The 1950s saw a reawakening of prosperity, which brought peace in Europe and a proliferation of hobby orchid growers. The hobbyists filled a niche by creating a new market for orchids that could be grown in the home or small greenhouse. Orchid societies sprang up, where amateurs assembled to discuss their hobby and show off their flowering plants. Today, orchid societies have become an influential force worldwide, catering for the ever-widening social aspect of growing orchids.
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.
Europe joined in this new orchid bonanza, and commercial nurseries appeared in Germany, Holland, Belgium and Denmark.
The oldest journal in the world is the Orchid Review, started in 1893, which is published six times a year by the Royal Horticultural Society in London. Further information is available on the Internet, where individual websites can be visited and ideas exchanged on a global basis.
Today, hybridizing has come a long way from the tentative steps taken by John Dominy in Veitch's nursery. The Royal Horticultural Society in London is the world authority for the registration of orchid hybrids, where over 100,000 have been entered. This astounding figure continues to rise by over 3,000 per year, testimony to an insatiable appetite for better plants. The majority of these new varieties are produced for the pot-plant trade, which demands a supply of cheaply produced, easily grown orchids.
The first part of the 20th century saw an explosion of hybridizing and seed raising.
Twenty years after the First World War, the orchid industry was again flourishing when the Second World War began, dashing all hopes of further progress. There was difficulty in obtaining fuel for amateur greenhouses, while commercial nurseries had to be used for the production of food crops. The lack of skilled growers saw the demise of the last remaining large collections.
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.
Europe joined in this new orchid bonanza, and commercial nurseries appeared in Germany, Holland, Belgium and Denmark.
The oldest journal in the world is the Orchid Review, started in 1893, which is published six times a year by the Royal Horticultural Society in London. Further information is available on the Internet, where individual websites can be visited and ideas exchanged on a global basis.
Today, hybridizing has come a long way from the tentative steps taken by John Dominy in Veitch's nursery. The Royal Horticultural Society in London is the world authority for the registration of orchid hybrids, where over 100,000 have been entered. This astounding figure continues to rise by over 3,000 per year, testimony to an insatiable appetite for better plants. The majority of these new varieties are produced for the pot-plant trade, which demands a supply of cheaply produced, easily grown orchids.
The first part of the 20th century saw an explosion of hybridizing and seed raising.
Twenty years after the First World War, the orchid industry was again flourishing when the Second World War began, dashing all hopes of further progress. There was difficulty in obtaining fuel for amateur greenhouses, while commercial nurseries had to be used for the production of food crops. The lack of skilled growers saw the demise of the last remaining large collections.
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).
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