Today I spent a few hours with Jim Marlow, orchid grower extraordinaire, in his greenhouse. I was doing research for my column that will run Saturday. Since I can't run pictures in the D&C, I'll post them here.

These are seeds that have germinated in agar in this sealed flask. Everything has to be kept super-sterile or nasty fungi will kill the little plants. The seeds are so tiny that they're almost like fern spores. You can get a lot more orchids this way than by dividing, so it's a great method for straight species or crosses that come true.

The nursery

Jim's potting mix���������he makes it himself and adjusts the contents according to the plant's needs���������contains things like fir bark, sponge rock (a very large
perlite, rock that is popped almost like popcorn, with the texture of a
styrofoam peanut), charcoal, rock wool, worm casings and sphagnum (below).


Checkered
Phaphiopedilum foliage




Masdevallia swallow 'Cob Hill'





Paph Supersuk x
Raisen Pie

This plant is being trained for show competition. Jim wins a lot of awards.

The tendrils of this
Phragmipedilum will grow downward until they hit something, then stop.

Jim developed this cross, and got to name the plant! It's
Dendrobian '
Gonzyak'.


This is a baby
Dendrobian kingianum. In some species, offspring develop like this and fall right off the mother plant. The Hawaiian word for baby is "
keiki,"and that's what these little orchids are called.

The
keiki is ready for its close-up.

Jim potted the baby up and sent it home with me (even though it's a type not recommended for beginners). With my new-found knowledge, I am confident that I am NOT going to kill it.
Stay tuned!