Move Over, Nero Wolfe -- Part 3

Catastrophes, and a Future In Orchids

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When I was a young man buying orchids, “dream season” was when the big orchid houses published their annual sales catalogs.? Those were lust books for sure.? Their orchid blooms were lit with expertise rivaling that of boudoir photographers.? You usually saw the best orchids, in the best light possible.? As one orchid-company officer wrote, “who bothers to photograph the ordinary?”?

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The best catalogs had more than just prices and names of crosses or clones.? If you read them carefully, you could learn about the popular plants of the time – more specifically, about the influence of good (and great) plants in breeding.? Why did this matter?? A high percentage of us orchid nuts wanted to breed The Next Great Orchid.? (We still do, in fact!)

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This is not a cheap – or quick – proposition.? The Cattleya orchid family is generally seven years from seed to first bloom.? Moreover, those seeds start off almost microscopic.? They must be sown in sterile bottles of nutrient-rich sugar jelly.? After two years(!), the babies may finally be ready to leave the womb of the bottle.? They must then be raised through a succession of carefully sized pots.

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Those expensive orchids are starting to make a little more sense, no?

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The switch to online selling of orchids has largely meant the death of the breeder’s notes that aspiring orchid hybridizers love.? So the old catalogs are treasure troves for those of us lucky enough to still have them.

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I say “old catalogs,” because the big growers aren’t putting out any new ones.? In fact, the really big growers are gone.? They vanished in a dizzyingly quick series of disasters.

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At the start of 1992 there were two “godfather” figures among American orchid houses:? Stewart’s Orchids, and Jones & Scully.? (Two slightly smaller outfits, Carter & Holmes and Orchids by Hausermann, did wonderful breeding but not at the scale of Stewart’s and J&S.)? Their catalogs were bread-and-butter reading essentials whether we had the money to buy plants from them that year or not.

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Jones & Scully blew away in a night, victim of Hurricane Andrew.? Even if their plants had survived being blasted through the nearby Everglades, broiling sun the next day would have cooked any survivors – well before any bedraggled humans could have mounted a rescue.

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A few years earlier, Stewart’s had lost many of its sale crop and its developing seedlings to a major greenhouse fire.? A more subtle, mysterious unwinding followed them soon after the demise of Jones & Scully.? To this day I have not found a clear description of it, not even in Wikipedia.? But a matchless trove of Stewart’s Cattleya breeding stock left California, in the hands of one of Stewart’s hybridizers.? From there, the Stewart’s business slid into bankruptcy.

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Thankfully, we still have Carter & Holmes – breeder of the most important purple cattleya in at least a generation, if not all time.? We still have Hausermann, breeder of my personal all-time Cattleya-perfume champion.? But modern costs, and probably other demands, have done away with their print catalogs.

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Where does that leave us hobbyists – the modern Nero Wolfes? ?We still dream of breeding coveted orchids.? But it’s hard to imagine scaling up to the size of the grandest orchid sellers of the past.? (I, for one, would love to try!)? Some of the brainier among us have created marvelous orchid labs where hobbyists can send in seedpods from their home crosses.? This allows the rest of us to give our seeds the best start possible, with the same sort of care once only available to the big orchid companies.

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For me, I continue to pore through old catalogs and new websites, gleaning breeder notes as I can.? I’m learning about not just the dreamiest Cattleya crosses, but also the ones that might not be worth the money and effort to make.? I join thousands of hobby growers in prowling through eBay, watching for the occasional selling of divisions of famous old orchids.? I also have a list of smaller growing ranges that I keep up with and buy orchids from.? Not to be missed, smaller growers can produce fantastic new varieties – a fact that delights and encourages me in my own pursuits.

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Learning trade secrets, like an orchidist’s breeding notes about one of his or her “stud plants,” is its own heady reward.? But that is a cerebral feat.? For me at least, it is only the peerless orchid scents that transport me out of my world and into pure paradise.? And if you’ve read along this adventure with me, I bet you’d like to experience that for yourself!

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How to experience scented orchids:

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If you’ve already checked out the moth orchids at your local grocery or big-box store, you probably ?discovered that they don’t have much aroma.? Scents are simply not a strong suit of the Phalaenopsis family as a whole (– though, to be fair, breeders are working on that!).?? Also, the cool temps that grocery stores maintain will discourage even a fragrant orchid from scenting.

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If you don’t have an orchid grower open to the public in your own town, treat yourself to a morning at a conservatory.? Go on a warmish day, if you can, or at least on a sunny day.? And yeah, I meant it when I said “morning.”? There are for sure a few night-time scent champions among orchids.? But the majority of orchid fragrances are timed for the surging warmth of a tropical morning.? I find around 11 a.m. to be ideal.

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A well-scented Cattleya orchid is noticeable from a couple feet away (or more).? Lean in – gently – and sniff the center of the flower.? If the bloom is viable and fresh, morning light and warmth will have coaxed the orchid into sharing its perfume.? Ignore blossoms that have faded or begun to close; they’ll just smell grassy, at best.? If the orchids have labels, you can make notes in your cellphone about which plants are your scented favorites.?

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Whatever your approach, know that you’re enjoying the “fruits” of many laborers:? Brave jungle explorers, meticulous note-keepers from great orchid houses, and even from fiercely determined hobbyists -- the Nero Wolfes like me.? Now it’s your turn.? Go forth, explore … and happy hunting!? If orchid enchantment captures you, know that you’re in some good – and famous – company.

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? 1-2024?? Jack V. Thompson