Feb 012011
 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Fakahatchee_Strand_Preserve.jpg/320px-Fakahatchee_Strand_Preserve.jpgThe Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve Park is home to the largest collection of native orchid species and bromeliads in North America. It is also home to the Florida panther, black bear, Everglades mink, and the wood stork. It is the largest strand swamp on the continent and was the featured location for the Orchid Thief and the movie “Adaptation”.

This spectacular natural landscape is located approximately 75 minutes by car west of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. On February 26, 2011, the Friends of the Fakahatchee will be hosting the annual “safari”. Visitors can participate in guided swamp walks, birding walks, photo workshops, and scenic tram rides as well as wildlife presentations, a camp fire program, and a cookout. Swamp buggy rides will also be available. All profits will go to support the preserve. For more information call 239-695-2905.

May 012010
 

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

Grow Native Orchids in Your Garden

Believe it or not, you can grow native orchids in your gardens if you pick out those which grow in your area and you can provide them the right conditions. The most important point to remember is that you should never dig up wild orchids. It is virtually impossible to keep a dug up orchid alive once it is removed from its native environment and when it is done another rare and beautiful plant gets closer to extinction. This is one of the biggest dangers to our native plants. When wild populations are found they are often kept in strict secrecy because of the chance that they will be poached by those who want to sell them. Only buy from reputable dealers and ask to make sure that they are grown from seed in laboratory conditions.

There are a number of nurseries which now grow native orchids from seed to sell to those who can provide them a home. It is hoped that more and more people will become interested in trying to grow these natives so that the gene pool can be expanded and keep the plants from disappearing entirely.

Unlike hybrids which are bred for ease of growing and flowering, it is necessary to do a lot of research into which natives might work in your garden. One of the best groups in North America is Native Orchid Conservation Inc. A very active group with a lot of knowledge is the Slipper Orchid Alliance which has information about the Cypripedium orchids which are one of the most showy and widely distributed of the wild orchids. Australia has a large organization, the Australian Native Orchid Society, which provides information and conservation materials to those interested in their native orchids.

Florida, which has most species of native orchids in the United States, has its own site with information on their native orchids Florida’s Native and Naturalized Orchids and The Florida Native Native Plant Society which has a great database of plants, including orchids, which grow in the various counties in Florida. Many of the descriptions include sources for plants.

If you are both a gardener and an orchid grower, this is a great way to help out our native plants as well as introduce new and interesting plants to your garden. Many orchid societies are working with their state forestry organizations to grow and reintroduce native orchids to locations which have lost their original native populations. Growing these natives is a great way to help out and introduce friends, neighbors and families to the fact that orchids are not only tropical plants.

Feb 012009
 

by Susan Taylor
Originally published in BellaOnline

Native orchids around the world are in trouble as a result of collection from the wild, habitat destruction, and increasingly climate change. Orchid societies and conservation groups are working to slow this by reintroducing seedling orchids back into the wild where they previously grew. This work has been aided due to the fact that it is now possible to germinate seeds in flasks. It is illegal to take any orchid seed without permissions since most of them are considered endangered, but with proper paperwork and help from local governmental conservation agencies some good work is being done.

Growing orchid seed in flasks has allowed conservationists to start returning wild orchids to areas where they used to grow, but have virtually  disappeared. In the wild perhaps one of every 100,000 orchid seeds will germinate, grow and live long enough to produce seed. The seeds are like dust and can be carried by the wind great distances. But, since they are so small they do not contain food to sustain the growth of the nucleus and require specific fungi to sustain them in a delicate balance between the two. If the fungi grow too fast they kill the seed and eat it; if the seed grows too fast and there are not enough fungi
to sustain it, the seed dies. It is an amazing natural process!

When grown in a flask in the proper medium, up to 90% germination can be achieved. The plants are then treated like any other orchid and grown to planting size in flasks and then transplanted into community pots and then individual pots. There are a number of organizations such as the Native Orchid Conference which promote orchid conservation and provide a forum for those interested in the subject to gather.

Orchid societies around the world are using their expertise to help re-introduce native orchids by growing seedlings and then placing them back into areas where they once grew. Since these efforts are still new, the results have been mixed. But with more and more people trying different ways to do it we are hopeful that trial and error will produce some success stories that others can emulate.

There are some really interesting stories, both on conservation and habitat destruction – which is one of the main causes of the loss of native orchids around the world – at the Orchid Conservation Coalition website.