Oklahoma Orchid Society

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.

WRGC Volunteer Opportunity: Easter Egg Hunt
2023-04-08 08:00 - 12:00 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
Will Rogers Gardens is having an Easter Egg Hunt in the Color Garden and crafts in the Conservatory. Kenton Peter, WRG Naturalist, is looking for volunteers to help with the event. If you can help, please, log your volunteer hours for Oklahoma Orchid Society.

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.

"Orchid Kicks on Route 66" OOS Spring 2023 Show & Sale
2023-05-06 10:00 - 2023-05-07 16:00 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
See hundreds of orchids on show and for sale at Oklahoma Orchid Society’s “Orchid Kicks on Route 66” Spring 2023 Show & Sale, the Society’s AOS-sanctioned event of the year. This two-day “Bench and Full Exhibit” show will be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 6 & 7, from 10am to 4pm at Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK. Admission and parking are free, and the event is open to the public. See the OOS Shows & Sales webpage for more information.Ribbon judging begins at 8:00 am on Saturday, followed immediately by AOS judging.

Will Rogers Gardens Public Class — Promoting Orchid Health
2023-06-03 13:00 - 15:00 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
Jana Butcher from the Oklahoma Orchid Society will be discussing key factors for successful orchid growing with a special focus on repotting. Participants are welcome to bring their own orchids for advice!

Register through Oklahoma City Parks.

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.

Tulsa Orchid Society's Orchid Auction
2023-08-13 13:30 - 15:30 | The Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S Peoria Ave, Tulsa, OK, 74114, United States
Tulsa Orchid Society is holding an orchid auction in lieu of its August meeting.

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.

Friends of WRG "Garden Party with Friends"
2023-10-01 13:00 - 16:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
The event will be held outdoors in the Color Garden (if inclement weather, it will be indoors in the Conservatory). There will be booths with gardening information, butterfly information, face painting, and children’s crafts. Also live music, food trucks and a silent auction. The event is free and open to the public.

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 Volunteer Activity: Install Holiday Lights at Will Rogers Gardens
2023-11-11 09:00 - 12:00 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
OOS members are encouraged to volunteer to help detangle, test, and install Will Rogers Gardens’ holiday lights. This is an OOS-exclusive volunteer activity. Every volunteer’s service hours will be recorded for Oklahoma Orchid Society, helping to offset the Society’s rental of facilities at the Exhibition Center. Work is available outdoors and inside. The Conservatory is reserved for a wedding, so meet in the Conservatory’s headhouse (the long back hallway with potting benches). Enter through the side (back) door. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions. We look forward to seeing you!

OCA 2nd Orchid Conservation Symposium
2023-11-18 12:00 - 15:00 | Online
The purpose of this complimentary symposium is to acquaint you with some of Orchid Conservation Alliance’s currently-supported reserves, their current projects and challenges, and some of the people overseeing them.

Speakers

9:00-9:55 Prof. Ken Cameron, University of Wisconsin, The Impact of Climate Change on Regional Flora

10:00-10:45 Javier Robayo, Fundación, Ecominga, Baños, Ecuador

10:50-11:35 Sebastián Vieira, Corporación SalvaMontes, Yaramul, Colombia

11:40-12:25 Nicholas Locke, REGUA, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil

12:25 – 12:30 Mary Gerritsen, President, OCA, Closing Remarks

Friends of WRG "Tree Lighting Event"
2023-11-26 16:00 - 19:00 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
Free horse drawn carriage rides, visits with Santa and Rumble the Bison from the OKC Thunder. Also, children’s choirs, crafts and food trucks. The event is free and open to the public.

OOS Volunteer Activity: Remove Holiday Lights at Will Rogers Gardens
2024-01-06 09:00 - 12:00 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
OOS members are encouraged to volunteer to help remove, detangle, test, wrap, and store Will Rogers Gardens’ holiday lights. This is an OOS-exclusive volunteer activity. Every volunteer’s service hours will be recorded for Oklahoma Orchid Society, helping to offset the Society’s rental of facilities at the Exhibition Center. Work is available outdoors and inside the Conservatory. Meet in the Headhouse of the Conservatory, down the stairs from the Exhibition Center. Follow CDC guidelines with respect to COVID-19 precautions. We look forward to seeing you!

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

Myriad Botanical Gardens Orchid Show: "The Curious World of Orchids"
2024-02-16 09:00 - 2024-03-17 17:00 | Myriad Botanical Gardens Crystal Bridge, 301 W Reno, Oklahoma City, OK, 73102, United States
Prepare to be transfixed as you step foot into the Curious World of Orchids. The Orchid Show returns to the Inasmuch Foundation Crystal Bridge Conservatory after its extensive renovation. This show will display hundreds of peculiar orchids with fascinating, unique, and wildly beautiful shapes. You’ll learn more about these exquisite flowers and what makes them such a unique and diverse plant family, which is the second largest. Make this show a stop to brighten up your winter.

Hours are Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm and Sunday, 11am-5pm. Admission is FREE for Gardens members. Adult – $10.50; Senior 62+ – $9; Military/Veterans – $9; Student (with ID) – $7; Youth (5-17 years) – $5.50; and ages 4 & under FREE.

WRGC Public Class: Greenhouse Inspiration, Design, & Construction for Energy Efficiency
2024-02-17 10:00 - 11:00 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
Douglas Needham, Ph.D., V.M.M., will present “Greenhouse Inspiration, Design, & Construction for Energy Efficiency.” His presentation will explore key design elements of Victorian, neoclassical, geodesic dome, and industrial modern greenhouse design styles from around the world, and, then, focus on greenhouse design, materials, and construction for energy efficiency.

Dr. Needham was Vice President, Education, at Longwood Gardens (2007–2017) and Professor of Floriculture at Oklahoma State University (1989–2007). He was recognized as Distinguished Agriculture Alumnus by Purdue University in 2017, and he was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England, UK, in 2018. He grows hundreds of orchids in cool and warm glasshouses, he designs and cultivates English-inspired perennial borders, and he is restoring a native prairie. Dr. Needham enjoys sharing his passion for growing plants with others through workshops, presentations, tours, and consulting.

Registration for this public class is through Oklahoma City Parks.

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.

Oklahoma Orchid Society 2024 Show & Sale
2024-05-04 10:00 - 2024-05-05 16:00 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
See hundreds of orchids on show and for sale at Oklahoma Orchid Society’s Spring 2024 Show & Sale, the Society’s AOS-sanctioned event of the year. This two-day “Bench and Full Exhibit” show will be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 4 & 5, from 10am to 4pm at Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK. Admission and parking are free, and the event is open to the public. See the OOS Shows & Sales webpage for more information.Ribbon judging begins at 8:00 am on Saturday, followed immediately by AOS judging.

GPJC May Judging
2024-05-18 10:00 - 15:00 | Southwestern College, Beech Science Center, 100 N College Street, Winfield, KS, 67156, United States
All orchid enthusiasts are encouraged to submit orchids for judging by taking them to the GPJC the morning before judging begins or by making arrangements with one of OOS’s AOS judges to take the orchids to judging. Members should download and complete the “Judging Entry Form” for each orchid submitted. Orchid plants and cut flowers submitted at a monthly GPJC judging event or AOS-sanctioned show are candidates for an award.

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.

WRGC Public Class: Orchids101
2024-06-22 10:00 - 11:30 | Will Rogers Gardens Exhibition Center, 3400 NW 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73112, United States
Mike Friday, President of Oklahoma Orchid Society, has been growing orchids for 54 years, and grows in his greenhouse and under lights in his home. He will cover: what is an orchid, common orchids, Oklahoma Native Orchids, orchid culture and propagation, and repotting.

Will Rogers Gardens charges $5.00 per person for this class. Registration is required through Oklahoma City Parks.

Register for the Class

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.

GPJC October Judging — CANCELED
2024-10-19 10:00 - 15:00 | Southwestern College, Beech Science Center, 100 N College Street, Winfield, KS, 67156, United States
