Hello from balmy Minnesota

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Rod

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Joined
Oct 19, 2009
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Location
I live in Central Minnesota.
I am not entirely new to the forum, but I haven't had time for the last two years to acquire yet another obsession. I am already aquainted with several people on the forum. I am a vendor who operates a very small commercial orchid growing and hybridizing business. I retired from my job as a psychologist, working in a residential psychiatric treatment program for children and adolescents a few years back, and now only provide some private contract services in that area of work part time. I began growing orchids when I was nine years old, and I will be 63 in January. My first orchids were Cattleyas, Phals, and Cymbidiums. I was obsessed with orchids the first time someone gave my grandmother a huge Cattleya corsage for some occasion. I grew up in the southeastern US, and I was very lucky to have the opportunity to visit Rivermont Orchids in Signal Mountain, TN two or three times a year from the time I was nine or ten years old. My uncle owned a restaurant in Chattanooga, and when I visited his family, the Rivermont delivery truck would pick me up at his restaurant early in the morning, as he returned from dropping shipments at the bus station. I would spend all day at Rivermont asking questions and poking into every place they would allow me to explore. Amazing that the McDades were so tolerant of a kid roaming all over their range. I doubt many of us would allow that these days!. My parents built me a small greenhouse that unfortunately burned, but fortunately did not burn down the entire garage that it was attached to. I built a sterile case with a friend when I was fourteen and I sowed my first successful flasks of orchid seed. My friend prepared his mold cultures in the case - amazing i succeeded without contamination in ALL the flasks! I irradiated a few plants for science fair projects until I discovered that irradiating drosophila was more interesting. Although I was obsessed with orchids, music intervened and I entered college on a music scholarship. I was perhaps the youngest member of the Nashville Symphony in 1966 - asst. 1st oboist at age 19. My mother killed all of my orchids except for two or three while I was in Nashville. From there I moved to Kansas and shifted my academic inerests to child development and psychology, built another greenhouse, and began hybridizing Phals around 1969. I operated a photography business part time. I moved to Minnesota in 1975 with about 1500 orchids - mainly Catts and Phals. I built - and rebuilt - a 500 sq. ft. greenhouse that was bulging with plants until I finally built a new polycarbonate and steel frame house in 1998 - about 2000 sq ft. I began hybridizing Paphs and Phrags around that time, and I bought out all the flasks from White River Orchids when Janice retired. Since then, I have continued to hybridize Paphs and Phrags and a few other odds and ends, and over the last couple of years I have been swapping plants, pollen, and seed with Carson Whitlow in an effort to resume some blue Catt breeding. I have too many interests and hobbies to ever live long enough to explore everything as much as I would like..sailing, gemstone faceting, goldsmithing, and casting, and every kind of do-it-yourself related to owning a 130 year old Victorian brick home and a greenhouse. Lately, I have also become a bit obsessed with computers and digital photography, and I am the webmaster for The Slipper Orchid Alliance. I will doubtlessly be pestering some of you for donations of digital images for the SOA! -- Rod Knowles
 
WELCOME! :clap: WOW - you've had a busy almost 63yrs, I feel inadequate!:eek:
Glad you joined us, will look forward to your posts!
 
Welcome Rod!

Robert (from Orchids Limited; I am the one that just sent you a bunch of pictures)
 
Hello Rod...I met you two years ago at this time when you were in Lincoln. I still have the plant growing that I bought from you. It has been a great bloomer for me. I just wish I would have bought some more of that cross. Also, a gal from our society got a phrag. she purchased from you two years ago awarded last year at this time. Nice to see you here....welcome!

--Allen--
 
Hi Rob. Hi Allen, and everyone else. Sorry I couldn't make it to Lincoln this year. I am headed to the Mid America show in Nashville/Franklin TN, and then on to Florida for the Paph Symposium. And BTW Allen - I was actually in Lincoln last year when Lorna got the AM on that Lutz Rollke I sold her... and I am proud to say it was one I bred myself.. the last one...LOL.. That makes the second plant I have sold out of my select batches that took AMs.
 
That's right..you were here last year during the show, just not as a vendor. Sorry, I forgot. I was the judge for the Art section of our show and had a display of my plant photos as you may remember.
Lorna now lives in Texas. She and her husband moved last Spring. She has been having a hard time trying to figure out what her paphs and phrags want down there she says. I do remember that the phrag awarded was from your own breeding.
Hopefully you will come and visit us again as a vendor. We moved the show to a local mall this year.

--Allen--
 
Would like to make the show but thats a lot of extra miles to drive

Yes, I heard the show was being relocated and that sounded like a good idea. It looks like I will be driving through Iowa near the show date. It would be tempting to detour over to the show, but after driving all the way from Florida I doubt I will want to delay yet another day or two getting back home.
 
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Welcome to the forum from Australia. It's balmy in Minnesota? Can you tell me what day that occurred? lol
 
A hearty welcome form rainy Germany, rudolf.
I'm impressed about your vita and 54 years of life with and for orchids. Way to go, Rod.
 
Howdy and thanks for the introduction. I love hearing these kind of stories about childhood facination with orchids. I wish my kids had inherited that gene.
 

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