MOS member Andy Okada opened this evenings meeting with a Beginner's Session on how to prepare plants for shows. With the Easter and Mother Day's shows coming up soon, members learned how to tidy up their plants and to stake flowers so that they show to their fullest.  Andy is an Advanced exhibitor for MOS Show & Tell and his plants have won numerous awards at meetings and shows including several American Orchid Society awards.

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Bert Akitake, our MOS past president and resident Vanilla orchid specialist, shared an updated presentation on the Vanilla Planifolio.  Bert demonstrated how to grow Vanilla from cuttings and cultivate to flower.  A detailed explanation of how to pollinate flowers and cure pods gave members an insight into how to become vanilla growers.  Bert also explained the different grades of vanilla and how to make vanilla extract using the cured vanilla pods.

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