AboutOrchids

Check for previously listed orchid exhibitions at this earlier post and this one, too.

February 13 – March 13
In England, the Orchid Festival at Cambridge University Botanic Garden will feature the Orchid Hunters. The event will focus on the adventures and misadventures of European explorers who brought orchids back from the tropics over a century ago.

February 13 – April 10
The Atlanta Botanical Garden will host Orchid Daze, showcasing the beauty of thousands of orchid flowers. Don’t miss Orchid Market Weekends, Orchid Care Clinics, and Vanilla Sunday with free ice cream sundaes!

February 14 – March 19
Oklahoma City’s Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory will feature Deceptive Orchids: Survival of the Trickiest.  Learn how some orchids don’t play by the rules, and fool their pollinators.

As the Year of the Monkey arrives, I’m certainly not the first to make the connection with Monkey Orchids. It’s easy to see how these Draculas have earned the Spanish nicknames orquídea mono (monkey orchid) and orquídea cara de mono (monkey face orchid) in their native South American homes. There’s a monkey face in the middle of each flower. These photos were taken at local orchid shows, except for the first two pictures which are from the Conservatory of Flowers.

Some Dracula flowers really look like monkey faces. Some you have to stare at for a moment, and others require more imagination. It’s all a coincidence of their appearance. These Masdevallia relatives are only trying to attract the tiny flies which pollinate them.

The next photo below shows Dracula lemurella. Its species name means “like a lemur” due to a resemblance to our primate relatives. These and other fuzzy Dracula flowers certainly add their charms to Year of the Monkey celebrations. Find more amazing Monkey Orchids here. Happy Lunar New Year!

Ghost Orchids are making a comeback in South Florida. These beautiful, rare, leafless orchids are being saved through intensive conservation efforts by scientists who cultivate seeds in the lab, and then return the plants to the wild.

Two of the world’s largest orchid shows happen this month, in Tokyo and here in San Francisco. Many events are perfectly timed for Valentine’s Day shopping and romantic excursions.

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No matter how cold it is outside, it’ll be warm inside all of these winter orchid exhibitions. Check my earlier list for more of these events which run for weeks.

January 30 – March 6
Cleveland Botanical Garden features the sights and sounds of Cuba for Orchid Mania. Don’t miss Orchids After Dark on Wednesdays evenings when the garden stays open until 9 p.m.

February 6 – March 6
Kew Gardens in London celebrates dazzling Brazilian colors in an orchid carnival. The Princess of Wales Conservatory will highlight Brazilian orchids and other tropical plants.

February 6 – March 27
Explore “Where the Wild Things Grow” with the Missouri Botanical Garden’s historic orchid collection. Hundreds of blooming orchids will create a tropical oasis inside the Orthwein Floral Display Hall in St. Louis.

February 13 – March 13
Enjoy Wonderful & Weird orchids at the Chicago Botanic Garden. There will be thousands of orchids on display, and special orchid events, too.

Disposable orchids are part of modern life. Once the blooms finish, the plant goes into the trash or the compost bin. If you want more flowers, then buy a new plant. That’s the idea behind most orchids sold today, like these modern hybrids in today’s photos. Each new and improved variety is a glorious work of art, but then the beauty fades. Of course, you don’t need to believe the marketing. Many orchid lovers, including me, got our starts with such orchids, keeping them alive well past their expected expiration dates. But most don’t survive for long after their blooms fade. Orchids are just another disposable commodity, like so many things in our lives today.

Certainly, orchid species are not disposable. But mass-produced orchids hybrids are. They’re often sold in supermarkets, home improvement centers, big box stores, plant nurseries, and gardening centers. The orchid industry grows them en masse, starting them in laboratories before transporting them around the globe. So you’re not going to make anything go extinct if you throw your hybrid away. Remember to always buy orchids from reputable vendors, and never buy plants taken from the wild. Ask if you’re not sure.

And instead of throwing your orchid away, consider giving it to a friend with a green thumb. They may complain that they already have too many orchid rescues, but they’ll probably take it anyway. Or maybe bring it into your office or workplace. Or try to flower again in your own home. Don’t believe the sales pitch which says these orchids are so tricky to grow that you must toss them and buy new ones. Remember, these hybrids are bred to be beautiful, but also tough enough to be trucked to your local grocery store. And do any of the orchids pictured here look disposable to you?

What life lessons can we learn from orchids? The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center explains how North American orchid species have plenty to teach us.

Don’t hate us because we can garden year-round on the California coast! As a peace offering, please enjoy these pictures of a few orchids blooming outside on our back patio. I snapped these photos during a recent break in the rainy weather.

The small Pleurothallis in the first two photos had just opened its strange little bloom when I took these shots, but the Masdevallias, Epidendrums, Coelia, and Zygo have already been flowering for weeks. They’ve survived lots of winter winds and rains. The blemishes on these blooms are badges of toughness, not signs of weakness. In fact, the white Cymbidium pictured below has had its flowerpot knocked over by the wind more times than I can count. Yet its flowers haven’t stopped, and they’re only a little worse for wear. No matter how close we are to the cold North Pacific Ocean, Pacifica has plenty of orchids to enjoy.

These orchid exhibitions offer brilliant blooms and a refuge from the cold weather. They all make great Valentine’s Day excursions, too.

January 8 – February 22
The Denver Botanic Gardens offers a winter escape with its Orchid Showcase. Enjoy a floral wonderland in the Orangery and Marnie’s Pavilion.

January 9 – March 6
Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio showcases orchids and other tropical plants throughout its displays.

January 16 – February 28
Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh invites you to chase away the winter blues with its Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show.

January 22 – March 12
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden pairs Art & Orchids.  Beautiful flowers accompany the works of great North Carolina photographers.

January 23 – March 27
Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia celebrates an Orchid Extravaganza. Young visitors will love OrKid Days activities geared to families with children.

Taiwan is one of the biggest commercial orchid producers in the world, and it’s looking to expand. Learn about the complicated challenges facing its orchid business at Taiwan Today.