Knowledge-Wise, Now Is the Golden Age of Orchid Growing

Since the famouse mania for tulips (or "tulipomania") crested in the Netherlands until the present, no single group of plants has acquired such a tenacious grip on popular passion as the orchids. Believe it or not, though, today's orchid craze hardly compares to the extreme devotion that the plants roused in our Victorian forebears, especially in England and the United States.

Of course, other plants had a degree of celebrity in the Anglo-Saxon sphere of the mid- to late 19th century.Among these were ferns, cacti, chrysanthemums, palms and roses. But orchids to a great extent represented the height of horticultural respectability in the 19th century garden. So highly were these mostly tropical epiphytes esteemed that in May of 1885 the first general conference on orchids was held in London. This event brought together both commercial and amateur cultivators to exhibit their prized specimens and to discuss such vital questions as the culture and nomenclature of these fascinating flowers.

At the time of that great conference in London, the exotic tropical orchids had been known to most of the world for only around a hundred years. A 16th-century Spanish botanist, Francisco Hernandez, casually referred to a few orchids as curiosities when recounting a voyage to Spanish America. Almost two centuries later, naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer and botanist Georg Eberhard Rumphius, both working for the Dutch East Indies Company, described some of the Asian orchids. But it wasn't until just before the beginning of the 19th century that Europeans in general became aware of these mysterious and exciting plants.

By the early 1800s, botanists were working on cultivating a few specimens at such places as Kew Gardens in London. Until 1820 orchids were looked upon as curiosities in botanical gardens, but about that time some showy Cattleyas and other species produced some stunning flowers, piqueing greater interest among the public. By the 1850s new specimens of orchids were pouring into Europe from all over the world and more and more people were trying to cultivate them at home.

The first great orchid craze was going full throttle by the late 1800s and continued undiminished for many years to come. Somewhat suprisingly, a solid scientific understanding of orchid botany and what was needed to be consistently successful in growing orchids did not arrive until the 1920s.

Nowadays, of course, we have an abundance of good information on the proper way to grow orchids. The most thorough guide to expert orchid cultivation, hands down, is Orchid Care Expert by a Mr. Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded online. Mr. Howard's guide is a complete course of study, immensely practical for beginners and more experienced growers alike. Also, check out the Orchid Secrets website, which is publishing a growing library of information on all topics of orchid cultivation.