Orchid Show And Sale Blooms At Academy Of Natural Sciences
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Regardless of how your garden flowers are doing, a huge display of orchids begins today in Philadelphia.
The International Orchid Show and Sale, today through Sunday, will be at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, where they know a thing or two about the subject.
"The Academy has a huge collection of botanical specimens. Included among those are many orchids, and they even have the actual collection of all the plant specimens that were gathered buy the Lewis and Clark expedition."
Bob Sprague, co-chair of the show, says merchants will come from all over the world for this. Good thing, because orchids are almost everywhere.
"Orchids are a big part of the botanical world, with over 30,000 species growing on six continents, everywhere but Antarctica."
You can easily take home a stunning specimen, but Sprague warns care varies widely.
"Every orchid has a unique habitat niche -- the conditions of soil, water, aspect to the sun, wind, elevation and of course, the biggie is moisture. The bottom line is you have to know the origin of your orchid or the orchid's parents and duplicate those conditions."
Sprague says Phalaenopsis, also called the Moth Orchid, is a good bet for beginners because it likes the kind of habitat you're likely to have in your home already.
Sprague is hoping the new Academy venue will put the show in front of a wider audience.
For more information about the show, click here.
