Although each new species was greeted with enthusiasm, the first hybrids that appeared were met with both amazement and scepticism, for such an achievement was once thought impossible.
The first great heyday of orchid cultivation in Europe had been brought to an abrupt end. Following the war years, the coastal region of California from Los Angeles to San Francisco became an important orchid haven. In the warm climate, they could flourish out of doors with shade-cloth for protection from direct sun. This was a far cry from the long, cold winters in most of Europe.
Cattleyas and phalaenopsis were found to do well in this climate and could be grown with no expensive heating bills. The same was true in New Zealand and parts of Australia, whose climate favoured cymbidiums, enabling them to be grown without artificial heating.
Every third year, the World Orchid Conference Committee stages an event that alternates its venue between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This sustained interest in orchids has resulted in the publication of many volumes written for the beginner and specialized grower.
Progress was slow until the botanists realized that orchids grew in conjunction with a microscopic fungus, without which the seed would not germinate. Following this discovery, in around 1903, the Frenchman Noel Bernard isolated the fungus and placed it in sterile flasks on an agar base on which the seed was sown.
Interest had shifted from the declining estates, where few owners could now afford to maintain such large collections for pleasure, to the wider population.
Amateur societies dedicated to the advance of orchid cultivation started up, and in the United States the American Orchid Society was founded in 1921. This organization grew from small beginnings to a worldwide network, becoming the largest orchid society in the world.
In the 1920s, a further step was taken by L. Knudsen, an American scientist who bypassed the natural fungus and produced the nutrients artificially, using a technique that is still used, with a few modifications, today.
At the onset of the Second World War, the best of the British stud plants, which were the finest of their kind in the world, were shipped to California, South Africa and Australia for safekeeping. Cymbidium hybrids, in particular, were to prove vital to the newly emerging orchid nurseries in these countries, giving them a much-needed boost to their own breeding lines. The most coveted were C. Alexanderi 'Westonbirt' FCC/RHS (white), the most famous Cymbidium of all time; C. Burgundian 'Chateau' FCC/RHS (bronze) and C. Rosanne 'Pinkie' FCC/RI IS (pink).
The first great heyday of orchid cultivation in Europe had been brought to an abrupt end. Following the war years, the coastal region of California from Los Angeles to San Francisco became an important orchid haven. In the warm climate, they could flourish out of doors with shade-cloth for protection from direct sun. This was a far cry from the long, cold winters in most of Europe.
Cattleyas and phalaenopsis were found to do well in this climate and could be grown with no expensive heating bills. The same was true in New Zealand and parts of Australia, whose climate favoured cymbidiums, enabling them to be grown without artificial heating.
Every third year, the World Orchid Conference Committee stages an event that alternates its venue between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This sustained interest in orchids has resulted in the publication of many volumes written for the beginner and specialized grower.
Progress was slow until the botanists realized that orchids grew in conjunction with a microscopic fungus, without which the seed would not germinate. Following this discovery, in around 1903, the Frenchman Noel Bernard isolated the fungus and placed it in sterile flasks on an agar base on which the seed was sown.
Interest had shifted from the declining estates, where few owners could now afford to maintain such large collections for pleasure, to the wider population.
Amateur societies dedicated to the advance of orchid cultivation started up, and in the United States the American Orchid Society was founded in 1921. This organization grew from small beginnings to a worldwide network, becoming the largest orchid society in the world.
In the 1920s, a further step was taken by L. Knudsen, an American scientist who bypassed the natural fungus and produced the nutrients artificially, using a technique that is still used, with a few modifications, today.
At the onset of the Second World War, the best of the British stud plants, which were the finest of their kind in the world, were shipped to California, South Africa and Australia for safekeeping. Cymbidium hybrids, in particular, were to prove vital to the newly emerging orchid nurseries in these countries, giving them a much-needed boost to their own breeding lines. The most coveted were C. Alexanderi 'Westonbirt' FCC/RHS (white), the most famous Cymbidium of all time; C. Burgundian 'Chateau' FCC/RHS (bronze) and C. Rosanne 'Pinkie' FCC/RI IS (pink).
0 comments:
Post a Comment