Welcome

Welcome to the Sacramento Orchid Society’s website. We hope you find the information here useful. We’ve made some changes recently so please explore the site thoroughly. You can check out our events page for information on upcoming events.

About the Sacramento Orchid Society

The Sacramento Orchid Society was founded in 1947 as an educational organization dedicated to providing information on the cultivation of orchids to the greater Sacramento community.

Members and non-members alike are welcome at our FREE Monthly Meetings that feature expert speakers from around the world, our members Show & Tell which is like a mini orchid show each month, opportunities to buy and sell plants, and a delightful measure of fellowship and good times. You will also find out about upcoming events and opportunities to support our society.

The Society's very active membership grows an almost unimaginable number of orchid species and hybrids on windowsills, patios, in yards, under lights, and in greenhouses.

Orchid Of The Month

May 2025

Rhyncattleanthe Brenda Ruedy

By Annie Kimmerlein

Posing with my Rth. Brenda Ruedy and my Aunt Elizabeth at this year’s SOS show.

My Rhyncattleanthe (Rth.) Brenda Ruedy is special to me for a whole host of reasons. For one thing, it’s been in my collection for over 5 years, which is a long time for a relatively new orchid grower like me. I bought this plant as a small, unbloomed seedling shortly after I moved down to Los Angeles for a job and found that I could easily make the drive to San Diego for the Sunset Valley Orchids open house. Rth. Brenda Ruedy is also special to me because it blooms at least twice a year despite living outside here in Sacramento. It has bloomed in over 100F degrees during June and July and in December with nights near freezing. If you happened to see this plant at this year’s SOS show and noticed that some of the leaves have brown spots or blotches on them, that is cold damage from the plant experiencing temperatures in the 30s and upper 20s F during the winter. Yet, despite the look of its leaves, this plant puts out the most fragrant, beautiful blooms.

Rth. Brenda Ruedy matching the hot (105F) summer’s day with her vibrant colors.

Another reason that this plant is special to me is because of its name. For those of you who don’t know, Brenda Ruedy (the human) is a member of the Sacramento Orchid Society. Brenda joined the orchid society around the same time as I did and has quickly become an excellent grower. In 2020, Brenda received her first American Orchid Society (AOS) award on a flower that the judges described as having orange sepals and petals overlaid with magenta and a yellow lip, also overlaid magenta. In honor of her being the first person to receive an AOS award on the cross, the breeder named the hybrid after her. Hence the name Rth. Brenda Ruedy. The flowers on Brenda’s plant look much different from mine. No offence to the AOS judges, I think I like mine better.

Brenda’s awarded Rth. Brenda Ruedy ‘Bliss’ HCC/AOS.
Photo credit: Ramon de los Santos

Whichever flower style you like better, I hope you agree that this is a worthwhile orchid to have in one’s collection. While Cattleya type orchids (including Rhyncattleanthe) are often considered as warm-growing orchids, many modern hybrids have genes from both warm and cold tolerant species ancestors, making them hearty growers for both the advanced hobbyist and newbie alike.

Oh, and did I mention the fragrance is heavenly?!

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