His love for plants began with a class he took at FIU regarding tropical botany. Because of that class, Emilio got his first job in the horticultural industry. He started with Everglades Landscaping Nursery in Homestead as head of their propagation department in 1974, eventually working in their landscaping department and then sales department.
In 1978, he obtained his first job in the orchid industry with Jones & Scully Orchids at their old location by the Miami River. That job was an incredible educational opportunity for Emilio. From there, he eventually became head grower at Fennell Orchid Company (Orchid Jungle) for nine years and then head grower at Orchid World for five years.
After leaving Orchid World, Emilio worked for the sales department of Botanics Wholesale, growers of exotic palms in Homestead for three years. Presently, he is working in the field of Workers Compensation Law.
During his years at Fennell's and Orchid World, Emilio started teaching orchid classes in-house and speaking at Orchid Societies. He also taught orchid classes at Fairchild Tropical Gardens for several years. Even though he is no longer directly involved in the orchid industry, Emilio still enjoys sharing his many years of experience as a professional grower to fellow plant aficionados. What he tries to impart is how to make growing this complex family of plants easy and fun.
Emilio will be giving a practical program (complete with a slide presentation) on how to troubleshoot your orchids. The raffle table will be supplied by Godlove & Son.
Hope to see you all there! |
