Briggs Hill Orchids

Paphiopedilum Lady Isabel x Paph. stonei

Orchids have a distinct and undeniable mystique. Many of the plants are downright homely, but their flowers display a unique beauty and charisma.

The blossoms come in nearly every color of the rainbow and may be spotted, striped or a combination of both. Many are quite outlandish. Some look like spiders, others like sea creatures. The flower spike of the Orchis simia looks like dozens of dancing monkeys.

"There's an exotic beauty that far exceeds what you would find in other plant families," said David Morris, owner of Clackamas Orchids.

Morris was just 17 when he became smitten with orchids. Now, more than 20 years later, he cultivates more than 35,000 plants in his business in Canby, Ore.

Because of their unusual appearance, orchids have been saddled with a reputation of being difficult to grow.

One new dad gave his wife an orchid plant for her first Mother's Day this year.

"She thought it was going to be harder to keep alive than our baby," he said.

But more and more people are discovering that orchids are not really that fussy and can be quite easy to grow. And once people get started, they often find that they simply cannot get enough of the plants.

"The motto of orchid growers is 'I need more room,'" said Leanna Fox, who is a member of the Seattle-based Northwest Orchid Society. Fox, like many people, started out small.

"I saw a phalaenopsis that knocked my doors off so I put it on my Christmas list," she said.

After she received that first one she was hooked, and now has about 150 plants in her collection.

Jamie Notman, Vice President of Programs for the Northwest Orchid Society, has about 500 plants under grow lights.

"They have such cool flowers that are different from any other flowers," he said. "And once the bug bites you … it's a ball."

With more than 25,000 identified species, the orchid is the largest plant family in the world. If you include natural and manmade hybrids, that number grows to over 100,000 unique types of orchids. Of all the flowers in bloom on Earth at any one time, one in four is an orchid.

Most of the orchids grown by hobbyists are epiphitic - they grow on the trunks and limbs of trees. They are not parasites, but use trees for perches so they can get more sunshine.

Orchids have adapted to survive in habitats ranging from tropical rain forests to semi-desert areas and from sea level to 14,000 feet in elevation. At least one orchid is semi-aquatic, holding only its blossoms above the water surface. Another species grows and blooms entirely below the ground. Only the bloom peeks, very briefly, through the surface.

Briggs Hill Orchids

Vanda reiblingiana

Their size range is dramatic. The Sobralia altissima from Peru can grow to a height of 44 feet. It's topped with clusters of spectacular 6-inch flowers. The smallest orchids are from one genus: Platystele halbingeriana from Mexico and Platystele jungermannioides from Central America. A flowering plant will fit on a thumbnail.

Some plants bear a single flower; others have many flowers on a spike. Many bloom for months, with blossoms that emit scents ranging from the pleasing smell of vanilla, chocolate and coconut, to the noxious stench of rotting meat. The flowers of some plants even look like wasps and bees in order to attract a specific pollinator.

The seed of the orchid is the smallest in the plant kingdom. With the texture of cornstarch, there may be 3,000,000 seeds in one pod. A tropical hurricane can disperse millions of seeds over thousands of miles.

The freaks of the plant world

Orchids have a long and fascinating history. The tropical plants were first brought to Europe in the 18th century and by the middle of the 19th century were popular with wealthy aristocrats who could afford the expensive plants and the glass houses to grow them in.

Adventurous "orchid hunters" battled wild animals, disease and hostile natives in Asia and Africa in a frantic race to be the first to bring a rare species back to their employers in England.

At the time, there were no laws restricting this activity, and it wasn't uncommon for a collector to go into an area and cut down hundreds of trees in order to pick every orchid in sight. Some collectors even set fire to acres of land in an attempt to corner the market on a particular species.

It wasn't until the environmental movement of the 1960s that regulations were enacted to protect orchids in the wild. But orchid smuggling continues to be a problem. In the summer of 2004, a Peruvian grower was sentenced to nearly two years in prison for scheming to smuggle prized lady slipper orchids into the United States.

After World War II, orchid corsages were all the rage for proms and weddings and hundreds of orchid nurseries popped up in Hawaii, California, and Florida. The 1960s advent of cloning plants brought the hobby within reach of thousands of orchid fanciers worldwide.

Obsession

Orchid growing can become an addiction. Just ask Shannon Boling, who operates a business in Monroe, Wash., that she has aptly named "Orchids Anonymous."

"The name is 'Orchids Anonymous' because I just can't not pick up plants, because they're all so different," she said.

Susan Wyatt / KING5.com

Orchid enthusiasts check out the plants on display at a Northwest Orchid Society show and sale.

Boling specializes in the offbeat and oddball.

"The people who call me usually are wanting something extravagant. I sell a lot of weird stuff," she said.

For example, the pleurothallis has a leaf about two-and-a-half inches long. The flowers, which are about the size of a quarter, actually sit on top of the leaf.

The American Orchid Society boasts more than 25,000 members. President Art Moore says the market for orchids has seen tremendous growth.

"It has exploded," he said. "That's the only way to can describe it. It has absolutely exploded."

He says that's due, in part, to improvements in hybridization and distribution.

"Florida growers ship hundreds of thousands of plants a week," he said.

That means previously pricey orchids can now be found for as little as $10 at a variety of stores, from warehouse discount stores to your neighborhood supermarket.

And the once intimidating exotic is really as easy to care for as your average houseplant.

"The general public has learned how to grow them," said Moore. "They learned by accident that they love the same conditions as African violets."

Boling's advice is to start with an easier plant, such as the phalaenopsis, and then move into more difficult plants.

But with thousands of plants available, it's easy to find something that is right for your conditions.

"There's an orchid for every windowsill," said Boling.