Orchids are the holy grail of flowers, inspiring the kind of single-minded devotion that we usually see in collectors of precious gems and ivory. The Victorians went berserk trying to cultivate them, experiencing something called “orchidelirium” and sometimes paying thousands of dollars for a single plant to display in their living rooms or venturing into the jungles of South America in search of rare species.
Striking in their exotic delicacy, color palette and variety, orchids are not so rare today — there are 30,000 species around the world. They often thrive in places far from New York City, such as Australia, Alaska and Africa.
Fortunately, you don’t have to book a flight to any of those places to see the best and the brightest. Some 7,000 species are on display starting Saturday (through April 17) at the New York Botanical Garden in The Bronx. You can simply take the B or D train to the Bedford Park Boulevard station and walk a few blocks.
There, you can see the “volcano queen,” a plant with tiny blossoms of the darkest maroon and yellow, and the “pearl king,” a so-called moth orchid, with a dark purple blot at the center of the white petals. There are also micro orchids, with blossoms the size of mosquitoes that you have to look at through a magnifying glass.
Curator Marc Hachadourian and designer Christian Primeau have put together a lavish display notable not only for its beauty but also for promoting the plants’ adaptability. When you enter the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, a spray of them seems to hang in the air, but they have actually attached themselves to a stand of palm trees, high above the reflecting pool.
“They do not draw nutrients from the trees,” says Hachadourian, but grow clinging to other plants. Others, called lithophytes, grow on rocks, absorbing moisture from rainwater. The sheer variety of orchids on display at the conservatory can seem intimidating to the average gardener, but Hachadourian says they’re really not that hard to grow.
“They need bright, indirect light and humidity,” he says. It is important not to overwater the plants. “Most people kill their plants with too much kindness. A little benign neglect goes a long way.”
$20 for adults, $8 for kids 2 to 12. Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m to 5 p.m. 2900 Southern Blvd., The Bronx; nybg.org
