OrchidTalk - Let's Talk Orchids!
💚 New Episodes every Sunday 💚Welcome to Orchid Talk, the podcast for anyone who’s ever fallen in love with a bloom — whether it was a $9.99 supermarket Phalaenopsis or the crown jewel of your 1,000‑plant jungle. If orchids spark your curiosity, fuel your obsession, or completely take over your home… you’re in the right place.Hosted by Mandy, a passionate grower with a soft spot for the strange, the rare, and the wonderfully weird, Orchid Talk brings the entire orchid universe to your ears.Each episode features a special guest grower — from hobbyists to world‑class collectors — as we dig into culture technique...
Episode 6: Growing Phragmipediums with Morgan Jameson
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On the sixth episode of OrchidTalk, I sit down with Morgan Jamesson. Morgan shares how she got into orchids, her collection of phragmipedium orchids, how to grow them and her advice from an orchid hobbyist to another.
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🔗Show Links🔗:
Guide to "Semi-Hydroponics" growing for Orchids - First Rays
Morgan's Beast of a plant! (Phrag Chuck Acker)
Morgan's Ruth Morrow
Growing Slipper Orchids (Phragmipediums and Paphiopedilums) indoors - AOS
Morgan can be foun...
Episode 5: The Wonderful World of Maxillarias with Eric Sauer (River Valley Orchids)
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On the Fifth episode of OrchidTalk, I sit down with Eric Sauer from River Valley Orchids. Eric shares how he got into orchids, his collection of Maxillaria orchids, how to grow them and his orchid adventures down in South America.
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🔗Show Links🔗:
Some of Eric's Awarded Phragmipediums - Facebook, Cincinnati Judging Center
Photos and Cultural information on Maxilliaria tenuifolia, the Coconut Orchid - AOS
Maxillaria, an unfinished monograph, Book by Eric Christenson - ResearchGate
Book Review of Eric Christenso...
Episode 4: Growing and Breeding Novelty Phalaenopsis with Cody Mathers (Zenith Orchids)
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On this fourth episode of OrchidTalk, I sit down with Cody Mathers from Zenith Orchids. Cody shares how he got into orchids, his collection of novelty phalaenopsis orchids, how to grow them in the freezing plains of Saskatchewan, and orchid breeding from a hobbyist prospective.
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🔗Show Links🔗:
Phalaenopsis Penang Girl - OrchidRoots
Phalaenopsis micholtzii - Internet Orchid Species Encyclopedia
Phalaenopsis lueddimanniana - Internet Orchid Species Encyclopedia
Cody can be found at:
Zenith Orchids Instagram
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Bonus Episode: Cattleya Bow Bells - The Bells That Wouldn't be Silenced
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On the third bonus episode of OrchidTalk, I dive into the history of Cattleya Bow Bells— shaped by war, loss, resilience, and the quiet determination of growers across three continents. It is a hybrid born in the shadow of bombed greenhouses, carried across oceans, preserved in distant sanctuaries, and woven into the fabric of modern cattleya breeding.
🔗 Show Links below🔗
Link to purchase the book that inspired this story time / The Classic Cattleyas by AA and Arthur Chadwick
Link to the Cattleya Bow Bells Article by Chadwick and Son's Orchids
Episode 3: Growing Cloud Forest Miniature Orchids with Luis Ortiz Jordan
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On this third episode of OrchidTalk, I sit down with Luis Ortiz Jordan, who leads the curation of the McKee Botanical Gardens orchid collection. Luis shares how he got into orchid, his collection of cloud forest miniature orchids, how to grow them and the species he discovered in Puerto Rico.
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🔗Show Links🔗:
McKee Botanical Garden
Luis's FCC/AOS Cattleya walkeriana
Luis's New Orchid Species Publication - Eurystyles luisortizii
Luis can be found at:
The Orchid Cabinet Instagram
Luis's Lin...
Bonus Episode: Cattleya dowiana - Sunshine, Yellow Fever, and the Golden Queen
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On the second bonus episode of OrchidTalk, I dive into the golden yellow (fever) of Cattleya dowiana— the large flowered yellow Cattleya, with a bright, sunny nature immediately lights up every room or greenhouse that they are in.
🔗 Show Links below🔗
Link to purchase the book that inspired this story time / The Classic Cattleyas by AA and Arthur Chadwick
Link to the Cattleya dowiana article by Chadwick and Sons
Link to AOS Article on Cattleya breeding influences
Link to Cattleya Culture Guide (AOS)
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Episode 2: Growing Wind Orchids (Neofinetia/Vanda falcata with Carol Buele
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On this second episode of OrchidTalk, I sit down with Carol Buele, a Emmy-winning costume designer and American Orchid Society accredited judge. Carol shares how she got into orchid, her lasting love with Japan and Neofinetia falcata (the famed wind orchid) and how she grows her collection in the San Fernando Valley.
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🔗Show Links🔗:
2025 Fuukiran Meikan Board (with English explanations): 2025 Meikan Board
Japan Fuukiran Society
American Orchid Society Article on Growing the Wind Orchid (Neofinetia falcata)
Carol can be found at:
Caro...
Bonus Episode: Cattleya labiata: The Lost Queen of a 71‑Year Botanical Drama
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On the very first bonus episode of OrchidTalk, I dive into the wild, true story of Cattleya labiata — the orchid that launched Victorian orchid mania, vanished for 71 years, and reappeared thanks to a bug collector who wasn’t even looking for orchids. It’s a story time packed with botanical drama, misidentified specimens, forgotten directions, and the orchid that became a queen.
🔗 Show Links below🔗
Link to purchase the book that inspired this story time / The Classic Cattleyas by AA and Arthur Chadwick
Link to the Cattleya labiata article by Ch...
Episode 1: Growing Slipper Orchids Indoors with Kevin Chen from W.W. Botanicals
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On this very first episode of OrchidTalk, I sit down with Kevin Chen, the grower behind Wilshire and Western Botanicals and a beloved figure in the SoCal orchid community. Kevin shares his very first orchid, his highest AOS awarded plant, and growing slipper orchids (paphiopedilums) indoors in LA.
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🔗Show Links🔗:
Picture of Kevin's Paphiopedilum sanderianum
Picture of Kevin's Awarded flower Paphiopedilum Regine Plows 'Alien Superstar' AM/AOS
Picture of a Sibling of Cattleya Warscewiczii coerulea 'Marquesa de Yolombó' x self.
Kevin can be foun...
Coming Soon - OrchidTalk
Welcome to Orchid Talk, the podcast for anyone who’s ever said, “I’ll just buy ONE orchid”… and then somehow ended up with a jungle. In this trailer, Mandy gives you a sneak peek into the wonderfully chaotic world of orchid growing — from supermarket Phals to rare species that cost more than your rent. Expect laughs, plant confessions, wild orchid facts, and a whole lot of blooming enthusiasm. If you’re ready to learn, laugh, and maybe accidentally start a massive collection, hit play and let the orchid madness begin! 🌿
If you have an orchid related question t...
