Location: Santa Clara Railroad Museum
1005 Railroad Avenue
Santa Clara, CA 95050

SETUP STARTS AT 7PM, MEETING AT 7:30PM

Tanya will be sharing her success using coconut mixes on various orchid genera, how to prepare the coconut, and formulas for the mixes. With the recent shortage and quality problem of other mediums such as bark and moss, coconut is a superior choice for an orchid medium.

Speaker bio

Tanya has been growing orchids since 1996 in San Jose California. She listened, experimented, and was creative in adjusting her growing methods to provide her orchids with their healthiest root systems, and in turn she enjoys their best performances in flowering. During the first few years of growing orchids, her job required extensive travel, which required her to have good planning and orchid mixes that stay moist exactly 7 days. Tanya created her own orchid mixes using coconut as the main medium. These mixes were designed to fit her weekly watering schedule and condition. Her orchid mixes turned out to be outstanding and magical.

At this month meeting, she will be sharing her successes using coconut mixes on various orchid genera, how to prepare the coconut, and formulas for the mixes. She encourages orchid growers to try using coconut as a natural organic and inexpensive medium due to its natural resistance to pests and diseases. Orchid growers can nurture their plants while also supporting eco-friendly horticultural practices. With the recent shortage and quality problem of other medium such as bark and moss, coconut is a superior choice for orchid medium. Many growers are skeptical to using coconut in their mixes due to its ability to hold too much water. Tanya will provide many tips for success and share photos of the amazing root growths on her talk.

Tanya uses 100% rain water, she collects over 11,000 gallons of rain water each year, and despite her busy work and travel schedule, she used to manage to keep her 3000 orchids pest free and healthy in two greenhouses and a shade house. Besides using the pure rain water, her other secret is using the coconut husk mix on 90% of her orchids.

Tanya belongs to many orchid societies in the San Francisco bay area, was the Vice President and President of Malihini Orchid Society. Wherever she travels, she makes time to visit the local orchid society and learns how orchids are grown in different parts of the country. She traveled to see orchids in Australia, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. She has recently been down-sizing her orchid collections to prepare for retirement, as she dreams to visit more orchid habitats of the world.

Plant table

Tanya Lam will provide the plant table with a variety of orchids.

Information about Sale items

Tanya will bring a few orchids to sell at the January 2025 meeting. Both indoor and outdoor orchids are available. Additionally, Tanya will have limited coconut husk chips and carrying trays for sale.