# 2/18/2012 New Comers Meeting



## SlipperKing (Feb 19, 2012)

I'm the old guy holding the plant. Point here is, look at the young people! Yea!


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## keithrs (Feb 19, 2012)

I'm one of those crazy young guns.... I see more and more of those young folk at the shows..... But not so much at the meetings. I guess theres too many fun things to do around these parts.


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## Ozpaph (Feb 20, 2012)

Don't mean to be rude but they are all 30-somethings. The hobby needs children and young adults to become interested.


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## TyroneGenade (Feb 20, 2012)

30 something isn't young? I'm only 33.


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## SlipperKing (Feb 20, 2012)

Ozpaph said:


> Don't mean to be rude but they are all 30-somethings. The hobby needs children and young adults to become interested.



So OZ, tells us what you're doing to encourage children and young adults??


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## Ray (Feb 20, 2012)

Ozpaph said:


> Don't mean to be rude but they are all 30-somethings. The hobby needs children and young adults to become interested.



I'll be 60 in April, and I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up.


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## Stone (Feb 20, 2012)

SlipperKing said:


> So OZ, tells us what you're doing to encourage children and young adults??



Pushing them out of the way at the sales table:rollhappy:


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## jblanford (Feb 20, 2012)

Always good to see that, thanks.. Jim.


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## SlipperFan (Feb 20, 2012)

Ray said:


> I'll be 60 in April, and I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up.


Oh, play with orchids???

Rick, you are not old. Sorry. Actually it's very interesting how one's perception of what is "old" changes as you age...

It's good to see young people interested in orchids. That's one of the things that makes this forum so great. We have all ages here, but you wouldn't know it unless someone tells you their age. It doesn't matter here. But with Orchid Societies it is another matter -- in our society, we are always trying to find ways of getting younger people interested in growing orchids.


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## NYEric (Feb 20, 2012)

What are you doing to that poor plant? oke:


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## jtrmd (Feb 20, 2012)

I got into orchids to meet chicks,but that didnt work out too well.


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## jtrmd (Feb 20, 2012)

Ozpaph said:


> The hobby needs children and young adults to become interested.




anything helps,but it would be nice to see a younger crowd.


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## JeanLux (Feb 21, 2012)

Great initiative Rick!!!! Just hope they will come back !!!! Jean


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## Gilda (Feb 21, 2012)

We would be happy to have ANY warm bodies with orchid interests at our society meetings ! Young ,Old, Middle Age.....age is a state of mind and 60 is the new 40 !!!!!!!!!!!!:wink:


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## jtrmd (Feb 21, 2012)

Gilda said:


> We would be happy to have ANY warm bodies with orchid interests at our society meetings ! Young ,Old, Middle Age.....age is a state of mind and 60 is the new 40 !!!!!!!!!!!!:wink:



To me it feels like 30 was the new 80!

I started when I as 21 or 22,and to this day don't really know why.


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## SlipperKing (Feb 21, 2012)

jtrmd said:


> To me it feels like 30 was the new 80!
> 
> I started when I as 21 or 22,and to this day don't really know why.



A couple posts before you said chicks Jim! Man you are getting old:crazy:


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## Gilda (Feb 21, 2012)

jtrmd said:


> To me it feels like 30 was the new 80!
> 
> I started when I as 21 or 22,and to this day don't really know why.



LOL Have to agree with Rick....80 year old doesn't say "chicks" :rollhappy:


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## gonewild (Feb 21, 2012)

Gilda said:


> LOL Have to agree with Rick....80 year old doesn't say "chicks" :rollhappy:



No, but he sure does think "chicks"!
:drool:


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## Rick (Feb 21, 2012)

NYEric said:


> What are you doing to that poor plant? oke:



With his advanced years it can't be muchoke:oke:


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## Rick (Feb 21, 2012)

I've often lamented/pondered this question myself, but not sure what direction would help.

When I was their age I didn't have the patience to grow plants although I was very interested in orchids.

In those days I was more interested in fish, frogs and lizards. Things that you could get up to breeding size in a couple of years, and things that moved a lot. I didn't (and still don't) play video games or watch a lot of TV, but could spend hours watching my aquariums or terrariums. 

Owning plants was too boring, but I was always interested in reading about them. For me it took age (for patience) and property / established career to afford a big enough facility and collection to keep my attention.

Maybe the internet can help a lot so the younger crowd can have access to a virtual collection while they establish their lives. Maybe some type of mentorship program to get younger growers hands on access to plants??


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## Ozpaph (Feb 22, 2012)

SlipperKing said:


> So OZ, tells us what you're doing to encourage children and young adults??



I tried to get my now teenage daughters interested but no luck.

At the paph orchid society I joined I'm the youngest (late 40's!) most meetings by a solid margin. Problem is paphs are a 'niche' genera. I dont have time to go to the local 'general' orchid society meeting.

I dont claim to know the answer. I once wrote an essay on the subject and concluded that modern life and its distractions for youth meant that horticulture is lost cause for them. It was my grandfather who got me interested in gardening from a very young boy and perhaps I'll have the same influences when I'm blessed with grandchildren.


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## Ozpaph (Feb 22, 2012)

Ray said:


> I'll be 60 in April, and I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up.



You may not have grown up Ray, but you probably aren't going to commit to line breeding multiflorals either!
I started growing orchids at 9 yo, 40 years ago. While I had a lot of encouragement, imaging how far along a breeding/hybridising programme I could be now. 
Starting younger also means that, over a lifetime, I'll put back more money and time into the hobby and influence more people to be involved.


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## Mike (Feb 23, 2012)

I don't have the secrets to getting young people interested, but exposure to all aspects of the hobby and talking to them about it helps. My 9 yr. old son was in the greenhouse with me a few months ago and he attempted his first cross. That one didn't take, but he tried again and one of them he attempted has. Having him see me sowing a seed pod and explaining the process got him interested enough to try. Same for my daughter who loves daddy time. At the end of a batch of replates, I handed her the forceps and she replated some plants (no contamination). 

The biggest issues I see in raising my kids are that the schools don't teach them to explore, and there are WAY too many other things competing for their attention. I'm almost 40 (still young and not yet grown up) and I work to ensure they are exposed to a lot of hands on stuff. They know about woodworking and can use a plane and spokeshave to make shavings, my daughter helped to install the mounting board for my RO unit tonight. Couldn't have done it on her own, but she expressed interest and I let her help. 

Not sure that I am making a point, but when they ask to help or want to be involved, I take the time to let them get involved. That cuts into my time to 'get things done', but they get the exposure to whatever it is I am doing In my opinion, that time spent does 2 things, it allows you to bond with a young person, and it shows them that they can do it (whatever it is) as well. 

Sorry for the long winded brag on my kids, just thought it might help others to spark an interest in a young person.

Mike


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## Ozpaph (Feb 23, 2012)

Mike said:


> I don't have the secrets to getting young people interested, but exposure to all aspects of the hobby and talking to them about it helps. My 9 yr. old son was in the greenhouse with me a few months ago and he attempted his first cross. That one didn't take, but he tried again and one of them he attempted has. Having him see me sowing a seed pod and explaining the process got him interested enough to try. Same for my daughter who loves daddy time. At the end of a batch of replates, I handed her the forceps and she replated some plants (no contamination).
> 
> The biggest issues I see in raising my kids are that the schools don't teach them to explore, and there are WAY too many other things competing for their attention. I'm almost 40 (still young and not yet grown up) and I work to ensure they are exposed to a lot of hands on stuff. They know about woodworking and can use a plane and spokeshave to make shavings, my daughter helped to install the mounting board for my RO unit tonight. Couldn't have done it on her own, but she expressed interest and I let her help.
> 
> ...



Mike,
You sound like a good dad. That's exactly the right way to get them interested in orchids by actively involving them in a practical way. Congratulations!


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## Mocchaccino (Feb 26, 2012)

Then I shall be proud of myself as being a 23-yr-old young boy obsessed by Slippers!


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## Ozpaph (Feb 29, 2012)

Mocchaccino said:


> Then I shall be proud of myself as being a 23-yr-old young boy obsessed by Slippers!



Yes! But how do we get your friends involved?


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## paphreek (Feb 29, 2012)

Ozpaph said:


> Yes! But how do we get your friends involved?



Orchids are a hobby the requires a stable life style. Young adults are going through changes so quickly (school, post secondary school, move for a job, meeting significant others, having children, etc.) that creating time and space for orchids can be quite a challenge. We've had some young members at both the OSM and NOS, but we tend to lose them as they grow up and move away. I suspect that a good portion of them will come back to growing orchids as their children grow up and they begin to have more free time.


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## paphioboy (Feb 29, 2012)

Interesting thread. Let me contribute my 2 cents: From what I have observed in both the local societies in Malaysia and in Australia (when I was in Adelaide for 4 years), the majority of orchid society members consist of folks past retirement age. I guess this would be due to the increased availability of time and also money as the adage goes, "In pursuing one's passion, when one is young, one has the energy and time, but no money; when one is working, one has the money but no time nor energy; and after retirement, one has time and money but no energy..!" That being said, I think young members, if encouraged by their parents, will have the passion in horticulture and keep existing clubs alive. I know quite a few young people (high school students) who are very keen in carnivorous plants (a few in orchids) and I think they will be able to sustain this interest for the future generation.


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## paphioboy (Feb 29, 2012)

> We've had some young members at both the OSM and NOS, but we tend to lose them as they grow up and move away. I suspect that a good portion of them will come back to growing orchids as their children grow up and they begin to have more free time.



True. Even if a person is interested at an early age, education and other more important pursuits of life take up a big portion of available time. Eventually the interest might wane or perhaps he might regain it at a later stage..


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## paphioboy (Feb 29, 2012)

Mocchaccino said:


> Then I shall be proud of myself as being a 23-yr-old young boy obsessed by Slippers!



High 5!


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## Ozpaph (Mar 1, 2012)

I agree. If people develop a horticultural interest at a young age they will probably come back to it later in life.


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## NYEric (Mar 1, 2012)

In my experience, I was always around a parent who was a serious gardener. Although we were in the "Big City" my Dad had gardens in friend's yards, on the rooftop of his office, at the country home, etc. When I was confident with growing flowers and vegetables I needed a challenge and got into orchids. I agree that time and money are in short supply with most young people. Or they are not interested in relatively static hobbies or endeavors; that may be why we dont see more young participants.


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## Leo Schordje (Mar 2, 2012)

Like Eric, I grew up in a family of urban gardeners. My grandfather raised Cattleya under lights in the 1950's, when it was an unheard of idea. He died when I was young, and the Cattleya went to the compost heap. My grandmother and my mother were avid houseplant windowsill gardeners. And my mother at 81 years old is still quite a rose grower with a nice collection of hybrid tea roses and indoors a fine collection of a dozen Phals. When I picked up my first Cattleya seedling when I was 15 years old, I got encouragement and advice from my family, when I bloomed my first orchid at 16, a Calanthe Veitchii, the hook was set, and now at 57 I am still an orchid addict. As much as I have tried, none of the new generation in my family is really into plants, though now that they are getting married and settling down that may suddenly change. They all have had the exposure needed to make a new crop of obsessed orchid growers. Though their mental health is better than their Uncle's maybe they won't be as fanatical as I am.


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## Rick (Mar 2, 2012)

NYEric said:


> I agree that time and money are in short supply with most young people. Or they are not interested in relatively static hobbies or endeavors; that may be why we dont see more young participants.



I'm always amazed at how much time and money younger generation folk will spend on socializing, travel, and or more active hobbies. So I think it leans towards the nature of the hobby rather than cost.

All my boys would complain about the "exhorbitant" time and money I would spend on the orchids, but spend even more time and money on cars, booze, and girlfriends!!

And I still have my very first orchid after 11 yearsoke:oke:


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## SlipperKing (Mar 4, 2012)

Wow, this thread has really taken off! 
I like others was exposed to gardening at a young age from my grandparents. Grandpa had a very tiny gardening in the city before he retired. No big deal for me. I didn't have to work it but I did love the rhubarb he grew. Then my old man, into horses, bought 12 acres to run a couple horses on, do the cowboy competition stuff and horse races. That's all grandpa needed! In went a huge garden! As much as I loved my grandparents I sure hated seeing them show up, because that meant I'd be working in the garden all day! Oh how I hated working that garden. Finally, grandpa decided retirement was close in and he sold the city house and rented an old farmhouse. That place had it all! Garden, berry bushes, fruit trees, grapevines, it was heaven for them and me! All I had to do at that point was pick berries, eat fruits and snap green beans from the cozy country porch! 
I was always into nature growing up so it was only natural for me to have house plants in my dorm room at college. I had so many plants other students that came for a visit (and a smoke) would comment on how "earthy" my room always smelt!LOL
I moved to TX with my plants, made new friends, one of which had an equitant oncidium. "What's that" I ask. Then I meet a lady on the island (Galveston), some of you all may know her, Anita Aldrich. Now you know the rest of the story!


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## SlipperFan (Mar 4, 2012)

My Dad was a farmer, as were his parents, grandparents and on back through generations. Gardening was a way of life, a necessity. I can't say I loved gardening as a child -- it was hard work. But I can't remember a time when I didn't have houseplants. Well, maybe when I was in college. And when I had a place to, I did get into gardening. Now I can't imagine enjoying life without a garden -- and orchids. 

Occasionally, I'll have a dream where I'm gathering all my orchids and taking them to my childhood home, placing them outdoors for the summer and bringing them inside and placing them in any spot I can find in the house when the weather turned cold.

Psychological analysis, anyone???


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## Brian Monk (Mar 5, 2012)

Who is the woman in black? She looks like someone I went to veterinary school with.


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## Mocchaccino (Mar 26, 2012)

Ozpaph said:


> Yes! But how do we get your friends involved?



It is almost impossible to get my friends involved. They love electronic stuffs and are obsessed by Apps. Younger people of my age in our culture would not bother to know orchid stuff as they think this business is an old-man interest. 

I started this interest actually long ago, but true, I dropped off for 7 years until last year I finally regained it. I can be sure I will love slippers for my life time since I have an unspeakable impression whenever I see them in my eyes.


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## Mrs. Paph (Mar 26, 2012)

I started in high school, when I was given a (dying) orchid for a gift  I'm pretty sure I was already destined, before then, to end up getting some sort of science degree that would be connected to the outdoors/living things, but that orchid is what helped push me over to horticulture and an MS in plant breeding and genetics, so it Is possible to hook some young and keep them through college, etc.  Being hopelessly hooked, I wasn't going to college without my orchids, so I had called up the loft rental company to ask the inside dimensions of the space underneath the lofted, drawn up a plan for the lighted shelving unit to take up part of the space under it, and helped my Dad build it before heading off to school! It's almost embarrassing sometimes how much interest there is in me as a 'young-in' still being under 30 at orchid functions LoL but I don't let that chase me away :rollhappy: I also have quite a few Very active hobbies as well, but orchids will always have a place! That said, time, money, a future hopefully including children, etc. is definitely delaying the increase in my collection and getting a greenhouse, a hobby lab, breeding, leads me to not get started in the AOS judging program at this time, even though I think it would be fun and informative... There's no solution to that, unless rich retirees want to give the younger crowd a bunch of money :evil: But, perhaps a more practical suggestion would be for those with greenhouses, to work with local 4-H, boy/girl scouts, church groups, etc. to set up programs for kids to come out and see some of the orchids and what you do. If there is more interest from individual kids, set up a mentoring/apprenticeship type program for them to learn more hands on! Maybe have a special society program for kids once a year? It is not a waste of time, even if they don't go into horticulture, botany, plant path, etc. or immediately go out and found a new local orchid society once they go off to college,they still may have gotten bit by the orchid bug for later in life!


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## Stone (Mar 27, 2012)

My Dad originally got me into orchids, but only after he had finished with them did I start. It must have been a subconcious thing? He first started with tropical fish and at one stage he had over 40 tanks on the go in a glasshouse. Being good freinds with the then (1960's) head keeper of the Melbourne Zoo, we had acess to things like snakes, lizards, monitors, treefrogs, thorny devils you name it! And for 20 or so years we had a pet fresh-water crocodile. I was only 10 or so and thought nothing of having our entire classroom coming to our place for a guided tour. But thinking about it now  So after the fish and the reptiles came the orchids. Back then you could still freely import masses of wild collected plants. Where are they all now? I was fascinated in all things natural until I hit 18 and said ''Why would you waste your time growing those''. Later, the interest came back. So with males at least hormones can get in the way:evil:


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## TDT (Mar 27, 2012)

As a child we always had houseplants, and as I moved into the teens, plants were my friends (don't get me wrong, I had people friends too!). When I went off to university, plants went with me. So it's not a surprise that orchids found their way into my life. As a mother with babies and then young children, I was more or less tied to the house (i.e no significant travel - still managed a Master's degree in animal genetics!), my small collection of orchids was a convenient and welcome distraction. Now my two teenage daughters help care for the plants and one is developing into a very good photographer who enjoys doing photo shoots of the flowers. I'm certain plants, including orchids, will be a part of their lives as they grow up!


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