Specializing in compact and miniature orchids suitable
for under lights and windowsill culture
Ernie is available to speak to orchid societies, garden clubs, etc. He must arrange these engagements around his work schedule, so we appreciate at least four weeks' notice for such appearances. We may be able to arrange weekend engagements with less notice.
A detailed discussion of our requests follows. These may seem extensive, but based on our experiences, we feel it necessary to be very specific. We understand that all clubs may not be able to fulfill all of these requests, so we will always be open to negotiation as long as all details are worked out in writing well in advance of our visit.
The hosting organization should cover all travel expenses and meals for Ernie for the duration of his stay. He will drive to engagements within a negotiable reasonable distance of Aurora, Illinois. Coach air fare from O'Hare, Midway, or Rockford Airports is acceptable for farther travel. Overnight accommodations for one to three nights depending on the circumstances of meeting time, travel time, prevalence of area commercial growers, etc. is also requested. Motel 6 is perfectly acceptable. We try to travel as economically as possible.
For orchid societies, we charge a $200 honorarium which can be partially or completely offset with plant and supplies sales. In other words, if we sell $199 worth of plants and supplies, the honorarium is $1. For garden clubs and other groups with less orchid specificity, we charge our base honorarium (with some exceptions) plus travel expenses. We offer a wide range of slipper orchids and also some moth and miniature and compact corsage orchids from young seedlings to adults in bud and bloom. Selection will vary by season and mode of travel.
When we will be offering plants for sale at a meeting, we hope to be the only commercial grower offering plants for sale. Non-commercial members may sell plants per the hosting club's by-laws. We also expect our sales tables to be in the main meeting area as to get considerable foot traffic from those in attendance.
We will not pay table fees for sales at meetings at which we present a lecture, and any fees for facility rental or facility taxes will be covered by the hosting organization. Local taxes or facility sales fees will be covered by either members purchasing items or the hosting organization. If members will be charged a tax or fee, the hosting organization will make it completely clear to the membership the nature of the additional costs. Such taxes or fees must be brought to our attention in writing early in making arrangements for our visit; otherwise, the hosting club will be charged our standard $200 honorarium regardless of our sales totals.
The hosting organization is expected to announce our visit to its general membership at least thirty (30) days in advance. The announcement should minimally include lecure date, lecture topic, meeting time, meeting location, our web address (http://www.EnLightenedOrchids.com), our e-mail address (info@EnLightenedOrchids.com), and, if we will be offering plants for sale, the fact that preorders are strongly encouraged. Announcements will minimally be in the form of a mailed and/or electronic newsletter. If the hosting organization maintains a web site, the same information is to appear on that site at least thirty days in advance of our visit. We reserve the right to charge the hosting organization our base honorarium of $200 regardless of our sales totals if we feel our visit is not sufficiently advertised as outlined above. The hosting club will be charged our base honorarium if the engagement is cancelled by the hosting organization with less than four weeks of notice. This is to allow us to keep our schedule as full as possible- a cancelled date is essentially a date we could've filled with other engagements. We will reciprocate with four weeks' notice if we need to cancel or postpone with obvious exceptions in cases of severe illness or family emergencies.
All of our presentations are currently prepared in Microsoft PowerPoint. We recently purchased a data projector (we used to ask clubs to provide one), and give hosting clubs the option to contribute a small amount to help offset this expense if they enjoy our visit and the lecture; this is currently completely voluntary. We will provide our own laptop computer. A large, flat, white projection surface is required and should be provided by the hosting organization. Electrical outlets or extension cords must be accessible at or near the point of projection.
Current Presentation Topics:
Building Your Paphiopedilum Collection Wisely - Ernie will discuss ideas growers may consider to get the most bang for their buck and growing space while still having diversity in their slipper orchid collection. Alternatives to difficult yet popular species and hybrids, species and hybrids to watch for when searching for certain floral traits, and things to consider when purchasing Paphiopedilums will be discussed as well. Culture will be discussed if desired and if time permits.
Approximately 60 minutes.
Cochlopetalum Paphiopedilum - This group of Paphs has been overshadowed by the colorful Parvisepalums and majestic Coryopetalum multiflorals; however, we feel these slippers are delightful and very important in modern breeding. The species of successively-blooming Paphiopedilum will be discussed in detail, highlighting how to distinguish between the species as well as the good and bad traits of each species. A broad sampling of hybrids will be shown to give a perspective of the influence these species have in hybridization. Culture will be discussed if desired and if time permits.
Approximately 60 minutes.
Paphiopedilum Culture - A look at all aspects of growing Old World slipper orchids. Tips for growing and blooming Paphs in greenhouses, under lights, and on windowsills are offered based on our experiences with our favorite orchid genus. A brief demonstration of healthy Paph roots and our repotting method accompany this lecture if time permits.
Approximately 60 minutes.
Growing Orchids The EnLightened Way: Gardening Under Fluorescent Lights - A very thorough treatment of growing conditions and considerations is covered. We will show the details of our hobby growing space and give several tips any grower can apply their growing area. Updates and future plans for our new growing space will be presented. Under lights culture of popular genera can be discussed.
Approximately 60+ minutes.
Orchid Collection Recordkeeping and Label-making - This is an interactive workshop-style presentation in which we present tips hobbyists can use to maintain a journal of their orchid collection in Microsoft Works, a user-friendly program that is proprietary on most fairly current personal computers. Tips on how to establish a database then generate custom plant labels from Microsoft Word are given. This talk may be presented alone or in conjunction with one of the above talks if your group incorporates a separate workshop or forum into its meetings.
Approximately 30-60 minutes.
"New" Vietnamese Paph Species - Paph. vietnamense, Paph. tranlienialnum, Paph. hangianum, and Paph. helenae are presented with a discussion on their relationships to other, more commonly grown species. Hybrids with these species will be outlined with up-to-date registration information. CITES and AOS judging issues surrounding these species and their hybrids will also be discussed.
Approximately 60 minutes.
Recap of the 19th World Orchid Conference - The Miami World Orchid Conference took place in late January, 2008 and was a fantastic event! This presentation takes a look back at the week-long conference to give a taste of what you missed or provide a walk down memory lane for those that were fortunate enough to attend.
Approximately 60 minutes.
NOTE: Ernie can be a colorful individual, thus, the above presentations are rated PG-13 for adult themes, mild language, and sexual innuendo. PG versions are doable with notice.
Several topics prepared as educational programs for orchid judges are also available. These include judging Cochlopetalum Paphs, Stanhopeas, Sophronitis, intergeneric Catasetinae hybrids, Paphiopedilum rothschildianum, and new Vietnamese Paph species. Again, these lectures are geared toward judging these groups, and are not always appropriate for all audiences. We can probably adapt them for orchid society general membership if desired.
Ernie is constantly trying to develop new, interesting orchid presentations. Topics in the works are on water chemistry, and orchid pollination in nature. These are currently casual projects, but if your organization is interested in one of these talks, we can have them ready with enough notice. If you have a suggestion for a different topic, please let us know. We may also be able to customize a talk for your group with a little notice and some guidelines on what you want.
Ernie has given orchid-related presentations to the...
• Chicago AOS Judging Center (January, 2004; July, 2004; January, 2005; July 2005; January, 2006; July, 2006; July, 2007)
• Central Ohio Orchid Society, Columbus, Ohio (April, 2004)
• Batavia Orchid Society, Batavia, Illinois (May, 2004; June, 2005; October, 2006)
• Wisconsin Orchid Society, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (June, 2004; March, 2007; March, 2008)
• Orchid Growers Guild, Madison, Wisconsin (October, 2004; March 2005)
• Illinois Orchid Society fall show, Chicago, Illinois (September, 2004; September, 2005)
• Orchid Growers Guild Orchid Quest show, Madison, Wisconsin (January, 2005; February, 2006)
• Indianapolis/Hoosier (Central Indiana) Orchid Society, Indianapolis, Indiana (March, 2005)
• Illinois Orchid Society, Chicago, Illinois (March, 2005; February, 2006)
• Orchid Society of Greater St. Louis, Missouri (May, 2005; March, 2006)
• Three Rivers Orchid Society, Ft. Wayne, Indiana (May, 2005)
• Prairie State Orchid Society summer orchid workshop, Springfield, Illinois (August, 2005)
• Illowa Orchid Society, Moline, Illinois (September 2005)
• Missouri Orchid Society, St. Louis, Missouri (November, 2005)
• Tulsa Orchid Society, Tulsa, Oklahoma (March,2006)
• Fort Worth Orchid Society, Fort Worth, Texas (April, 2006)
• Heart o' Texas Orchid Society, Austin, Texas (April, 2006)
• Houston Orchid Society, Houston, Texas (April, 2006)
• Greater North Texas Orchid Society, Dallas, Texas (April, 2006)
• Shreveport Orchid Society, Shreveport, Louisiana (April, 2006)
• Lafayette Orchid Society, Lafayette, Indiana (May, 2006)
• Batavia Plain Dirt Gardeners, Batavia, Illinois (October, 2006)
• Orchid Society of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (March, 2007)
• Orchid Society of Minnesota and Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Orchid Symposium, Chaska, Minnesota (March, 2008)
• Tidewater Orchid Society, Norfolk, Virginia (April, 2007)
• Northeast New York Orchid Society, Albany, New York (July, 2007)
• Mid-Hudson Orchid Society, Newburgh, New York (July, 2007)
• Triad Orchid Society of North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina (August, 2007)
• Triangle Orchid Society, Durham, North Carolina (August, 2007)
• Sandhills Orchid Society, Inc., Fayetteville, North Carolina (August, 2007)
• Cape Fear Orchid Society, Wilmington, North Carolina (August, 2007)
• Orchid Society of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (October, 2007)
• Foothills Orchid Society, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (October, 2007)
• Elmbrook Garden Club, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (February, 2008)
• Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (February, 2008)
• Northeastern Wisconsin Orchid Society show, Neenah, Wisconsin (March, 2008)
References
• Suki Nax, Chicago Judging Center (CJC) Judge, Batavia Orchid Society
• Bill Rogerson, Ph.D., CJC Education Coordinator
• Larry Sexton, CJC Judge Advisor; Batavia Orchid Society, Batavia, IL
• Steve Troc, Batavia Orchid Society, Batavia, IL
• Tom Franczak, Central Ohio Orchid Society, Columbus, OH
• Bil Nelson, Wisconsin Orchid Society, Milwaukee, WI
• Bob Lewis, Wisconsin Orchid Society, Milwaukee, WI
• Barry Lubin, Illinois Orchid Society, Chicago, IL
• Leo Schordje, Illinois Orchid Society, Chicago, IL
• Elaine Malter, Orchid Growers Guild, Madison, WI
• Wayne King, Orchid Growers Guild, Madison, WI
• Anita Martin, Central Indiana Orchid Society, Indianapolis, IN
• John Burg, Orchid Society of Greater St. Louis, MO
• Rose Poehler, Three Rivers Orchid Society, Fort Wayne, IN
• Adrian Winheim, Missouri Orchid Society, St. Louis, MO
• Gregg Curtiss, Prairie State Orchid Society, Springfield, IL
• Darrin Mullins, Tulsa Orchid Society,Tulsa, OK
• Pat Hall, Fort Worth Orchid Society, Fort Worth, TX
• Bill Ater, Heart o' Texas Orchid Society, Austin, TX
• Geoffrey Frost, Heart o' Texas Orchid Society, Austin, TX
• Don Ghiz, Houston Orchid Society, Houston, TX
• Robert Marsh, Greater North Texas Orchid Society, Dallas, TX
• Patsy Boersma, Shreveport Orchid Society, Shreveport, LA
• Dick Wells, Lafayette Orchid Society, Lafayette, IN
• Charles Bracker, Ph.D., Lafayette Orchid Society, Lafayette, IN
• Steve Filmore, Orchid Society of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• Bob Bulthius, Orchid Society of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• Ruta Mah, Tidewater Orchid Society, Norfolk, VA
• Dave Wheatly, Tidewater Orchid Society, Norfolk, VA
• Bob Phillips, Northeast New York Orchid Society, Albany, NY
• Isabel Lopatin, Mid-Hudson Orchid Society, Newburgh, NY
• Jack Keply, Triad Orchid Society, Greensboro, NC
• Marie Crock, Triangle Orchid Society, Durham, NC
• Peggy Bloodworth, Triangle Orchid Society, Durham, NC
• Keith Clayton, Sandhills Orchid Society, Fayetteville, NC
• Neil and Dottie Lowell, Sandhills Orchid Society, Fayetteville, NC
• Carol Wilson, Cape Fear Orchid Society, Wilmington, NC
• Tom and Yp de Boer, Alberta Orchid Society, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
• Nadia Koscielnuk, Alberta Orchid Society, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
• Ross Otto, Foothills Orchid Society, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Barbara Hart, Foothills Orchid Society, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Beth Gossie-Wood, Elmbrook Garden Club, Milwaukee, WI
• Hope Bastian, Elmbrook Garden Club, Milwaukee, WI
• Charles VanDyke, Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA
• Carol Panza, Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA
• Milt Wittman, Northeastern Wisconsin Orchid Society, Green Bay, WI; CJC
• Lorraine Heyden, Northeastern Wisconsin Orchid Society, Green Bay, WI; CJC
•Shirley Mah Kooyman, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and Orchid Society of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Biography
Ernie, born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Marine Biology and Aquaculture from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL. He spent three years of graduate study at the George Washington University and National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC investigating the physiology, evolutionary biology, and taxonomy of freshwater, South American catfishes in the genus Corydoras. He currently works as a laboratory manager and technician in the Biomedical Polymer Sciences Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences performing research using polymers for targeted, controlled release cancer treatments and directed cell growth for tissue regeneration. Ernie is a probationary, certified AOS judge at the Chicago judging center in his fourth year of training. We have been growing orchids under fluorescent lights since 1997. We grow primarily Paphiopedilums, Phragmipediums, Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis/ Doritis/ Doritaenopsis etc), and mini and compact Corsage orchids (Cattleya alliance). In his spare time, aside from maintaining orchids under lights in a dedicated 8'x10' second story room and unique garage growing room, Ernie likes to spend time with his wife, son, and two cats; brew beer; keep tropical fish; play volleyball and roller hockey; and SCUBA dive as a PADI-certified Divemaster.
See a picture of Ernie here.
info@EnLightenedOrchids.com