Ron Kaufmann: 101 Ways to Kill an Orchid

Ron Kaufmann is chair of the American Orchid Society Conservation Committee and a founding director of the Orchid Conservation Alliance. Ron has been growing orchids for more than 25 years and has travelled extensively to view orchids in the wild in Asia and South America, particularly Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia. Ron is a marine biologist by training, and his scientific work includes studies of Antarctic and deep-sea ecosystems as well as marine communities in coastal Southern California. His orchid collection began with a reedstem Epidendrum and progressed to a diverse assemblage that contains mostly species orchids. Ron has a long-standing interest in conservation. He joined the San Diego County Orchid Society’s Conservation Committee in 1999 and became chair in 2004. Since 1991, the Conservation Committee has awarded over $285,000 to support projects in 24 different countries. Ron also helped to found the Orchid Conservation Alliance and serves on the boards of the OCA, Orchid Digest, and Fundación EcoMinga (an Ecuadorian conservation organization). Most of Ron’s orchids are grown in a 36 x 24 foot greenhouse and several outdoor shade-covered areas around his house in San Diego. Friends have suggested that he build a second, much larger greenhouse to accommodate the many plants that often make walking through his greenhouse an exercise requiring extensive training in gymnastics and yoga to avoid serious injury. Thus far, this recommendation hasn’t been followed, although the temptation is always there.