Honey, I shrunk the orchids! This is the engaging title for our talk at the June 13th meeting by Dr. Kristen Uthus, who says “Eventually everyone runs out of room for more orchids—unless they’re really small. While their size intimidates some people, miniatures are just as tough as their larger relatives. What makes them so appealing is their variety of form in addition to flower, and they are just plain cute! The fact that they take up so little space means that you can have a lot of different kinds of orchids in a limited area. Bigger definitely is not better.”

Dr. Uthus studied both plant and animal ecology and evolution at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and the Ohio State University (OSU). She then taught biology and ecology at several colleges including VCU, OSU, University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University. The daughter of a plant fanatic, Kristen has been growing orchids for over 20 years, and in 2014 she fulfilled her dream of making orchids a full-time commitment by purchasing NWO (New World Orchids). Although she enjoys growing many varieties of orchids, miniatures remain her passion. She and her family, pictured above, live in Manchester, MI, about an hour west of Detroit.

In addition to learning about miniature orchids, OSRBG members in attendance at this meeting will be invited to vote for the 2021-2023 Executive as this is also the OSRBG Annual General Meeting. Members are thus strongly urged to attend.

The meeting, as has become the norm, will take place via Zoom, with invitations being sent out in the week previous to the meeting. If you have not received yours, please contact OrchidataOSRBG@gmail.com. The meeting begins at 2 pm (Eastern Daylight Saving Time) with doors opening, so to speak, at 1:30 for those wishing to get settled and socialize with others. Potential guests may also request an invitation by contacting OrchidataOSRBG@gmail.com.