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Orchid Breeders & Collectors
An orchid breeder might grow more than half a million seedlings a year in search of the best new hybrids. They try to guess what flower buyers will want next. Bigger and brighter petals, sweeter fragrances, orchids with spots, petals with stripes — next time you’re in a flower shop you can choose.
Orchid breeders keep records of the lineage of their plants, much in the same way that breeders of thoroughbred horses do. Some hybrids are a mix of up to five different species, bred together over several generations.
Orchids are unusually easy to hybridise, which is lucky because there seems to be an endless appetite for new flowers. The global trade in orchids is estimated at more than $6.5 billion a year, and growing.
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Coelogyne - flaccida
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Homegrown Obsession
Audio Clip (1:21)
Hear New Zealand enthusiasts and experts talk about Orchids.
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