People Have Been Nuts over Orchids for A Long Time
Orchid cultivation is so widespread today that it is hard to picture a world without these marvelous flowers. However, not so very long ago, the inhabitantspopulace of the so-called civilized world were completely ignorant of the vast majority of species of orchids.
Europeans of course were familiar with their local orchid types, such as the extravagant Bee Orchid. But knowledge of the thousands of wonderful tropical orchids had to await the results of explorations of the jungles and mountains of South America and the eastern Indies. Even then, specimens were slow to filter back to countries such as England, Belgium or France.
Possibly the first living orchid to be carried from the tropics to England was an Epidendrum cochleatum, one of the more showy of its family. It flowered in London in 1787. Another species from the same orchid family was imported in to England in 1778. It took ten years for its caretakers to bring forth flowers from it.
Admiral William Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame had a small role in laying the ground for the orchid craze. In the early 1790s he brought 15 species of epiphytal orchids to England from the West Indies. These were planted at the well-known Kew Gardens in London. For many years thereafter the West Indies, along with India, were the primary sources of tropical orchids for Europe. In 1793, though, a species of Oncidium was transported to England from Panama, followed a few years later by some orchids from Uruguay.
By 1818, Brazil was at the forefront of was contributing to what had become a steady stream of orchids back to England and other European lands. By 1830 collectors were traveling throughout Brazil on behalf of the Royal Horticultural Society, on the lookout for unusual orchid species.
The orchid trade soon turned into a serious money making effort, with businessmen in Brazil making arrangements with their London counterparts to send plants to England for resale there. William Harrison, a merchant in Rio de Janeiro during the 1830s and 1840s, shipped many wonderful orchids to his brother Richard in Liverpool. Richard’s house soon became a magnet for orchid lovers who journeyed there to see the newest arrivals.
Of course, it was one thing to import orchids into Europe, but another thing to get them to thrive and reproduce. For more than half a century England was known as the grave of tropical orchids. The plants that survived did so in spite of rather than because of the handling they received. Growers kept experimenting and making mistakes until, by about 1850, they had largely figured out the art of orchid cultivation. That is when the orchid craze really exploded, because now the knowledge was available by which even non-botanists could grow these stunning plants.
Knowledge of successfully growing orchids has increased during the intervening years and now we know so much more than did those Victorian enthusiasts. We also have, of course, better technology to assist us in the greenhouse and garden.
The most complete guide to expert orchid care, in my opinion, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which can be downloaded from the Internet. Mr. Howard’s guide is a full education in itself, appropriate for the novice as well as those more experienced. Also, be sure to visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing database of articles on all topics of orchid cultivation.
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