Join us at our April 27 and 28 Show and Sale!
San Mateo Garden Center, 605 Parkside Way, San Mateo

Everyone is Welcome to Participate by Exhibiting Their
Orchids in Our April 23 & 24 2024 Show!


Show Rules and Class List


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Welcome to the Peninsula Orchid Society!

Founded in 1946, the Peninsula Orchid Society (POS) is a society of about 200 orchid enthusiasts and professional growers with members from around the San Francisco Bay area. Our mission is to increase the awareness, appreciation, enjoyment, conservation, and cultivation of orchids. POS members fulfill this mission in the following ways:

  • Monthly Meetings.
  • Annual Orchid Show and Sale
  • Auction or sales of member owned orchids several times each year. Occasional one-day shows.
  • Diverse educational activities that vary from year to year.

About Our Usual Monthly Meetings

We meet at the San Mateo Garden Center, 605 Parkside Way, San Mateo, CA. Doors open at 6:30 PM and the meeting begins at 7:00 PM. Meetings take place on the 4th Friday, February - November. January you will find us at our annual show and in December our meeting is on the 3rd Friday. You may also join our meetings via Zoom. Visitors are warmly welcomed.
Our monthly meetings are full of orchids. Members bring in plants that they have in-bloom to be featured on the Show and Tell table. At an appointed time, one or two of the Society's knowledgeable members present the plants and talk a little about each orchid's cultural requirements, breeding, or history. Our meeting begins with an invited speaker who gives a talk about an issue of interest to orchid growers. Topics range from natural history and culture of specific types of orchids to orchid genetics to reports about trips to see wild orchids. These lectures feature prominent local orchid experts and occasional speakers from other states and from abroad.
Every meeting also includes a member sales table, where members sell orchids from their own collections and an "opportunity table" containing plants which can be won at the end of the meeting. During the meeting there is a skill session where members can learn about repotting or mounting, cultivation best practices, or other topics of interest to orchid enthusiasts.

Our Members

Our members span from teens to seniors. They range from having only a couple of store bought orchids to window-sill growers with many orchids taking over their home to advanced hobby growers with greenhouses to professional orchid growers. They live on the Peninsula, in San Jose, Fremont, San Leandro, Pleasant Hill, San Francisco, and some live far away. Guests are always welcome at our meetings and other events.

In addition to our website, you may find information on our activities on our Facebook Page and in our Newsletter "The Sheath".

The Peninsula Orchid Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, affiliated with the American Orchid Society.


Donate to Peninsula Orchid Society


Next Meeting


Our March 22nd meeting will be held at the San Mateo Garden Center, 605 Parkside Way, San Mateo and via Zoom.


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Speaker: Scott McGregor
Topic: Growing Mediterranean Climate Terrestrials

Date: March 22, 2024
Time: 7:00 PM
Doors open and Zoom opens 6:30 PM
Skill Session: TBD
Opportunity Table Plants: Hanging Gardens

Visitors welcome at the San Mateo Garden Center or via Zoom, click here to request a meeting Zoom link. Please include your name and that you want to attend as a guest. Request your link by noon (PDT) on meeting day or it may not be possible to send it to you.

You are welcome to become a member of POS! Simply go to the membership tab and click on the Paypal link or make your request to join and ask for information at the "click here" link above.

Map

Meetings are 4th Friday of the month except December (3rd Friday) currently meeting in person and using Zoom-->. map to SM Garden Center