Upcoming Nature Coast Orchid Society meetings and events
- Monthly meetings are now at our new location,
- St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church on Spring Hill Drive, on the 4th Sat. of the month
2026 meetings
April 4th- Orchid Repotting & Mounting Orchid Demos. This is a pot luck meeting at Crews Lake Park in Pasco County. Please bring a dish to share. If you didn’t sign up at the Feb meeting just email or call Annie Aierstock at (350)270-9191 or [email protected] (please note Annie is not a texter). Bring a plant or purchase a plant to repot as members WILL be able to sell plants at this meeting. We will have demonstrations on potting with orchid bark mix, tree fern fiber and how to mount orchids on cork or cedar.
Come & repot or just watch, learn, visit & eat. The fun starts at 11:00.
Sonya from Nature Trails Orchid Supplies will have supplies
available for purchase. She will have everything she has for repotting. If anyone wants the large bags of Orchiata though, they should text her so she brings that specific size bark. She can be reached at: 813-833-9067.
We’ll be in shelter #3 near the restrooms. Everyone is welcome to join us.
May 23- Mike Sands will talk about ‘Organic & Inorganic Pest & Fungal Control. Mike owns Tangled Roots Nursery. This is a topic we’ve all had questions about & Mike will be able to give us some guidance. He will be bringing us plants to buy.
June 27- Harry McElroy “Mr. Cymbidium Man” comes to us by way of Arkansas & then California. He began growing Cymbidiums in California in 1979. When he moved to Jacksonville in 1991 with 200 Cymbidiums he set out to prove that Cymbidiums can thrive in warm weather. Now he’s up to 4000 Cymbidiums & will share his secrets with us. Harry will bring orchids to sell.
July 25--Dr. Craig Hegel has 34 years of experience w/native plants, education & gardening. He is a Lead Curator for the USF Botanical Garden. In addition he has an online blog on native Florida wildflowers & has published several books. Members can bring orchids to sell.
August 22- This is our Annual Auction. Orchids of every size, shape & color will be on the auction block. This is a great opportunity to purchase rare & unusual orchids at a discount price. The Orchids are available for viewing at 11:00 & the auction starts promptly at 12:00. Free admission & parking. This is our largest fundraiser for the year & everyone is welcome. Not only is this a fun event but you will learn a lot about orchids. A list of the orchids available for sale will be on our website before the auction.
September 12- speaker & location TBA
October 24 -- Keith & Dina Emig will be back to tell us about 'Winterizing your Orchids’. Keith is a very entertaining speaker & this is the perfect time to start getting ready for the cold weather ahead before the temps drop. He’ll talk to us about which orchids need to be kept drier so they’ll bloom in the spring. Which orchids need shelter at which temperature & which orchids actually bloom better if they get cold. He’ll answer these questions & more in this talk. Keith & Dina will be bringing plant to sell to us.
Nov 14- Jim & Melana Davison of Jim-N-I Orchids will be talking to us about ‘Growing & Blooming Australian Dendrobiums’. This is a beautiful group of Dendrobiums that take special growing conditions to bloom. Jim & Melana who are members of the Nature Coast Society, will share the secrets to the success of this unique group of orchids. Between the 2 of them they have over 60 years of growing experience. They’re both AOS judges & grow all genera of orchids but specialize in Cattleyas, Dendrobiums , Phalaenopsis , Bulbos & Catasetums. They will be bringing plants to sell.
Dec 12- Holiday Dinner