South Coast Orchid Society, Inc.

About Us

• Our Presidents

• i-FAQ

• Sources for Our History

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Recent Posts
(or soon to appear!)

• Janell Schuck, 1937-2025
  Over 30 years of service to SCOS!

  

  We are saddened to report the passing of Janell Schuck on September 14, 2025. She joined SCOS in January, 1993, and supported our club enthusiastically ever since. She served at least 8 terms as First Vice-President, and managed publicity, AOS representation, ribbon judging, and many other tasks at various times. We have posted a collection of photos from our newsletters and other sources. She recruited many of our current members and encouraged everyone to enjoy a life with orchids.

• New Photo Gallery Taking Shape!

  

  After a lot of work by everyone involved, a collection of over 2,300 color slides and other memorabilia from the family of Carl and Imogene Keyes, early members of SCOS, is being added to our web site! The Keyes were expert growers, especially of Odontoglossums and Paphiopedilums. They accumulated an astounding number of awards and created many hybrids. Visit the new Keyes Archive and watch it grow!

• New Mini-Series: Orchid Basics!
  

  At the start of each monthly meeting, we present short refresher on some orchid basics. Each installment will be under 10 minutes long, a mini-program illustrated with slides and specimens. Other topics will include the orchid life cycle, genetics, labels, propagation, etc. What other topics should we include?

• Surprise! Look what we found!

  

  It's our logo, for the first time in color, in enamels, from a 1984 SCOS silver trophy in memory of our long-time member Arthur Falk, found by Brandon Tam at the Huntington Botanical Center. More on this discovery soon!

• The Kay Francis Archive:

  

  A time capsule from the Greatest Generation of SoCal orchid growers! It took about two years to bring this amazing collection to a point where we could present it to the public. Kay's patient work in the 1960's-1980's brought us such remarkable hybrids as Lc. Prism Palette. Her archive of over 2,600 color slides and a trove of notes, ribbons, correspondence, and other records provide a unique insight into the glory days of orchid breeding in Southern California.

• Memoria Norito Hasegawa, 1940-2023
  SCOS has lost a great friend. Norito's association with SCOS goes back at least to 1968, when he won his first AOS award (it was a Cymbidium) at one of our monthly meetings. He was an inspiration for generations of orchid growers.
  
  Paphiopedilum Norito Hasegawa, registered by Orchid Zone in 1992, a fitting tribute to our dear friend, and still spectacular after 30 years of AOS awards! This one is cultivar 'Big Bear's Sunny Gaze' FCC/AOS, exhibited by Ryan Kowalczyk March 18, 2023 at Nature Coast Orchid Society, Spring Hill, FL, photo © Wes Newton.

• Norito's Orchid Awards, 1968-2009!
  

• A Note to Our Members & Friends
  

• Memoria Earl Felt, 1931-2019
  

• Member's success stories! What has been blooming lately
  

• Insect mimicry in Mediterranean and Australian terrestrial orchids; SCOS has plants in the pipeline for silent and noisy auctions, raffles, etc.

• Robert Casamajor's keynote speech for our 1959 awards banquet, Rare Orchids and How They Get That Way, with cool illustrations and some major updates!
  

Resources

• ATTENTION! Use the "SoCal Shows and Sales" link near the top of the page for the latest information from the Fascination of Orchids events calendar. However, be alert for changes.
  
  
• Finding orchid intergeneric names and abbreviations
  • Where did that intergeneric name come from? — an interesting place to look up the origin of intergeneric names, including the date when the intergeneric name was created, the list of the component genera, and the journal citation!
  • Look up generic and intergeneric abbreviations at Orchids.org
  • Alphabetic list of intergeneric abbreviations (based on RHS, 2017)
  • Alphabetic list of intergeneric names with their component genera (RHS, 2017)

• Finding correct genus and species names (including digitized herbarium specimens!)

• Video: MissOrchidGirl on How to Read and Interpret Orchid Tags

• Best practices for labeling plants! What can we do to prevent lost, broken, illegible, and/or incorrect labels?

• Really good information about orchid pests, diseases, and practical advice on pesticides from St. Augustine Orchid Society. Articles by Sue Bottom are expecially helpful and practical for the home grower.

• Awards information from Orchid Digest judging at the Long Beach site, 1954-1967

• Awards information from AOS Pacific South Judging Region (includes AOS judging held concurrently with our monthly meetings in Long Beach)

• A SoCal orchid time capsule: Souvenir booklet from the Fifth World Orchid Conference in Long Beach, published in 1965 in advance of the conference, with local articles about growing orchids outdoors in Los Angeles, Phalaenopsis breeding (Robert Ernst), Cymbidium culture (Paul Gripp), red cattleyas, and Leo Holguin on cattleya culture, plus fabulous advertisements from local growers and suppliers, almost all of them long gone — Santa Barbara Orchid Estate is probably the only survivor.

• Special plants associated with our past and present members

• What else do you need?