January 2026 Message from the President

January 2026

Happy New Year everyone!  

This past Sunday we had our first meeting of the season.  Turnout was lower than usual but understandable being so close to New Years Day.  We'd hoped to be able to move it to the following weekend but the senior center wasn't available.

I personally want to thank those who attended for sitting through my talk on orchid judging.  I tried to keep it informative but not coma inducing!   There were some great questions and follow up discussions.  As promised I'm providing a list of sites I mentioned in case you ever get curious about some of your orchid babies and want to learn a bit more.  Don't hesitate to reach out my myself, Karen Timko or Barb Putko if you have any questions about orchid judging!

Also, as I mentioned at the meeting, the public is always welcome at the monthly AOS judging sessions.  The Northoro, MA location is only about an hour from Hartford.

I also provided the most current statistics from our fundraiser table survey.  We've only received 44 responses so far but they break down as follows:

If you have not done so already you are encouraged to share your preferences and any suggestions you may have.  Fundraiser Table Survey

Yesterday's fundraiser table (about 35 or so items) included items from the top 5 categories.

IT'S SHOW TIME!!    

Our next show is the Cape and Islands Orchid Society show in Hyannis, MA, so we'll be looking for your plants and your help.  If you can help with transporting plants and/or supplies to set up (Thu 1/22) that would be HUGE.  Since it is a long drive, the society will cover the cost of an overnight at the host hotel, but you must be able to help transport plants and supplies.  Please contact Barb Putko, Away Show chair, if you can help out (bwputko@gmail.com).  Remember, if you help with set up and stay over, you can clerk during judging Friday morning and enjoy a wonderful lunch.

MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE DUE!  You must renew by end of February at the latest.

Links to Orchid Websites - 

* If you want to look up your plant's "ancestry" (the plant needs to have a label) checkout https://orchidex.org/.  You can enter the plant name and you'll get a family tree.  Knowing your plant's background can help with understanding the growing conditions it requires.

* If you are an AOS member, click on your account and OrchidPro will be in your list of options.  You can look up your named plants to see what kinds of awards that species or hybrid may have won in the past.

* Other websites - 

   Plants of the World Online - https://powo.science.kew.org/  Here you can look up orchid species.

   International Orchid Registry - https://apps.rhs.org.uk/horticulturaldatabase/orchidregister/orchidregister.asp  Here you can look up hybrids to see when they were registered and what the parent plants are.

--

Ginna Plude

President - Nutmeg State Orchid Society (NSOS)