When Milton Carpenter’s wife, Nancy, was in the hospital for the delivery of their second daughter, Peggy Ruth, he gave her a flowering plant Rhyncholaeliocattle (Brassocattleya) Springtide (Madame Charles Maron × C. Monica [1925]). The large, pinkish, fragrant cattleya cast its spell over this Florida native and so began his journey into the world of orchids. Decades later he has written the lavishly illustrated book From the Hand of God to the Miracles of Orchids that chronicles his life with these seductive plants from many angles, including that of grower, hybridizer, judge, speaker, traveler, photographer and owner of the nursery Everglades Orchids.
Milton Carpenter shares his breeding experiences, revealing how 15,000 hybridizing attempts resulted in 3,000 capsules and eventually to his registering more than 500 grexes. Yes, 500 – amazing. Early on, he focused on creating heat-tolerant cymbidiums and Oncidiinae, a natural choice for his nursery located just south of Lake Okeechobee, Florida. For example, in cymbidiums, he sought to develop plants with heat-tolerance, smaller stature and fragrance, all with an eye toward making orchids that were “easy to grow and easy to flower.”
Milton will be autographing discounted ($30) copies of his book at our meeting.