A couple of weeks ago, a friend I haven't seen for months reminded me about the upcoming Pacific Orchid Expo (P.O.E.) - Thrill of Discovery. It is the largest orchid show in the United States and the major fundraiser for the San Francisco Orchid Society.

I thought I had conveniently missed it, so I wasn't too enthusiastic about going (again).

I've worked the annual show for about 15 years or so. It is mostly run by volunteers, (much like the Master Gardener program). I've sold tickets, handed-out wine glasses to vendors, done security at the door, handed out name tags; I've even co-chaired 3 of the committees for multiple years. Time to move on. I didn't even go to last year's show.

But, since my husband and I were free the on the night of the gala, haven't seen my friend for months, and I haven't acquired a new orchid in months, we went.

I am so glad I did. The show is stunning, as usual. The orchids are exotic. But the best thing was seeing people I haven't seen in a while - my Orchid friends! It reminded me that orchids brought us together but the camaraderie and friendship keep us together.

That also reminds me that it's time to repot my orchids.

What did I learn from all this? Put next year's P.O.E. (February 25-28, 2016 at Fort Mason's Festival Pavilion) on my calendar with multiple reminders; repot my orchids every 2 years; and keep in touch with my orchid friends.

Here are a couple of links from the American Orchid Society. I found the repotting videos very helpful, even for an expert orchid grower and repotter like me (I've killed at least 100 orchids and repotted gazillions of them).


Care sheets: http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=75
Repotting videos: http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=108