We have a special guest speaker lined up for August. Bill Thoms is well known in the orchid world as one of the best growers out there. Bill is a long time friend of WNCOS and always leaves a lasting wealth of knowledge when he is in Asheville. His scheduled program is Growing and Showing Specimen Plants. Specimen plants is one of Bill’s specialties so we are in for a real treat.

Bill Thoms has grown and shown orchids for more than 45 years in the central Florida area. He has more awards for Culture in Bulbophyllums than anyone else in the world (51 so far) – and he and Doris Dukes together have 105 Cultural Awards in 30 different genera. The American Orchid Society has added a new Annual Award for the Bulbophyllums, the Bill Thoms Award. Bill gives talks all over the world on a wide range of topics ranging from his specialty, “Bulbophyllums”, to General Orchid Culture which is a favorite of most new growers. They all are presented in a funny style that helps growers understand how the plants work and they all revolve around the Culture of Orchids. He helps the beginner grower with lots of advice about fixing problems and has a wealth of accumulated information for the more advanced grower, too! No matter whether you have 1000s of orchids, just a few, or only one, Bill will give you tips to make them grow and bloom better. Many people say he is the best speaker they have ever heard. Come and see for yourself. He has a book, Bulbophyllums; the Incomplete Guide, From A to WHY?, which you may purchase from him. His web site (Bulbophyllums.com) has his book, special food and super eBook, which is more than 5 years' worth of videos of their plants, all his articles, fabulous photos and lots more. He and Doris now live near Greenville, South Carolina.