Orchid Foundation in England. Topic: Oncidinae including recent name changes & Miltoniopsis, Ocnidium, Oncidopsis, Brassidiums, etc.
Holger Purner, from China. Topic: Chinese Paphiopedilums & Cypripediums.
Erich Michel. Topic: The genetic relationships of Phalaenopsis species, their culture & hybrids.
Speaking on Sunday will be:
LynnO'Shaughnessy. Topic: Orchid photography, especially the little ones.
Holger Purner speaking at the hotel on Dendrobiums of China.
Vendors – The following vendors have all been confirmed:
Orchid Inn – Sam Tsui – - specializing Lady’s Slippers & other species
Foreverwell Centre – the clay orchids people that were at our spring show
Wei Chen – Ten Shin Gardens – in species & hybrids,
mostly originating in Taiwan.
Holger Perner – if you go to the Orchids ‘N Art website ( there is a link to the
price list & instructions for how to pre-order. They offer Chinese species & some hybrids, mostly
from flask.
Windswept in Time – specializing in Phals & other species.
Michel Orchid Nursery – They offer a large selection of artificially propagated
species
Andy’s Orchids – Also known as “Orchids On A Stick” so they have a lot of
mounted orchids, mostly species, but have been known to have some potted plants as well.
Ecuagenera– They offer many different species & a few hybrids from Ecuador
Natts Orchids– They always bring MANY beautiful hybrids to our shows!
Porter’s Orchids– Specializing in quality orchids for the home, easy to grow
& bloom
New Vision Orchids– Fabulous Phals & Odontoglossums
Roberts Flower Supply– The BEST selection of potting media, pots, baskets, etc.
Jobs to be filled – There will be a list of jobs needed to be filled at the meeting. Many of these are not until much closer to show time. The following is a list of jobs for the MAOC. If you are interested in filling one or more of them please feel free to come to the meetings &/or talk to Barry Jones, Jan Yates or Dana White.
Hospitality
People will be needed to man information tables for societies. We will also have a place to keep plants that have been bought & paid for people away from public. Also people for the registration table to hand out the goodie bags, badges, etc.
Website –
We will have sign-up sheets at the meeting for jobs at the MAOC. Please sign up & come up & enjoy nthe show.
Cincinnati Judging Center –The October date is Sunday the 13th. You will note this is the second Sunday of the month.We are lucky enough to have an AOS Judging Center right here in Cincinnati. They meet the second Sunday of every month at the Civic Garden Center. Judging starts at 1:00 PM & observers are always welcome.
Our Web Site – Go to: Contact our Publication Chair, Brian Spitler, at if you would like to add to the site.
AOS "Orchids" magazine –"Orchids" magazine is sent to all American Orchid Society members each month and we encourage all GCOS members to join our national affiliate organization (
June – In
Every month – And if the articles & pictures don’t get you the ads certainly will!!
Volunteer opportunities – just tell us what you’re interested in and we will get you plugged in. These are the jobs we need to have filled as soon as we can. You will find a longer list on the back of the 2013 membership form.
____Hospitality (those goodies we all love to eat) at meetings and shows
____Registering plants for shows – Assisting & learning how to register plants for shows, both at home & away – the biggest qualification for this job is not being afraid of all of those orchid names!
____Show Chair – Assisting and learning how to chair/organize an AOS sanctioned orchid show
We always welcome input on speakers, field trips, newsletter items, beginner culture group other program options so please share your ideas with any member of the Board (see top of newsletter for names).
Wisdom from the Prez –Hippity hoppity goes the bunny rabbit…oops wrong season. But you won’t go wrong with our October. Lots of stuff going on. Great stuff!! Good speaker with plants to tempt us. And of course MID-AMERICA. There are lots of things people can sign up to help with and Pat June will have signup sheets for your perusal. Remember that you can still register for the Congress. It will cost a bit more but is still well worth the money. Great speakers from all over the world. Getting together with old friends and making new ones. And the auction before the fooding on Sat…marvelous!! And there may be a strange long haired auctioneer to contend with. What more can we possible ask for. We can’t so I will sign off now and wish all merry Halloween.
All for now—Da Prez
What to do at the Dayton Art Institute & the MAOC
Founded in 1919, The Dayton Art Institute is one of the region’s premier fine arts museums. In addition to exhibiting outstanding special exhibitions and impressive collections of art from throughout the world, the museum is renowned for education programming that includes an array of offerings for blah, blah, blah…
That’s their version of it, now here is mine.The Dayton Art Institute has many beautiful sculptures, paintings, etc. in settings made to make you contemplate life, art & love. In other words, it is a GREAT place to visit, look around, contemplate & just relax.
The MAOC, on the other hand, is not for contemplating life – it is for learning new things about the plants you already have, learning to grow new plants, finding old friends & making new ones, having fun & finding that perfect orchid for that empty spot you think you can make in your growing space!
Friday Morning & Afternoon: We need volunteers to help early in the day, beginning at 9 AM, to help get the show set up, getting all the tables for all those sale plants that are coming! You can help the exhibitors & vendors bring their goodies into the Art Institute & to their spaces. Or you can have a cushy job sitting at a table by the front door, handing out the goodie bags & giving directions.
Friday Late Afternoon: At around 5PM we start the ribbon judging of the show. If you have clerked before, you know how much fun it is & how much you can learn. If you haven’t clerked before, just ask someone about it who has clerked. You really don’t need a lot of knowledge about orchids, just an eagerness to learn.
Friday Night: Then there’s the Preview Party – the vendors have been told that they are not allowed to sell any plants till the preview party starts at 7:30 PM. This event is free to people who have paid for a full registration, $20 for those who just want to pig out on great appetizers, be the first ones to see the show with all the ribbons & trophies in place & get the first dibs on all those fabulous plants for sale. Did I mention there is a cash bar available?
Saturday Morning: The show & plant sales areas open at 10 AM. The first speaker, Chris Purver from the Eric Young Foundation in England, will talk to us about Oncidiums & their closest relatives.
Saturday Afternoon: The afternoon starts with lunch at noon, right after Chris Purver’s talk. There are several options for eating: we offer a variety of box lunches, there is the Leo Bistro powered by Elite Catering or you can bring a cooler & eat in your car. There aren’t really a lot of restaurant options near-by. At 1:30 Erich Michel, of Michel Orchid Nursery in Indiana will talk on Phalaenopsis. 3:00 we hear from Holger Perner of China on Paphiopedilums. From 4:00-4:30 is the free & open to the public meeting of the Slipper Orchid Alliance. From 4: to 5:30 there will be shuttles running from the DAI to the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Also Saturday afternoon we need to have people who will sit at the society tables & pass out society, cultural & show information & man the “Park-A-Plant” station. This is just an area near the society table where people who buy plants & then want to look around the show (or the DAI) without lugging the plants around. ALL PLANTS MUST BE PICKED UP BY 4:45 PM!
Saturday Night: At 5:00 the auction preview starts. Did I mention there is a cash bar available? There are MANY interesting, tasty, odd, beautiful, get unusual things that are donated to the auction. The preview is your chance to get a good look & decide how many things you will want to bid on. The auction starts at 5:30 is free & open to all & is always entertaining. After the auction is the banquet – a $40 meal & speaker number 4 for the day, Angela Mirro, a well-known botanical artist from New York, speaking on Orchids in Art & Illustration.
Sunday Morning: The first thing Sunday morning is the Affiliated Societies’ Breakfast at the Crowne Plaza. This starts at 7:00 AM. It is an extra cost of $20 for a catered breakfast & a meeting discussing “Energizing Your LocalSociety by Utilizing the Resources of MAOC”. At 11:00 the Judges’ Forum is not just for judges – Holger Perner is giving a talk on Dendrobiums of China. This is free & open to all interested parties. Also Sunday morning at the DAI is the “Tripod Time” from 10:00 AM to Noon. This is open to all full registrants free & anyone else for $15 who wants two hours with the orchids to take those pictures you’ve always wanted – tripods are optional. Also for your $15 you are entitled to the Sunday afternoon talk by Lynn O’Shaughnnessy on orchid photography at 1:00 PM.
Sunday Afternoon: The show is free & open to the public from Noon to 5:00 PM. Also Sunday afternoon we need to have people who will sit at the society tables & pass out society, cultural & show information & man the “Park-A-Plant” station. This is just an area near the society table where people who buy plants & then want to look around the show (or the DAI) without lugging the plants around. ALL PLANTS MUST BE PICKED UP BY 4:45 PM! At 5:00 the show closes & we will need people to help the out of town vendors & other exhibitors transport their plants to their vehicles & help tear down the backdrops & other staging materials.
FULL REGISTRATION ($95) INCLUDES:
A goodie bag FULL of all sorts of things from the Dayton & Cincinnati areas
Friday night preview party
Unlimited access to the orchid show & sales area & all of the exhibits of the Dayton Art
Institute for the entire weekend
All four Saturday speakers, Chris Purver, Erich Michel, Holger Perner & Angela Mirro
Auction preview & auction
The tri-pod time on Sunday morning at the DAI & Lynn O’Shaughnessy’s photography talk
OPTIONAL PAID FEATURES:
The Saturday night banquet - $40, includes a very nice buffet meal from Elite Catering & a
talk from Angela Mirro on Orchids in Art & Illustration. (The talk but NOT the banquet
is included in full registration.
Sunday morning Affiliated Societies’ Breakfast - $20, includes a catered breakfast at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Box lunches for both Saturday & Sunday - $15 each lunch - must be ordered ahead of time
INDIVIDUALY PRICED EVENTS: If you don’t want to attend any of the Saturday afternoon lectures, you can opt for any of the following items:
The banquet, breakfast & box lunches listed above
The Friday night Preview Party - $20, includes hors d’ouevers from Elite Catering, cash bar &
first looks at the show & sales tables
Angela Mirro’s talk on Saturday night after the banquet (included in cost of banquet or full
registration) - $20
Tri-pod time Sunday morning at the DAI - $15, includes Lynn O’Shaughnessy’s talk on
photography on Sunday afternoon
Access to the exhibits of the DAI for one day - $8, payable at the door to the DAI
If you opt for all of the items above (includes DAI for 2 days) you would pay $71, all of which is included in the $95 cost of full registration which includes the three Saturday afternoon speakers, too.