Note change of date!

Our speaker for the November 26th meeting is Joe Di Ciommo. Joe has been a member of OSRBG from the outset. He recounts that he attended the first ever Orchid show at RBG 40 years ago with his wife, Patricia, and her mother, Marie. When he heard that an Orchid society was being organized by Dr. Brasch and others, he decided to join. Over the years he served as President, Show Director, and was a member of various committees. His own orchid collection started under lights in the basement, then moved to a 250 sq. ft. greenhouse, then a 1,000 sq. ft. greenhouse. He started selling orchids 30 years ago, “to pay for the expenses”, he says. Joe has done his own hybidizing and has made hundreds of crosses such as “Di Ciommo Patricia, the orchid in the centre of the photo below. These days he works with his friend and colleague, Joe Barnes, who does the flasking, but in the past Joe also did this part of the process of orchid growing. He has won many AOS awards such as the CCM (Certificate of Cultural Merit) for the plant shown in the photo above. He will give us some tips on how to perhaps achieve a CCM for one of your orchids.

The meeting will take place at RBG Headquarters, 680 Plains Rd. W. Burlington, Ontario, probably in rooms 3 and 4. The formal meeting begins at 2 pm but you are invited to arrive any time after 1:30 to socialize and interact with vendors. Please bring your beautiful orchids in bloom for the show table and any orchids or orchid-related items you may have for the raffle. Masking (or not) according to personal preferences.