Dr. Courtney Hackney is Emeritus Professor of Biology and former Director of Coastal Biology at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville speaking about techniques to ensure Orchids will rebloom. He previously served as Professor of Biology and Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina–Wilmington. His interest in orchids began in 1962 while working at a small orchid nursery in the Florida Keys, and he has remained actively engaged in orchid culture and hybridizing ever since.

Dr. Hackney grows a wide range of orchid genera, with a particular passion for the Cattleya Alliance. He especially values classic clones—some dating back more than a century—and produces 10–15 hybrids and species sib crosses each year across various genera.

For two decades, Dr. Hackney authored the Growing Tips column, which concluded in December 2013 and appeared in orchid society newsletters nationwide. He has also published articles in Orchid Digest and Orchids. In 2004, he published American Cattleyas, a book that documents, through historic photographs and text, the development of modern cattleyas and includes detailed information on their cultivation and hybridization.

Dr. Hackney is a member of the American Orchid Society, St. Augustine Orchid Society (FL), and Cape Fear (NC) Orchid Society. He and his wife, Rose, live in Jacksonville, Florida where they grow and hybridize orchids. Courtney’s hybrids are only available for sale during his Orchid Society visits.

Visitors are welcome to come and enjoy his presentation. Free and open to the public at the JC Raulston Arboretum Education Building.

Courtney will have plants available for sale at the meeting.