Orchids

I know, two blogs, maybe I am getting hooked. But I just wrote my dad for some help on keeping some orchids I collected alive and healthy so I figured rather than just writing him, I’d blog it…

I remember growing up hearing stories of my dad collecting orchids. He had three or four greenhouses at MSU full of orchids he either collected or acquired for the university. I’ll bet even to this day it is one of the best collections in the states.
I remember collecting with him on our trip to Mexico. I got one that my mom painted and it was always kind of cool to know I climbed the tree to get that orchid.

So finally I am in a place that has them and I started my collection. Last weekend we were going to Chitwan Park (it is in the jungle and you ride elephants around looking for one horned rhinos and tigers in the preserve). Unfortunately the morning we were going we were told they were striking in the city and burning buses so we decided to come home. On the 99 KM/three hour trip back I had the driver stop at every orchid I saw in a tree that looked accessible. Some of them were right out in the open on trees at eye level with the road, but in reality, they were about 90 meters in the air on a huge tree that was on the side of a cliff. I left those ones alone. So I had to not only find them but find the ones that wouldn’t kill me in front of my family if I fell down off the tree.

Most of them I got by myself, but here is a picture of our driver helping me get one.


Unfortunately I didn’t get many pictures of them in the trees, I will next time. But here they are after I got them back and into pots.


Aerides multiflora



Cymbidium simulans



Green Somethingans



Whothehellknowsans

So now I have at least 2 of the 140 different species of orchids from Nepal. I am looking forward to hunting down the other 138. There are some really spectacular ones that I am very much looking forward to getting. It is like hunting lizards and snakes in AZ or spearfishing in Dubai. The hunt is the fun part!

I am trying to get my dad out here so he can go out into the bush with me and show me how to get the far ones. Also how to keep them. I am sure he is cringing at seeing the dirt and pots I put them in. Hereis the only one I am pretty sure I did right:


Cymbidium simulans with my gardener.