But lunch is also the best time to meet the members and get one on one advice. You will find that all our members are friendly and helpful. We don't know everything about orchids, but we can help you find the answers you need.
After lunch, the afternoon speakers take over.
The last of the participants stayed to listen to Keith Clayton talk on growing Orchids in the home. He passed on some great tips and showed how to use nontoxic everyday products in the care of your orchids. In the home it is alwas best to not use toxic chemicals, and he showed several good choices. By the way, the plant in front of Keith is one he got in a 2 inch pot at growers day 5 years ago as a participant. Good growing Keith!
Growers Day
Each year the Sandhills Orchid Society in conjunction with Fayetteville Technical Community College present an all day program we call Growers day. In this program we try to show the joy of growing orchids. We aim this program primarily at beginners, but also find it to be informative to the seasoned orchid grower. We have some who have come from Raleigh for the last 5 years and plan to return again this year.
Each year we have 5-6 speakers presenting programs that we feel will help you grow orchids better in your home on a window sill or under lights. These speakers primarily come from North and South Carolina and many are Commercial growers or have been hobby growers for many years. Remember, they each started with just one orchid and still remember the thrill of getting it to bloom again.
The New York botanical Garden, for instance, offers a course on orchid growing with one lecture and one demonstration (no snacks, no lunch and only one lecture), you also get a plant to take home but their cost is $62.00!
We keep the cost of this program down to an absolute minimum, we want everyone to come and enjoy this day. OUR cost is only $15.00 and includes snacks and coffee in the morning, a light lunch, snacks and sodas in the afternoon, and best of all an orchid plant to take home. The plant alone is worth the $15.00.
This years Growers Day will be held on Saturday April 5th, 2008. Preregister by April 2nd for the $15.00 fee, It will rise to $20.00 after that. It will be held at the NEW FTCC Horticulture Building next to the Cape Fear Botantical Gardens. We have another great slate of speakers scheduled. Registration Starts at 9:30 and the program starts at 10AM.
Some Pictures of previous Growers Days
Coffee and sweets for break
President Eliot Atstupensa
Delivers the Welcome
Jack Webster tells evey one what is an orchid
Keith Clayton helped Jack with the plants
Break is a good time to check the show table
The participants were eager to learn
Linda Thorne talked on Phals
Lunch is Always a Favorite
And of Course, Picking up
the Free Plants
Not everyone could stay till the very end, but those that did said it was well worth it.
Everyone got to pick their plant to take home.
The plant alone was worth the $15.00.
While the first two speakers are telling how to grow all those orchid, the food crew was hard at work setting up the cafeteria.
Good thing we were ready, because here they come!
Afternoon Break
Stewart Miller on Dendrobiums
Courtney Hackney on growing Cattlayas
This photo is of an orchid currently in bloom that was given out at a recent Growers Day.
Think this was worth $15.00?
This page was last updated: January 30, 2008
To sign up for this years Growers Day, contact Joyce Patton at (910) 484-5592
