Feel the Flower Power! Go Inside the Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden

The show took two weeks to put together but months of cultivating to make sure the buds bloomed at the same time, said Marc Hachadourian, Director of Nolen Greenhouses for the New York Botanical Garden. 

Orchids are found all over the world and in all different cultures, from Japanese to Chinese to Greek. 

Senior Editor Sharon Clott Kanter stands under the massive star-shaped orchid chandelier, the centerpiece of the exhibition, created by Francisca Coelho. It measures 16 feet in diameter. “The inspiration for this chandelier was orchids floating in space,” explained Hachadourian.

“There are a little bit of horticultural acrobatics to get these gorgeous orchids, hundreds of them, on this enormous orchid chandelier,” said Hachadourian.

The orchid’s pollination habits—they only specialized reproductive parts and only one pollen mass/one chance at “procreation”—fascinate researchers. “There are orchids that do such bizarre things as mimic the female of a species of bee and trick the males into mating with the flowers to get them to pollinate them,” said Hachadourian. “It’s like they push the edge of science, almost to science fiction.”

Orchids are unlike any other plant. “There are orchids that attach themselves to tree branches,” said Hachadourian. “The idea that an orchid is so difficult and delicate, but really can hang off the branches in the tropics and bloom makes them seem like they’re extreme plants.”

This is one of the hanging orchid arrangements that gives the exhibition its Chandeliers name. 

This is the Cymbidium, otherwise called Golden Boy.

Orchids are the largest family of flowering plants.  Some range from 1/16 of an inch and can grow to more than 25 feet tall. 

Each orchid is staked to make sure it grows tall and straight. This usually happens after the orchid reaches one foot in length.

There’s a reason orchids are so expensive, explained Hachadourian. “An orchid can take on average three to four years from seed to bloom. There’s a lot of time and effort to get that plant up to the size needed.”

Caring for an orchid? Don’t baby it. “Orchids really thrive on benign neglect,” said Hachadourian. “Most people kill their orchids by doting over them too much, and they usually wind up over watering them and giving them too sun.”