Orchids Dazzle at New York Botanical Garden Show
See the gorgeous floral array filling a historic Victorian-style greenhouse — and get tips for growing orchids at home
An orchid wonderland has taken over the New York Botanical Garden’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, courtesy of floral designer Jeff Leatham and a team of growers. Titled Kaleidoscope, this year’s Orchid Show — now in its 19th year — runs through May 1, 2022. It presents an exhilarating range of orchids, many commingling with the conservatory’s year-round botanical displays. Here’s a peek.
Info: The Orchid Show, New York Botanical Garden, Feb. 26 to May 1, 2022, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with music and performances on select Fridays and Saturdays; $15 to $39. Masks are encouraged but not required; check the website for the latest policies.
Info: The Orchid Show, New York Botanical Garden, Feb. 26 to May 1, 2022, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with music and performances on select Fridays and Saturdays; $15 to $39. Masks are encouraged but not required; check the website for the latest policies.
Photo from the New York Botanical Garden
Greeting visitors as they enter the show in the conservatory’s central palm dome is a faceted and mirrored kaleidoscope-like artwork. It’s nestled in a pond and surrounded by towering swirls and islands of orchids.
From there, the halls and corner galleries form an elongated rectangle — including an underground rainbow-lit tunnel the kids will love — ending back at the dome. With its kaleidoscopic rather than linear nature, the show is designed around hue and pattern, encouraging visitors to lose themselves in “twists and turns of color.”
Greeting visitors as they enter the show in the conservatory’s central palm dome is a faceted and mirrored kaleidoscope-like artwork. It’s nestled in a pond and surrounded by towering swirls and islands of orchids.
From there, the halls and corner galleries form an elongated rectangle — including an underground rainbow-lit tunnel the kids will love — ending back at the dome. With its kaleidoscopic rather than linear nature, the show is designed around hue and pattern, encouraging visitors to lose themselves in “twists and turns of color.”
This miniature island is populated by the moth orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.), one of the most mainstream indoor types among the 30,000 or so wild species in the orchid family.
Although around homes they usually emerge from pots, moth orchids are actually epiphytes — meaning that in nature, they attach to the trunks or branches of trees instead of growing in soil. But don’t call these beauties parasites; they derive no nutrients from their host and don’t harm it in any way.
Phalaenopsis Hwu-Ann Golden ‘Taida Honey’ offers a sunshiny splash.
This candy-colored cascade is right at home among the plentiful foliage.
Despite being tropical, orchids can get sunburned. In the wild you’ll find them under tree canopies; at home you’ll want to avoid placing them in direct sunlight.
How to Keep Your Moth Orchids Alive and Blooming
Despite being tropical, orchids can get sunburned. In the wild you’ll find them under tree canopies; at home you’ll want to avoid placing them in direct sunlight.
How to Keep Your Moth Orchids Alive and Blooming
Delightfully fragranced cane orchids (Dendrobium nobile) are native to China and Vietnam. At home, avoid putting them in large pots — they do better when the roots are a bit restricted.
Try Something Different With Dendrobiums
Try Something Different With Dendrobiums
A trio of pansy orchids (Miltoniopsis spp.) peeks out over a path. Although they’re as playful-looking as the garden pansies (Viola spp.) they resemble, the two aren’t related.
These pansy orchids seem to be having a little party. While the genus Miltoniopsis has only five wild species, hundreds of cultivars in a plethora of colors exist — certainly reason to celebrate!
Perhaps calling to mind an exotic creature more than elegant footwear, the lady slipper orchid (Cypripedium spp.) still turns heads. North American lady slippers are hardy terrestrial plants; some even poke their shoots up through the Alaskan snow in spring.
Paphiopedilum Hamana Samson x Hagrid is another type of slipper orchid, so named for its pouch. Paphiopedilums require lower light than some other types of orchids. Set them in an east-facing window if possible, or diffuse the light with a sheer curtain in windows facing other directions.
Slipper Orchid Success
Slipper Orchid Success
Poised among the waterlilies (Nymphaea ‘Wood’s White Knight’) and other year-round plants in this hall are more delightful moth orchids.
Photo from the New York Botanical Garden
This dancing lady orchid (Oncidium sp.) is sure to find a partner with her festive golden gown.
Frilly Oncidiums Dance Their Way to Center Stage
This dancing lady orchid (Oncidium sp.) is sure to find a partner with her festive golden gown.
Frilly Oncidiums Dance Their Way to Center Stage
Casting its own spell in the kaleidoscopic dance is Paphiopedilum Black Buddha x Spellbound.
It wouldn’t be a proper dance without corsages; enter the Asian corsage orchid (Cymbidium spp.). This genus is named after the Greek word for boat, kymbe, due to the hollowed-out shape of the lower lip.
Cymbidiums Add Beauty Indoors and Out
Cymbidiums Add Beauty Indoors and Out
Orchid festoons create quite the immersive experience. And while these are highly visible from afar, some orchids require strong eyesight even up close — for instance, “Platystele stenostachya, with hundreds of tiny yellow blooms smaller than the head of a pin,” Hachadourian says. “This tiny plant has a mound of foliage that could fit in the palm of your hand and never seems to be out of flower.”
This rainbow orchid (Vanda Tubtim Velvet x Suksamran Spots) has got the indigo slice of the rainbow covered with its gorgeous deep hue.
Inspired to try growing orchids yourself? “Some of the best advice I can give is to do a little research and choose the right plant for the conditions you have — ‘right plant, right place’ will get you off to a good start in getting orchids to thrive in your home,” Hachadourian says. “Other than that, I would also add do not be afraid to make mistakes. Keep trying, and with a little effort, some observation and the right care, orchids can thrive in just about any home.”
More on Houzz
How to Grow Orchids Indoors
Shop for indoor pots and planters
Find a landscape designer near you
More on Houzz
How to Grow Orchids Indoors
Shop for indoor pots and planters
Find a landscape designer near you
This year the conservatory’s galleries are brimming with about 5,500 orchids. And in case you’re wondering if they’ve all been grown at the NYBG, the answer is no.
“As much as we would love to be able to grow all of the plants for the exhibition, the thousands of plants required for these massive installations are beyond our greenhouse space,” says Marc Hachadourian, the NYBG’s director of glasshouse horticulture and senior curator of orchids. “We work with a network of specialty growers around the country from Hawaii, Florida, New York and New Jersey.”
Don’t worry that all of those exquisite blossoms will just get dumped in a compost heap after the show has ended, by the way. Many will be donated to help brighten the rooms of local nursing homes, senior centers and other organizations.