From birth to maturity

The search for perfection requires patience. Breeders produce thousands of new hybrids every year. The period from the initial selection to the inclusion of an orchid in the range covers some 8 to 10 years. So it takes a while before a particular orchid variety ends up in the living room!

This year we will follow the orchid from selection through to cultivation into a beautiful mature plant. We would like to use video images to show how the orchid is born and grows into a magnificent houseplant.

Phase 3: leaf and bud formation

Up to now the orchid has been pampered at a temperature of around 28 degrees centigrade and high humidity up to 90%.

But in order to encourage the formation of buds, the temperature now drops to around nineteen degrees. And the food supply is also adjusted – there’s less of it.

This punishing regime has a clear goal. The plant notices that it’s not doing as well, and nature kicks in. The plant makes sure it has progeny. The young branches – on which the flowers will appear later – shoot upwards. Experts call those ‘pokers’. After about eight weeks they are between 10 and 15 centimetres long.

The men who appear midway through this film are there for a reason. Every crop is slightly different. More or less water? Temperature up or down a tad? Every grower is focused on getting more and larger flowers on a branch.

From birth to maturity

The search for perfection requires patience. Breeders produce thousands of new hybrids every year. The period from the initial selection to the inclusion of an orchid in the range covers some 8 to 10 years. So it takes a while before a particular orchid variety ends up in the living room!

This year we will follow the orchid from selection through to cultivation into a beautiful mature plant. We would like to use video images to show how the orchid is born and grows into a magnificent houseplant.

Phase 4: staking and selection

As the orchids grow, they become top-heavy – which means a greater risk that they will topple over. That is why at this stage they are placed in the ‘cups’, pot and all. This provides extra stability during the remainder of the process.

‘Staking’ is particularly done to protect the branches during shipping. The stakes also ensure that all the flowers grow towards the light in the same direction.

There is no reason why you shouldn’t remove the stakes when you get the plant home if you want to, incidentally.

At this stage the plants go in front of the camera again. This counts the number of branches, buds and flowers. And another strict selection takes place. Towards the end of the film you can see how the plants that have not yet grown enough get a soaking. They are given a refreshing shower of pure rainwater before going back to the growing phase for another week or two.

From birth to maturity

The search for perfection requires patience. Breeders produce thousands of new hybrids every year. The period from the initial selection to the inclusion of an orchid in the range covers some 8 to 10 years. So it takes a while before a particular orchid variety ends up in the living room!

This year we will follow the orchid from selection through to cultivation into a beautiful mature plant. We would like to use video images to show how the orchid is born and grows into a magnificent houseplant.

Phase 5: flowering phase

It seems a bit unfair. The people at the nursery have done their best for more than two years to produce an attractive, sturdy and colourful orchid. And just when the time finally comes, they are sent on their way …

The plants do one more lap of honour on the conveyor belt. It’s a very colourful parade, whereby technology helps to ensure that the right orchid ends up with the right seller.

The plants that are found to be ready for sale can be classified according to all sorts of criteria. By height, for example. They come in 50 cm, but also in 60 and 70 cm.

There is also a classification into five main colours. Then there are the single-branched, the double-branched and even the four-branched. And you can also differentiate according to the number of flowers per branch. One has 3 to 5, another 6 to 8 and you even have the extreme category with 9 flowers or more. All in all, there are nearly 200 variants. But don’t worry. There’s a sorting machine that can tackle the job. As you can see in this film, this results in fascinating pictures of a system that directs every orchid to the right conveyor belt with steely precision. The time for farewell is approaching, but it is a farewell with style and colour!

From birth to maturity

The search for perfection requires patience. Breeders produce thousands of new hybrids every year. The period from the initial selection to the inclusion of an orchid in the range covers some 8 to 10 years. So it takes a while before a particular orchid variety ends up in the living room!

This year we will follow the orchid from selection through to cultivation into a beautiful mature plant. We would like to use video images to show how the orchid is born and grows into a magnificent houseplant.

Phase 6: delivery and in store

A flowering orchid that has been grown with care is a valuable asset. Two years has passed from the time of arrival at the nursery to the departure. So it makes sense that the final step, the journey from the nursery to the customer’s home, is also the subject of care and attention.

And that requires a human touch, as this film shows. If an unsightly leaf has been left on, it’s neatly removed. And plenty of care is also paid to the packaging. Every plant is placed into a sleeve individually. That’s particularly to protect the vulnerable flowers.

The orchids go onto the truck on special shipping trolleys. Those trolleys are wrapped in film, again for protection. Without wrapping the branches would extend outside the trolley and get damaged or broken.

The orchids grown in the Netherlands make their all over Europe in trucks.
There are many sales channels. You can find orchids in garden centres, at supermarkets and – of course – at specialist florists.

For its journey from the shop to the home it is again important that the orchid is properly packaged. Once at home, the main thing is to enjoy the plant. An orchid does not require much care. Just immersing it – preferably in tepid water – once a week is enough. Some food once a month improves the lifespan. Which means that you can spend even longer enjoying this peerless plant.

Top photographer Kristian Schuller photographs orchid models

Completely natural, with no model being plastered with make-up and none of the images having been photoshopped. The natural beauty of the orchids that Kristian Schuller works with is more than enough. This top photographer shot lovely images of orchids in Berlin last year. The collaboration with these models went so well that another photoshoot took place in April 2012, this time in Munich and Hamburg. The images are on display in Hamburg (Colonnaden) from 1 to 10 April and in Munich (Riem Arcaden) from 20 to 30 April.

Livestream with orchids.

The first ‘tweetjam’ with pot orchids will take place on Thursday May 31^st. It will take place in the theatre in Villa Flora at Floriade 2012 in Venlo. The Dutch arrangers Tim van Leipsig and Ruud Hazelaar will be working with two international colleagues to improvise with orchids and create arrangements. From this local event they will inspire people around the globe with orchids via Twitter and Facebook.

The event will take place between 1.00 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. and can be followed direct all over the world via a live stream on the website www.orchidsinfo.eu.

Tweetjamming is a new phenomenon. Experts and creatives – they can be musicians, but also chefs and in this case flower arrangers – give a demonstration of their skills and share it with one another and with interested onlookers via social media.

Arranger Tim van Leipsig has been appearing on stages around the world for more than 25 years, but this is still something special even for him. In his column on www.orchidsinfo.eu he talks about how he is looking forward to ‘jamming’ with his colleagues.

Visitors to Floriade on that day can enjoy this unique demonstration free of charge. The theatre can seat 250 visitors.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.nl/orchidsinfo
Twitter: @orchids_info

Upload your photo and win!

Upload your photo to Facebook and win a € 100 jewellery voucher. Orchids are must-have accessories in the home. The beauty and colours of these remarkable plants inspired the Floriade’s arrangers to create THE JEWELS ROUTE in the Villa Flora Pavilion. Imagine you’re in a life-size jewellery box and stroll past Nature’s Jewels.

You can also wear and immortalise these jewels by posing for a photo in a magnificent Orchid dress or bespoke suit on the Jewels Route. Upload this photo to Facebook and you could win a jewellery voucher worth € 100.

TweetJam with Orchids.

The OrchidJam was fantastic. There was an enthusiastic response from visitors both on social media and live at Floriade. Enjoy the spectacular orchid show again by viewing the video and the photos.

Delft, 31 July 2012 – Footwear designer Jan Jansen today presents the first sketch for his 2013 spring collection. This sketch shows the ‘Orchid Shoe by Jan Jansen’, inspired by the pot orchid. The ‘Orchid Shoe by Jan Jansen’ is easily recognisable because the shoe is covered with orchid flowers. In addition, the extremely high heel in the design is a reference to the powerful, elegant and timeless nature of the pot orchid. The shoe will be presented officially at the beginning of October.

Jan Jansen says about his design, ‘The orchid has always fascinated me, and when I heard that there is a genus of orchid called the Lady’s Slipper I knew I wanted to design a shoe inspired by that elegant plant. There are so many species and varieties of orchid, and each species has its own individually shaped flower, colours and unique markings. In the past few months I have surrounded myself with as many different orchids as possible in order to design this unique shoe. I think that in the Orchid Shoe I have managed to create a wearable work of art.

About Jan Jansen
Full of character. Self-willed and distinctive. This is the essence of Jan Jansen. His exceptional designs, based on a knowledge of traditional shoemaking and created with passion, are a source of inspiration. Jan Jansen has been designing unique footwear since the early 1960s. His designs are often ahead of their time and yet timeless, each one based on the correlation between last, sole and heel. After training at the renowned studios of Follie, D’Alco and Albanese in Rome, he started to develop his own collection, going on to work at various times for fashion houses such as Dior and Charles Jourdan. Every season, Jan and his team present a sparkling new collection. Jan Jansen’s shoes were even shown last July at the fashion show of Marga Weimans on the opening night of the Amsterdam Fashion Week.
Jan Jansen is one of the Netherlands’ best known footwear designers and has his own shops in Amsterdam, Heusden-Vesting, Nijmegen and Maastricht. His shoes are also sold in many outlets in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Visit www.janjansen.com for more information about Jan Jansen and his work.

London, Thursday 6th September 2012 – Karren Brady has today revealed a new breed of Orchid which has been named The ‘Karren Brady Orchid’ to mark the International ‘Day of the Orchid’. An initiative of Art of Life, a collection of 40 Dutch growers of pot orchids, the ‘Day of the Orchid’ aims to celebrate the strength and elegance of women and Karren Brady, as a female who epitomises these values, was a natural choice to lead such celebrations.

The ‘Karren Brady Orchid’ belongs to the Phalaenopsis species, the perfect example of a powerful and elegant plant. This orchid blooms for months and creates a sea of beautiful flowers, making it a very popular variety.

Karren’s Orchid has been created through a thorough selection process. Years ago, a grower started breeding this specific variety of the  Phalaenopsis Orchid, resulting in the creation of the ‘Karren Brady Orchid’ today. Only the strongest and most beautiful varieties are allowed to be sold as a new Orchid variety after a long and strict procedure.

Karren Brady commented: “I absolutely love orchids and so when I was offered the chance to have a new breed named after me, I was thrilled. The Orchid is such a striking plant which adds a touch of elegance to my home, it is almost more of a must have home accessory than just a flower. There are so many different varieties that you can find one to match every room and style you could want!”

It’s a common misunderstanding that Orchids are hard to care for, when in fact just a few simple tips can help your orchid to flower several times a year.

• Orchids like light, so find a well-lit spot to keep your Orchid
• Room temperatures of between 18 and 20ºC are the optimum for keeping your Orchid healthy
• Orchids don’t react well to draughts, direct sunlight, or being stood near to heaters
• Fruit bowls are also bad for Orchids, as they produces gases that cause flowers to age prematurely
• Never water the plant, just water the soil
• Keep orchids drier in winter than in summer. They rest in winter, so only water occasionally

We have a limited selection of the ‘Karren Brady Orchid’ available, so if you would be interested in receiving one, please get in touch. We do, however, have other Orchid samples as well, so please do get in touch if you would like to feature.