AboutOrchids

Lots of people visit Oahu’s legendary North Shore to surf, but there’s more to Hawaii than its great beaches. The North Shore also has amazing sites like Waimea Valley and Waimea Falls. During a visit to Hawaii earlier this month, Dave and I walked along the trails to the waterfall and swimming hole at the end of this beautiful valley.

Waimea Valley includes 41 garden zones with over 5000 types of tropical plants from around the world. It preserves many endangered native Hawaiian plants and animals, and has Hawaiian cultural and archeological sites, too. Some of Waimea Valley’s stone terraces and walls date back centuries. We did see lots of orchid plants throughout the gardens, but we didn’t find any in bloom in early March.

The lush scenery includes plants from Central and South America, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Guam, Fiji, and many other Pacific islands. It’s an easy 3/4 mile (1.2 km) walk along the main trail to the waterfall, but there are also side trails leading into other parts of the gardens. Waimea Valley is open daily, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, and offers guided hikes and cultural activities.

Say aloha to Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu. Begin with three non-orchid photos so you don’t start thinking that Foster only has orchids. Foster has lots of other great stuff, too, like sweet plumeria, a colorful little lizard, and a fuzzy bee on fuzzy baobab fruit. It also has dozens of exceptional tropical trees, prehistoric plants, Hawaiian natives, palms, heliconias, a butterfly garden, and much more.

Now for the orchids! Foster has an outdoor Orchid Garden and an indoor Orchid Conservatory. From the outdoor areas, the next three photos show a great Spathoglottis hybrid and two different Vandas growing in the warm tropical sun.

Foster is Hawaii’s oldest botanical garden, dating back to 1853, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s grown into 13.5 acres (5.5 hectares) in the middle of busy downtown Honolulu.

Inside the conservatory, more warm growers thrive. From the twisted petals of an antelope-type Dendrobium to countless Cattleyas, Foster overflows with botanical treasures.

Say aloha for now, and check back soon for more of Foster’s wonders.

Today spring starts in San Francisco with a cool rain, but it’s easy to warm up with more photos from our recent Hawaii trip. Kawamoto Orchid Nursery in Honolulu was so packed with incredible plants that my first post just scratched the surface. Here are more tropical beauties to welcome the change of season:

As I mentioned in the last post, I escaped our Kawamoto visit without any plant purchases because I just don’t have space for warm growers, like the Cattleyas, Vandas, and Dendrobiums above. I neglected to point out that Kawamoto also has many more temperature-tolerant varieties. Many intermediate growers, like the Coconut Orchid, Epidendrum, and Zygo below, don’t need as much warmth. They can grow well for orchid lovers who don’t have a greenhouse or tropical conditions. I still don’t have room for any more myself, but they certainly are great as heralds of spring.

Don’t let Hawaii’s famous sun, sand, and surf keep you from its other wonders, like Kawamoto Orchid Nursery. Located in Honolulu’s Palolo neighborhood, Kawamoto grows beautiful orchids for Hawaii and the mainland. During a recent visit, Dave and I enjoyed meeting Kawamoto’s friendly staff, exploring their showroom, and getting lost in their vast nursery.

Kawamoto’s extensive greenhouses have aisle after aisle of hybrids and species, and it was impossible to see them all. Orchids were in every corner. Some weren’t in bloom, but many, large and small, had sprays of flowers. Cattleyas, Vandas, and Epidendrums soaked in the warm, tropical sun. Shade cloth or plastic roofs covered greenhouses for lower light varieties and young plants.

So how did I survive temptation with of all these gorgeous orchids? After all, Kawamoto has permits to ship to the mainland. I was certainly tempted, but didn’t buy anything this time. I don’t have a greenhouse, and don’t have room for any more warm growers in my city apartment, so I was happy to leave with our cameras full of photos.

If you want to see what Kawamoto Orchids has to offer, either head to Hawaii or go online. Customers in the USA can purchase plants to bring back from vacation or have them shipped home. They also sell orchids at many mainland shows. Kawamoto gift baskets and gift certificates make great presents for orchid lovers. Not all of their vast inventory is listed online, so call for specific orders or with questions: (808)-732-5808.

Bay Area orchid lovers and other gardeners can all enjoy the upcoming San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. Running from Wednesday, March 20th to Sunday, March 24th, the event is one of the largest of its kind in the world. This year, several orchid exhibitors and vendors will ensure that orchids are well represented among the greenery. In addition, there will be a Saturday afternoon seminar about orchid propagation, and a Sunday afternoon seminar about growing orchids outdoors in the Bay Area. Head to the San Mateo Event Center next week to join the fun.

Orchids have become so commonplace that it’s easy to forget what an unusual plant family they are. With Phals, Oncidiums, and Cymbidiums at every supermarket, what was once strange and bizarre has become familiar. The orchid family, however, is full of surprises. Less common orchid species, like these on display at the Pacific Orchid Expo, prove how weird orchids can be.

Some orchid flowers look like insects or incredible flying creatures. Others have odd shapes. Some look like monkey faces. Many are so small that they are barely revealed by the zoom lens of a camera.

These bizarre species are the ones which truly deserve their finicky orchid reputations. Expert growers provide ideal conditions, pure water, and precise temperatures to coax these plants into bloom. They are much tougher to grow than the common hybrids of our homes and offices.

Each of these curious species has evolved to appeal to a pollinator. Flowers which seem weird to us are perfect lures to convince insects or birds to carry pollen. These bizarre blooms are one of the successful strategies that orchids use to survive in a crowded, competitive rainforest.

I’m still sorting through our photos from the recent Pacific Orchid Expo, and I’ve found some more great shots from Dave’s camera. Enjoy these gems.

Whether it’s the latest hybrid innovation or a stunningly grown species, it’s easy to see how the Pacific Orchid Expo can fill up the memory card of your camera. For now, I’ll just let the pictures do the talking. Check back soon for more photo gems.

Starting today, March 2nd, and running until April 22nd, the New York Botanical Garden offers the best of the vast, exotic orchid family. With more than 3000 orchids on display, visitors can enjoy a slice of tropical rainforest in the Bronx. Curator Marc Hachadourian explains how the lush spectacle will change over the weeks: “As certain flowers will fade, we’ll replace them with new ones and throughout the duration of the show the color pallet, the types of orchids that are here will actually change and evolve as some plants go out of bloom and other varieties come into bloom.” That sounds like a great reason for repeated visits, in case you need it. The event includes orchid care demos, Q&A sessions, talks, tours, and more. Enjoy the preview video below.

March brings orchid shows to every corner of the globe. These events offer chances to see incredible flowers, take photos, connect with local orchid societies, and add to your collection.

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This year’s Pacific Orchid Expo highlighted the merging of cultures with an “East Meets West” theme. Golden lion statues fronted the large pavilion, and guarded 150,000 orchid treasures inside. Coinciding with San Francisco’s famous Chinese New Year Parade, and the end of festivities for the Lunar New Year, it felt like these orchids were part of a larger celebration.

It was a celebration, indeed, of Phals, Cymbidiums, Zygos, and many more. And did I mention that Dave and I both bought new cameras recently? This show was the first big test for mine, and I’m happy to say that it passed with flying colors. In this post, the first two photos above and the middle one in the last row come from my camera. The rest are his skillful eye. Most of the pictures on this blog are Dave’s.

Fitting for San Francisco’s cool, foggy climate, cool growers abounded in many great displays. Unfortunately, my camera skills aren’t good enough to take the glare off the middle photo below. It shows the specially air-conditioned case for the more delicate cool growers, like Draculas and other Masdevallia relatives. It was all more than worth the price of admission. Check back here again for additional photos from this reliably amazing event.