Archive for the 'Videos' Category

Demystifying Orchid Pollination

Saturday, September 16th, 2023

The vast, diverse orchid family uses a mind-boggling number of strategies to attract pollinators and attach pollen to them. Check out a few of their fascinating methods in the videos below — Lady in Black – Pollination in Vanilla Blowin’ in the Wind – Wind mediated pollination in orchids What Have I Done to Deserve […]

Beware of Fake Orchid Care Videos

Sunday, May 21st, 2023

Social media has spawned some very bizarre, and very fake, orchid care videos. They deceive just to get clicks, likes, and ad money, featuring outrageous solutions to grab your attention. I don’t want to share any of these videos here, because I don’t want to give them more views, but it’s likely you’ve seen them. […]

Orchids for Lehigh Acres: Restoring Florida’s Native Species

Thursday, September 8th, 2022

Florida’s ongoing Million Orchid Project has been succeeding. Community groups, schools, and businesses, like the Lehigh Acres company highlighted in the news story below, are tying native orchids to trees. They hope to restore some of the state’s lost natural beauty, missing due to decades of habitat destruction and poaching. Run by Fairchild Tropical Botanic […]

Hidden Stories of Groundbreaking Women: Orchid Illustrators

Sunday, March 27th, 2022

Botanical illustration is both an art and a science. It emphasizes scientific accuracy, but also captures the magic of plants. The Smithsonian video below highlights three important women who were botanical illustrators. They painted precise details of orchid blooms, but often didn’t receive credit or professional respect. Sarah Drake, Blanche Ames, and Regina Olson Hughes […]

Donkey Orchids And Their Tricks

Sunday, January 16th, 2022

In Perth, Australia, biologist Daniela Scaccabarozzi, PhD, uncovers the complicated lives of Donkey Orchids. Named for their petals which stick up like donkey ears, Donkey Orchids such as Diuris magnifica and Diuris brumalis don’t offer nectar. However, they resemble nearby flowers which do. This food mimicry tricks bees into visiting. Failing to find nectar, the […]

Andy’s Orchids’ Videos

Monday, December 27th, 2021

Many orchid species lovers, including myself, are already familiar with Andy’s Orchids. Andy has been a regular sight for years at shows around the country, and a good number of my own plants were purchased from him. His jungle-like Southern California greenhouses are home to the largest and most diverse orchid species collection in the […]

Meet Three Australians Who Are Obsessed with Orchids

Monday, November 15th, 2021

Orchids can inspire obsessions and lifetime devotions. These three Australians are perfect examples, and have great orchid tales to share. Julian Pitcher braves poisonous snakes, stinging trees, and other jungle hazards to hunt for orchids in tropical Queensland. He studies and photographs rare species, and always promotes conservation. Check out his Wild Orchid Adventures YouTube […]

Researching Fungi to Save Orchids from Extinction

Wednesday, October 13th, 2021

Orchid seeds don’t carry nutrients. Instead, they rely on a specific fungus to supply food so they can germinate and grow. In the video below, Dr. Viswambharan Sarasan explains how this impacts Kew Gardens’ work to save rare British orchids. Scientists must collect fungi from orchid roots, take months to cultivate them, and identify which […]

An Introduction to East Asian Cymbidiums

Thursday, May 27th, 2021

Check out the video below for an expert introduction to East Asian Cymbidiums. These orchids grow differently than most others in their genus. Although they’ve been cultivated in China for thousands of years, there’s little care info available in English. The video covers their historical significance in East Asia, variations in flowers and leaves that […]

Marianne North’s Orchid Artwork

Wednesday, April 7th, 2021

Marianne North was a phenomenal botanical artist of Victorian England, and you can take a virtual trip to enjoy her gallery at RBG Kew in London. Check out the two videos below, and also photos that Dave took during a visit to the UK in 2019. North’s extraordinary art includes many orchids. She traveled around […]