Cal-Orchid · About
A breeding house in Santa Barbara
James & Lauris Rose · 2005
Cal-Orchid is a wholesale/retail nursery in Santa Barbara, California, offering Cattleyas, Cymbidiums, Epidendrums, Angraecoids, Lycastes, Sobralias, Laelia anceps and its hybrids, as well as species and miscellaneous hybrids. Visitors are welcome by appointment.
Cal-Orchid, Inc. was founded by James and Lauris Rose, who bought the property in 1987 when it was a cymbidium range, from father and son Bob and John Rowe. The Roses had met and begun their orchid careers at the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate in the early 1970s.
The inventory is diverse, giving visitors a chance to find unique plants not available in the general marketplace — for the collector and the beginner alike. The owners travelled extensively to hunt new plants, and run a robust breeding program: more than 5,000 seed pods submitted to laboratories far and wide, and over 500 individual cultivars submitted for cloning.
Some marketing copy on the original site is dated and inconsistent (it references both “27 years” and “40 years”); these figures will be confirmed with the owner before launch and are shown here as drafts.
1987
Founded
5,000+
Seed pods to labs worldwide
500+
Registered cultivars
Award for Excellence in Hybridizing
AOS honour
In memoriam
James Rose · 1948–2025
We at Cal-Orchid thank everyone for their kind thoughts and condolences. James had a huge impact on all of us in the orchid world. We are proud that the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show dedicated its 77th Show to James — a past director of the show and a regular exhibitor whose displays won many Best Display and Best Orchid in Show trophies. He was internationally recognized for his knowledge of orchids and his eye for hybridizing, and lectured around the world, including at World Orchid Conferences.
Come see the nursery
Open Thursday–Saturday by appointment — call ahead, the team is often on the show circuit. 1251 Orchid Dr, Santa Barbara, CA 93111.