Passionate About Orchids? You're In Good Company

Since tulip mania (or "tulipomania") crested in the Netherlands until the present, no one family of plants has achieved such a tenacious grip on popular passion as the orchids. Difficult as it is to picture, today's orchid craze doesn't hold a candle to the mania that the plants inspired in our Victorian ancestors in England and America.

Certainly other plants attained a degree of celebrity in the Anglo-Saxon sphere during the mid- to late 19th century.Among these were ferns, cacti, chrysanthemums, palms and roses. But it was the orchids that represented the height of horticultural attainment to 19th century gardeners. So highly were the tropical epiphytes held that on May 12, 1885, the first huge orchid conference 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 landmark London conference, the more exotic orchids of the tropics had been known to the world in general for only about a hundred years. The Spanish botanist Francisco Hernandez casually mentioned a few orchids as curiosities in his account of his 16th-century voyage to Spanish America. Some 200 years later, naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer and botanist Georg Eberhard Rumphius, employed by the Dutch East Indies Company, described several of the Asian orchids. It was not, though, until just prior to the opening of the 19th century that many Europeans became aware of these exciting, mysterious 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 orchid craze was in full swing by the late 19th century and continued unabated 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.

In our day, of course, there is an abudance of good, accurate information to be had by anyone who would like to grow orchids. The most thorough guide to modern orchid gardening, many agree, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded over the Internet. Mr. Howard's guide is a comprehensive course, immensely practical for beginners and the more seasoned devotees alike. Also, be sure to visit the Orchid Secrets site, which features an ever-expanding library of articles on many facets of orchid cultivation.