Orchid Growing At Edgecumbe

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 34, 2 April 1948, Page 5

Orchid Growing At Edgecumbe

Experiment Developed To Glamorous Business From a shot in the dark to a thriving business in ten years has been the experience of Mr O. V. Marx, of Edgecumbe, who has now an almost full time occupation in one of the world’s most glamorous trades—orchidgrowing. Now from a small shed in the back garden Mr Marx respatches blooms to women wearers all over the North Island. . Mr Marx has always been a keen gardener, and 10 years ago he picked up his first bulb. It was placed in the hothouse that housed his tomatoes, and slowly the fever that enters the soul of very orchid grower possessed him. Now he is building a new and larger hothouse to cover the £IOOO collection which has arrived from nurseries in England. At present they are stored apparently haphazardly, in a potting and firewood shed at the bottom of the section. They don’t take up much space, but many of them cost over £SO. Included among them are some of the finest hybrids in the world produced by the most famous growers, Messrs. Sanders of England. The shipment from England contains approximately 60 Cattleyas and 100 Cymbidiums—the aristocrats of the orchid world. With exchange, freight and customs, a 100 per cent, increase is automatically placed on each plant. But they will pay for themselves in time, for a bloom will be sold, wholesale at anywhere between 3s 6d and 12s 6d, and the advantage of haying a plant that produces 198 blooms at 12s 6d is apparent to anyone, though few yield quite that. Contrary to common belief, the orchid is not an exceptionally delicate plant, for it will stand a wide variation of temperatures. Sudden changes, however, are fatal, and the grower dreads the early frost that may penetrate the hothouse. Excessive moisture spells death also. The greenhouse, which will shortly be completed, is planned to spread 50ft. by 20ft., and will be heated by circulating hot water, from a coal burner, forced through pipes by a small electric pump. The temperature will be kept at around 70 degrees. The glass panes in the roof will have to be painted over in summer, for excessive sunlight can easily wither. The most important single factor is humidity. With a little care, it is possible to have orchids blooming the year round. The Cattleyas, for example, blossom between June and October, other species have a different season, while some even flower twice yearly.