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Our November speaker, Tomas Bajza
A true lover of miniature orchids
An orchid lover and addict. He originally came to the USA from the Czech Republic and settled down in hot tropical Miami, Florida. He adored orchids during his teenage years, but at that time there wasn't many to see in his country. Even though he's been living in Florida and surrounded by orchids for so many years, He started growing orchids only 9 years ago. He started with the usual grocery store selling orchids, like Phalaenopsis and Dendrobiums, slowly adding some Cattleyas and Vandas since these were the orchids that everyone in Florida grows. All of these were large orchids and mostly hybrids.
His first encounter with miniatures
About 7 years ago was the first time Tomas had ever seen a miniature orchid. He had no clue that such a thing even existed! He fell in love immediately and ordered a few. When they arrived, they were even smaller than he ever imagined. That was it, he was bitten by a “huge” miniature orchid bug. He is a very stubborn grower and does not listen to anything, like the word “impossible”. He likes all orchids, but has a huge amount of love for cold to intermediate growing species. He was told by many growers that due to the hot climate in Florida that these types of orchids could not be grown. Through extended research, reading and being active in different orchid boards and orchid groups, He's learned tremendously and became an advance grower for miniature orchids. He has been very fortunate with meeting and becoming friends with many international orchid growers and nursery owners.
He also loves photography
Tomas has another "love", the love for photography. While creating a growing miniature orchid collection, there was endless opportunities for taking pictures of these amazing, sometimes microscopical blooms. Posting his pictures online caused quite a "buzz" that led him to receive invitations from various orchid societies to provide speeches for their members on how to growing miniature orchids and cold growing species in a hot environment such as in Florida. Since the demand for speeches has grown tremendously, there was also a need for some plants to be available for sale. This all led to not only starting eBay sales, but also creating his website where you can purchase his miniatures. Click here for his site.