AboutOrchids

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The Miami Herald has a Ghost Orchid alert! In Florida, the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has a Ghost Orchid blooming within sight of its visitor boardwalk. Earlier in the summer, this plant’s first flower buds became grasshopper snacks, but 5 new buds have survived and opened. Besides the name Ghost Orchid, this species also goes […]

With the ongoing London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, it would be easy to think that the UK is too busy to notice wildflowers right now. But the Brits have long been avid gardeners, and they certainly have noticed this year’s bumper crop of native orchids. A mild winter followed by a warm spring […]

Orchid lovers are searching for ghosts in Florida’s swamps. Summer is Ghost Orchid season, with spectral flowers betraying the locations of these strange, leafless air plants. Made famous by the bestselling book The Orchid Thief and acclaimed movie Adaptation, Ghost Orchids have a fanatic following. Southwest Florida’s News-Press has an article and two swampy videos […]

Canada’s Bruce Peninsula Orchid Festival isn’t a show, but a wildlife tour. On June 1 & 2,, enjoy the chance to see Southern Ontario’s native orchids blooming in the wild. Festival events include hikes, workshops, and tours with orchid experts (many activities require reservations.) Since 44 of Canada’s 77 native orchid species grow in the […]

Biologists from William & Mary College in Virginia are looking for Lady Slippers. They’ve found some rare Cypripediums growing wild near campus, and these Lady Slippers are very finicky about where they live. They need precise growing conditions, both for themselves and for a mutualistic fungus which lives in their roots. In addition, natural selection […]

It would be nice if you never had to repot your orchid, but you do. To understand why, consider how these orchids grow high in the trees at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. This is how many orchids live in the wild. Their roots may grow in moss or rainforest debris, but mostly they’re exposed to […]

Giving an orchid gift can be tough at a time of year when that gift might freeze its blooms off. Instead, consider this gorgeous orchid book that’s getting lots of buzz — Deceptive Beauties: The World of Wild Orchids. Veteran National Geographic photographer and biologist Christian Ziegler explores orchid adaptions, diversity, and how orchids deceive […]

San Francisco Bay Area orchids highlight an article in the Los Gatos Patch. Numerous native species grow in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, and they call to longtime orchid lover Ed Nazzal like sirens. He braves poison oak and rattlesnakes to find lovely locals like the Steam Orchid, Epipactis gigantea, and the […]

Shows wind down in the Northern Hemisphere as summer approaches, but orchid lovers down under have lots of choices. In Canada, the Bruce Peninsula Orchid Festival is not a show, but a chance to enjoy Ontario’s native orchids blooming in the wild. It includes presentations and tours with orchid experts (reservations required.) June 1 – […]