Orchid appreciation is so widespread these days that it is hard to imagine a world without these wonderful flowers. But, not very long ago, the people of the so-called civilized world were completely in the dark about the overwhelming majority of species of orchids.
Europeans naturally were familiar with their native orchid species, such as the exuberant Bee Orchid. But knowledge of the thousands of breath-taking 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 make it back to countries such as England, Germany or France.
Probably the first living orchid to be transported 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 family was brought 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, brought back 15 species of epiphytal orchids native to West Indies in the early 1790s. These were put on display at the well-known Kew Gardens in London. For many years thereafter the West Indies, along with India, were the principal sources of tropical orchids to Europe. In 1793, though, a species of Oncidium was transported to England from Panama, followed several years later by some orchids from Uruguay.
By 1818, Brazil was at the forefront of was contributing to what had become a steady flow of orchids back to England and other European lands. By 1830 the Royal Horticultural Society had collectors traveling throughout Brazil searching for for unusual species.
The orchid trade very soon turned into a serious moneymaking enterprise, with businessmen in Brazil negotiating arrangements with their counterparts in London to ship plants to England for resale there. William Harrison, a merchant in Rio de Janeiro in the 1830s and 1840s, shipped many lovely orchids to his brother Richard in Liverpool. Richard’s house quickly became a magnet for orchid fanatics who journeyed there to see the latest arrivals.
Introducing orchids to Europe was one thing, but cultivating them successfully proved quite another. It has truly been said that for more than half a century, England was the graveyard of tropical orchids. The plants that survived did so in spite of rather than because of the treatment they received. Growers kept experimenting and making mistakes until, by about 1850, they had mostly worked out the art of orchid cultivation. That’s when the orchid craze really exploded, because now the knowledge was available by which even non-botanists could grow these stunning plants.
Knowledge of how to successfully grow orchids has greatly expanded during the intervening years and now we know so much more than did those Victorian devotees. We also have, of course, better technology to aid us in the greenhouse and garden.
The most thorough guide to modern orchid care, it is widely acknowedged, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which can be downloaded from the Internet. Mr. Howard’s guide is a comprehensive course of study, helpful for novices as well as the more experienced fanciers alike. Also, visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has an ever-growing library of postings on many topics of orchid cultivation.
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