AboutOrchids

Recently, Dave had a work trip to Buenos Aires, and I was able to come along. Of course, the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden was quickly put on our itinerary. The garden’s full name in Spanish is Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.

Founded in 1898, it covers 21 acres (7 hectares) in the bustling city’s Palermo neighborhood. There are sections in Roman and French styles, and areas for plants indigenous to Argentina, and each of the continents. Five greenhouses and lots of statues, sculptures, streams, and waterfalls mean there’s plenty to find around every pathway.

Unfortunately, the glasshouses were closed on the day we visited. We didn’t see orchids inside the tropical plant house, but there were many other tropical wonders (photo tip: you can often take nice pictures of plants inside by putting your camera up to the glass.) If you’re lucky enough to be in beautiful Buenos Aires, don’t miss Buenos Aires Botanical Garden. Check back soon for more photos from Argentina, including a wonderful Japanese garden.

Orchid lovers have more reasons than ever to join the American Orchid Society (AOS.) Of course, there’s the great monthly Orchids magazine with gorgeous photos and superb care advice that comes with membership. But now, the AOS has also greatly expanded their online resources. All of their old magazines, going back to 1932, are now online and searchable. In addition to this wealth of information, there are monthly orchid care webinars run by experts to answer your questions. Plus, your membership means that you’ll be supporting the AOS’ many essential orchid conservation measures. Find all this and much more when you join the AOS.

Check out a colorful infographic explaining how taking plants from the wild endangers orchid survival. Many rare species are openly sold online despite conservation laws. But with limited resources, almost no money is spent to stop it. That same topic is being addressed in light of a recent London conference on the illegal wildlife trade, which didn’t even have endangered plants on its agenda. With so many urgent conservation priorities, even the prettiest orchid can’t compete with a cute panda or koala. Researchers need to study the illegal trade to best understand how to combat it. Convincing people to take plants more seriously will have to be part of the process.

I don’t mind having a big spider in our home, as long as it’s a Spider Orchid. Also known as a Brassia, this Spider Orchid has very large flowers, over 14 inches (36 cm) tall! Its long petals certainly create a spidery impression.

This plant was a great buy at a local grocery store a couple years ago for about $12. At first, its flowers were about 11 inches (28 cm) tall. Over successive blooms, they’ve grown slightly larger each time. It’s reliably flowered twice a year, and it stays in bloom for two months or more. It has a sweet, spicy scent.

Brassias mimic spiders to attract pollinators. In the wild, spider-hunting wasps are taken in by the ruse, and attack the flowers. In the process of their assault, they pick up or drop off pollen. It’s certainly one of the strangest pollination strategies I’ve ever heard of. To learn more about these fascinating plants, check out my previous post about Brassias.

Atlas Obscura delves into a century of scientific advances which brought tropical orchids to your local grocery store. At the start of the 1900’s, growers began to unravel the secrets of how to germinate orchid seed, such as the essential role of fungi. Biologists started to clone orchids in the 1950’s, which would transform the industry in coming years. By the 1970’s, Dutch and American researchers were discovering that Moth Orchids made the perfect houseplants. Decades of continuing progress in hybridizing and science have helped bring down prices, and made Moth Orchids the most popular potted plants in the USA.

From Mexico City to Kansas City to Nairobi to Emu Plains, Australia, orchids are loved around the globe. Check out these great events happening everywhere in their honor.

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Head to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for the Dracula Ball at the Conservatory of Flowers on Thursday, October 18th. This elegant dinner event with limited tickets will benefit the Conservatory and its collection of rare orchids, including Draculas. Guests will enjoy a program from Ron Gagliardo, chief horticulturist at the dazzling new Seattle Spheres. Buy tickets before they’re gone!

Enjoy these amazing orchids for today’s equinox. Autumn is usually the warmest time of year for us on the Northern California coast. The fog pulls back, and we can finally bask in the sun that’s been baking everyone else. Last year, that meant record-breaking heatwaves in September. This year, so far, it’s been milder. We can enjoy the pleasant weather as we pass the point of equal day and equal night, and the planet spirals on.

Now that vanilla beans cost as much as silver, the world’s most delicious orchid is in the news a lot, and scientists are investigating the possibilities of vanilla farms in South Florida. Since vanilla is a vine that climbs trees, it could be “co-cropped” in avocado, citrus, or nut orchards. Farmers could harvest the beans without need for any more land. It’s also an opportunity to do much-needed research into Florida’s endangered native vanilla species. These are not used for agriculture, but might be hybridized with edible vanilla to create new flavor profiles and better hardiness. It will require many years before research makes it a viable crop, but Florida farms may someday be harvesting vanilla.

Big flowers get more attention, but don’t overlook the little ones. They may be tiny, or downright tough to see, but small orchid flowers are just as intricate and fascinating as showier blooms. These photos from July’s Orchids in the Park event highlight a few of their marvels.

Dave’s and my cameras can compensate a lot for tiny blossoms and farsighted eyes. Often, I don’t see flower details until later, when I’m looking at large digital images on my computer. Small blooms can come from big plants, but most are mini orchids, like the three Pleurothallids in the next row of photos.

See more photos from Orchids in the Park, with big and small flowers, in my previous posts here and here. Below, the final row of pictures shows three color variations of Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, a charming miniature that comes in many brilliant hues. This cool grower boasts blooms over an inch (2.5 cm) which dwarf its tiny leaves. No matter how little, it’s tough to overlook these gems.