Not a month goes by when Elizabeth Curtis' lounge doesn't host a flowering orchid or two. But the addiction isn't hers. Husband Barry Curtis has more than 1000 orchids on their Rea Rd property near Katikati.
'I've been growing orchids for umm, well, back about 30 years or more,” says Barry.
'I collected a few from my dad and found they were actually very easy to grow, so bought some more! But joining an orchid club really opened my eyes to the world of orchids.”
The appeal? 'It is strange, orchid growers seem to just get bitten by the ‘bug', then start to buy another orchid here and a different orchid there and the collection grows.
'There are just so many orchids – generally people only think of the moth orchids, called phalaenopsis, cymbidiums or the slipper orchids, but when you get into growing there's a huge range of shapes, sizes and colours.”
So many varieties – with their differing needs for certain growing conditions – present real challenges to growers. Barry loves finally getting a new plant to flower. 'When they pop open they are pure pleasure, so I bring my flowering orchids into the house.
'Elizabeth is very pleased to see them when they flower – but she happily let's me look after the leafy ones out in the orchid house.”
Barry says thousands of orchids grow in countries around the world and we're so lucky to be able to grow most of them here in NZ, especially in the warmer areas of the North Island. 'We can successfully grow them in glass houses or shade houses without heat sources,” says the Tauranga Orchid Society president.
This week Barry's been gathering his flowers and his growing knowledge together ready for the Society's annual Tauranga Orchid Show on September 9-11 at Tauranga Racecourse, offering a large display of flowering orchids, plants for sale, expert advice, repotting demonstrations and much more.
'I spend three days at the show just speaking about growing orchids. People come with their queries and questions – and I chop up orchids and show people how to re-pot them,” says Barry. 'From there they get the idea they can take an orchid home and grow it, even in the garden under special circumstances – how you plant them and give them good drainage and keep them out of the bright sun.”
'Every lady who comes to the show is given a nice buttonhole, the popular posy bowls are for sale and there are raffles with interesting prizes.”
Barry says the beauty of an orchid flower is in how long it will last. 'It's not like a daffodil, which you put in a vase and three days later it's finished. An orchid in flower might last for three weeks or even more than a month.”
Tauranga Orchid Show is on September 9-11 at Tauranga Racecourse, Greerton, from 10am-4pm daily. Entry: adults $3, school-age children free. Eftpos available.