Since tulip mania (or “tulipomania”) crested in the Netherlands until the present day no single group of plants has achieved such a tenacious grasp on popular imagination as the orchids. Hard as it is to imagine, today’s orchid craze doesn’t hold a candle to the passion that the plants roused in our Victorian ancestors in England and America.
Certainly, of course, many other plants were greatly admired in the Anglo-Saxon world of the latter half of the 19th century. We may count among these the cacti, ferns, roses, chrysanthemums and palms. But orchids to a great extent represented the summit of horticultural respectability in the 19th century garden. So highly were the 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 landmark London conference, the more exotic orchids of the tropics had been known to the world in general for only about 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. 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 19th century, botanists were attempting to cultivate a handful of specimens at such places as London’s famous Kew Gardens. 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 middle of the 19th century, new orchid specimens were making their way to Europe from all around the globe. Additionally, more and more people were attempting to cultivate orchids 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.
Nowadays, of course, we have an abundance of good information on the proper way to grow orchids. The most accurate and clear guide to expert orchid care, more people are finding, is Orchid Care Expert by a Mr. Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded from the web. Mr. Howard’s guide is a complete course, helpful for novices as well as more seasoned fanciers alike. Also, check out the Orchid Secrets website, which has an ever-growing database of information on many topics of orchid cultivation.
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