Unusually heavy rains two months ago almost put a damper on the St. Croix Orchid Society’s annual show this weekend, but the brilliantly colored flowers came through.
According to Michelle Thurland-Martinez, president of the local growers’ group, the wet December weather had caused many plants to flower earlier than usual, and as recently as a week ago they were afraid there weren’t going to be enough blooms.
But when they went to collect plants for the show, Mother Nature had come through and enough plants had come through with new blossoms to turn Christiansted’s American Legion Hall into a riot of color, shapes and aromas.
Iliana Hannah, a society member, said 27 of the group’s 60 membes had put together displays for the show, featuring everything from small, dainty flowers of bright purple to massive, multi-colored blossoms clustered tightly together on slender stems.
It is that variety that is part of what makes orchids such a popular flower for hobbyists to grow, said Thurland-Martinez. There are some 32,000 species of orchids, making it the largest single family of flowering plants. There are more than four times more orchid species than species of mammals, more than twice as many as types of birds.
All of which means that when you visit an orchid show, there’s likely to be a surprise around every corner.
And a lot of ribbons, too. Orchids are judged by class, not species, but still with more than 100 classes of orchids possible, it was a rare booth that didn’t sport a ribbon of some kind.
The show was judged by visiting members of the American Orchid Society,
Ginnie Angus, a member of the St. Croix group who did not have any blossom’s in this year’s show, was enjoying the displays her fellow members had assembled.
“The quality and the quantity is every bit as good or better than the Miami show, or Fort Lauderdale,” she said.
Enthused, she began showing a newcomer the variety in one of her favorite classes of orchids, Paphiopedilum or “Paph." In these, the two lower petals are fused together in a sort of sack or pouch, giving them their colloquial name of “lady slippers.” From display to display, she pointed out the different sizes and colors.
Orchid growers become a bit obsessed with their hobby, and Angus said it’s easy to understand why.
“They’re peaceful and they’re beautiful,” she said. “And you’ll see so many different varieties. The colors, the shapes!”
The St. Croix Orchid Society’s 39th Annual Show opened Friday and will continue at the American Legion Hall Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
