The St. Croix Orchid Society’s 51st annual orchid show and sale at the Great Hall in the St. George Village Botanical Garden this past weekend provided orchids of all sizes, shapes and colors for the enjoyment of all.
“Orchid Diamond Extravaganza!” celebrated SOCS’s 60th anniversary of providing education and information to St. Croix about all things orchid.
The show was judged in accordance with the American Orchid Society criteria and is registered with them. The show was judged by Dr. Carlos Fighetti, AOS/PROS; Dr. Julio David Rios, AOS/PROS; Jose Fernandez, PROS; and Debra Tryon, OAEG/AOS. There are more than 30,000 species of orchids. The plants entered in AOS shows are judged only against other orchids in the same class. With 100 classes of orchids, there are a lot of winning ribbons.
The top winners in the show were:
American Orchid Society Show Trophy: Rosemary Walcott
Grand Champion of the Show: Angelita Ortiz
The President’s Award: Rosemary Walcott
In addition to the colorful orchid displays, vendors offered a wide range of plants and equipment for sale. There were three workshops offered for additional education on growing, repotting and finding the best location for growing orchids.
The St. Croix Orchid Society has contributed to the St. George Village Botanical Garden in the past year. A comfortable seating area has been added to the Sugar Factory 1,000 Orchid Memorial Garden to enhance enjoyment of the garden. The orchid house has been completely refurbished with a $30,000 AARP Community Challenge Grant.
