OOS March 2023 Meeting
2023-03-19 13:00 - 15:30 (America/Chicago) | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.
Program Presentation
Jana Butcher and Mike Friday will guide us in the proper way to prepare our flowers for presentation and the proper practices for our annual show in May.

OOS April 2023 Meeting—CANCELED
2023-04-16 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
This month’s meeting is canceled, as many OOS members will be attending the Tulsa Orchid Society Show & Sale.

OOS June 2023 Meeting
2023-06-18 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.
Program Presentation
The Society’s own Brian Truong will lead us in our annual orchid repotting clinic.

OOS July 2023 Meeting
2023-07-16 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.
Program Presentation
Eric Sauer of River Valley Orchids of Ohio will be joining us in person to present on Brassia orchids.
Brief Biography
Eric Sauer has been growing orchids for over 30 years and specializes in South American Species. He has spoken internationally and across the United States.
Eric recently had a culture chapter published with Guido Braem in his book on Paphiopedilums and his book on Phragmipediums. He also has several of his Maxillaria photos published in Eric Christenson’s book on Maxillaria.
Eric has received over 85 awards from the American Orchid Society and has three orchids named after him including two species from Ecuador. He regularly works with other Maxillaria aficionados around the world to better understand the genus.
Eric’s real job is as a registered landscape architect and is the planning manager for Five Rivers MetroParks in Dayton, Ohio.

OOS August 2023 Meeting
2023-08-20 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.
Program Presentation
The society will be doing a water quality clinic. Please bring a container with a sample of your water to be tested. Results will be explained during the meeting.

OOS September 2023 Meeting
2023-09-17 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.
Program Presentation
“Orchid Mycorrhizal Relationships” by Dr. Kelly D. Craven
Speaker’s Biography
Dr. Kelly Craven likes microbes. So much so, he has studied them for the past thirty years. We each have roughly six pounds of microbes that call the human body home. This collective group of microbes is called the “human microbiome” and while the large part of these inhabit our stomach and digestive tract, they are present in all tissues and organs. Critically, our microbiome is not just freeloading but performs essential functions for our survival and health. The aforementioned gut microbes are needed to extract nutrition from the food we eat. We also inherit a “seed” microbiome from our mothers during birth, which then grows and helps to train our immune system and other vital functions. So important are our microbiomes, there is even a gut-brain axis where our gut microbes engage in bi-directional signaling with our brains, where they impact our cognitive functioning and behavior. In short, we as “macro-organisms” require the development and proper functioning of our microbiomes to survive and thrive.
Dr. Craven’s research centers around the idea that microbiomes are as important for plants as they are for humans. Natural soils contain the most diverse group of microbes known to man, where some feed on organic matter and inorganic nutrients while others are attracted to the root systems of plants, where they feed on simple carbohydrates that exude from the roots. The plant uses photosynthesis to fix CO2 into these simple carbohydrates and exchanges them to microbes in the soil and rhizosphere (where the soil meets the roots) for organic and inorganic nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen. The plant-microbe symbiosis is very similar to the gut microbes in humans. One can imagine a root as a gut turned inside-out, both fed by the host in exchange for nutrient extraction. Microbiomes also help their hosts deal with environmental stresses, such as heat, drought and soil infertility, all of which we have plenty of here in Oklahoma. Craven seeks to improve stress resilience in important crop plants here in Oklahoma by taking advantage of natural plant microbiomes and designing new ones to grow more healthy and abundant crops with less synthetic fertilizers and less water. To reach this auspicious goal, he will combine state-of-the-art DNA sequencing and metagenomics methods with greenhouse and field trials here at OSU to understand what plant and soil microbiomes look like in healthy versus depleted soils. If Craven can delineate microbiomes that are consistently present in healthy, functioning soils he may be able to identify which ones might be missing from depleted ones.
This leads to an exciting practical outcome of Craven’s program where he isolates microbes from plants growing outside in living soils. In his lab, he screens each one to identify those that have useful traits that might improve productivity and stress resilience in Oklahoma crops. These microbes are then inoculated singly or in simple microbiomes into target plants and grown in the greenhouse to see if the predicted benefits to the plant develop. The best plant-microbe combinations from these trials then move to field trials. Field trials are essential because, unlike in greenhouses, environmental conditions change in the field and the introduced microbiome(s) will encounter “resident” soil microbiomes that are adapted to that soil and local environmental conditions. As such, it is common for the indigenous soil microbes to outcompete the introduced ones. Improving the persistence of introduced microbiomes will also play a major role in Craven’s research.
Microbiome research is emerging as a critical component of human health and will play a significant part of our health assessments in the future. Medical intervention strategies will be designed to rectify dysfunctional microbiomes on or in our bodies, such has already been used successfully to treat digestive tract diseases like irritable bowel syndrome. If Craven can understand the proper functioning of plant microbiomes associated with healthy Oklahoma plants and soils, he can use this knowledge to improve productivity and disease prevalence while reducing water and fertilizer use. Incorporation of his research with crop breeding efforts and environmental modeling (among others) is a powerful approach that can help alleviate the devastating impacts of world-wide food shortages and climate change that await us in the very near future.
Dr. Craven is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Oklahoma State University.

OOS October 2023 Meeting
2023-10-15 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.
Program Presentation
OOS member Claire Garrett will take us on a photographic tour of the Amazon, which she experienced firsthand on the “OCA Orchids in the Wild Tour of Brazil” this past spring.
Speaker’s Biography
TBA

OOS January 2024 Meeting
2024-01-21 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.

https://se-edu.zoom.us/j/93076046522

Program Presentation

TBA

Speaker’s Biography

TBA

OOS February 2024 Meeting
2024-02-18 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.

Program Presentation

OOS’ own Jana Butcher will present “The Sweet Scent of Orchids: An Anthology.”

OOS March 2024 Meeting
2024-03-17 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.

Program Presentation

May flower show procedures and elements of AOS-sanctioned flower judging.

OOS April 2024 Meeting
2024-04-21 12:00 - 16:00 | Island Park, 200 Main St, Winfield, Kansas, 67156, United States
The Kansas Orchid Society (KOS) has invited our membership to attend their picnic; therefore, we will not be holding a standard meeting at the Will Rogers Garden Center. Instead, we will journey somewhere over the rainbow and explore the orchids we find there. Munchkins, scarecrows, tinmen, and lions are welcome to attend.

12:00 Picnic at Island Park, Winfield, KS

KOS is providing all food and beverage options, water, tea and maybe coffee or lemonade.1:15 – 1:45 Progress to Greenhouse at Southwestern College for viewing/self tour and and purchases

2:00 KOS Meeting & Greenhouse tourGreenhouse remains open until 4 for final purchases.

OOS June 2024 Meeting
2024-06-16 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.

Program Presentation

Annual orchid repotting clinic, please come witness a repotting demonstration and be assisted by an experienced grower to repot your orchid.

OOS July 2024 Member-exclusive fieldtrip to Color Orchids Texas
2024-07-13 07:30 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
Color Orchids Texas

1354 Grayson StNocona TX 76255

OOS August 2024 Meeting
2024-08-18 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm.

Zoom meeting link: https://se-edu.zoom.us/j/91396897036

Program Presentation

“The War on Terror: Pest control for Orchids in the home”

Speaker’s Biography

Dr. Raymond Cloyd is a professor in the Department of Entomology at Kansas State University with a specialty in pest management.

OOS September 2024 Meeting
2024-09-15 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm.

Program Presentation

Destination Asia: Orchids in Taiwan

Speaker’s Biography

Dr. Doug Needham is a former Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at OSU and the immediate past president of the Oklahoma Orchid Society.

OOS October 2024 Meeting
2024-10-20 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions.

Program Presentation

TBA

Speaker’s Biography

TBA

OOS Meeting—January 2025
2025-01-19 13:00 - 15:30 | Online
Due to forecasted low temperatures, the meeting will be Zoom-only:

https://se-edu.zoom.us/j/91391513757

Program Presentation

What’s Up and Growing: Emerging trends in Orchid breeding

Speaker’s Biography

Bridget Uzar is in charge of the breeding collection at Carter and Holmes Orchids of South Carolina (https://www.carterandholmes.com/).

OOS Meeting—February 2025
2025-02-16 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm.

Program Presentation

Light and Orchids: Illuminating plants in the home.

Speaker’s Biography

Jana Butcher is a former OOS President and flower show exhibitor extraordinaire.

OOS Meeting—March 2025
2025-03-16 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The Business Meeting will take place at 1:00–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm.

Program

Instead of a standard presentation, we will be helping the Flower Show Committee prepare decorations for OOS’ 75th anniversary. Members are strongly encourage to attend the business meeting for an important update.

OOS Meeting—April 2025
2025-04-13 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm.

Program Presentation

Past OOS President Jana Butcher will be going over the inns and outs of the flower judging process for our May flower show.

OOS Meeting—May 2025 **Canceled**
2025-05-18 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
No meeting this month

OOS Meeting—June 2025
2025-06-15 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm.

Program Presentation

We will be doing our annual repotting clinic. Please bring your plants, newspaper, and pots if you want assistance from our seasoned orchid enthusiasts.

Speaker’s Biography

Current OOS President Mike Friday will be presenting.

OOS Meeting—July 2025
2025-07-20 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1:00pm with a special presentation by the Girl Scouts. The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm.

Program Presentation

We will simulate an AOS-sanctioned judging of Orchid specimens to better help the membership understand what a judge seeks for awards.

Speaker’s Biography

Catherine Chance is the current OOS Treasurer.

OOS Meeting—August 2025
2025-08-17 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm.

Program Presentation

TBA

Speaker’s Biography

TBA

OOS Meeting—September 2025
2025-09-21 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm.

Program Presentation

OOS’ own Mike Friday will present on Native Orchids of Oklahoma.

OOS Meeting—October 2025
2025-10-19 13:00 - 15:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The meeting begins at 1pm with Grower Tips, where OOS members address a specific orchid growing challenge, e.g. a specific pest, repotting, mounting, humidity, or fertilization, and answer questions from the audience. Come with questions, and they’ll provide answers! The Business Meeting will follow at 1:20–1:50pm; Program Presentation at 2–3pm; and Show Table, Auction, and Raffle at 3–3:30pm.

Program Presentation

Mealy bugs and Scale: the Menaces of Orchids

Speaker’s Biography

Dr. Tom Royer is an Oklahoma State University professor emeritus, the former extension entomologist and Integrated Pest Management coordinator.
