Meetings
Meetings take place at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden on the Fourth Monday of every month
(except July, August & December).
December is our Holiday Party and date varies & is for members and their guests only.
Meetings generally take place in classroom Corbin A at Fairchild Garden unless otherwise noted. Refreshments and Raffle table are usually set up by 7:15pm and speakers begin presentations at 7:30pm.
During each meeting, there is a speaker on a pre-announced topic related to growing plants. Speakers are often well-known members of the exotic plant community including growers, horticulturalists, botanists, and collectors. Members are able to sell plants during the meeting at the designated Members’ sales tables. Additionally, members may bring in snacks, drinks, and plants for the Raffle table.
Meetings are free to attend, but the society relies entirely on the support of our paying members to sustain our mission and activities. None of this would be possible without their generosity and commitment. By becoming a member, you help ensure that we can continue offering these opportunities and resources to everyone. Join us today.
Next meeting: March 24, 2025
Speaker: Mike D’andrea
Topic: “Monstera: Variegated and Sports”
With over 20 years of experience as a passionate variegated plant hobbyist, Mike has made remarkable contributions to the plant community. He has discovered and cultivated numerous variegated sports across Monstera, Alocasia, Philodendron, and more…
His talk will feature amazing monstera cultivars and unique sports…. More details coming soon.
Previous meeting: “The Paleozoic in the Present: Giant Horsetails in the Wild and in Cultivation “
Speaker: Chad Husby
There are only 18 species of horsetails (genus Equisetum), the last survivors of a lineage of fern relatives reaching back to the coal swamps of the Carboniferous period and earlier. Though small in number today, they have a big reach, from the furthest reaches of the Canadian arctic all the way to the tropics, and from high mountains to the seashore. Though they no longer grow into trees as they did on the ancient Earth, today they range from an inch or less in boreal forests to perhaps 20 feet tall in the American tropics.
This presentation will explore the unique and unusual characteristics of these plants in nature and in horticulture, focusing on the tropical giant horsetails that have the most horticultural interest for south Florida.
February 24, 2025
Past meetings
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![Jesse Durko]()
Speaker: Jesse Durko
January 27, 2025
Topic: “Winning Plants for South Floridas Gardens“
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![Horticulturalist Palmer Crippen and a slide depicting Hoya Imbricata]()
Speaker: Palmer Crippen
November 25, 2024
Topic: “Epiphytic Ant Plants of the South Pacific”
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![Ellis, Ashley, and Hunter presenting at the September 2024 meeting]()
Speakers: Ashley and Hunter
September 23, 2024
Topic: “How to Create, Engage, and Gain Active & New Plant Enthusiasts Despite Rumors that “The Boom” is Over“
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![Cat from Dade Plant Co demonstrating how to propagate Hoya.]()
Community Night
June 23, 2024
Members share stories about unique and fascinating plants they've collected.
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![Presentation slide of curled fern frond and speaker Chad Busby]()
Speaker: Chad Husby
April 22, 2024
Topic: “Botanical Explorations in Colombia”
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Speaker: Philip Iloo of Stelmar Gardens
March 25 2024
Topic: "Pyrrosia and their mutations"
