‘Orchid Obsession’: Rare and unusual plants on display at annual orchid show
Carolyn Bolton's namesake orchid, "Cymbidium Carolyn Smith Bolton," in her home collection
The "Cymbidium Carolyn Smith Bolton" in the Phipps Conservatory collection
One of OSWPA member David Motak's many orchid growing areas in his home
This orchid variety is entitled rossioglossum grande
The rossioglossum grande, native to Mexico and South America, is one of several orchid species colloquially known as tiger orchids.
This flower is called beallara marfitch or "Howard's Dream"
The International Orchid Society notes that beallara marfitch is a hybrid plant first crafted in 1983.
This orchid is a brassocattleya hippodamia Small World, a complicated name for a vibrant plant.
The International Orchid Foundation notes that the zygopetalum Jumpin Jack is a hybrid plant first grown in 1996.
When Carolyn Bolton became a member of the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania in 1983, she said her goal was “to have something in bloom all the time.” Something is always in bloom in her considerable collection of orchids in her home in Jefferson Hills Township. She has three basement rooms filled with orchids, amounting to more than 600 plants.
She is among the members of the Orchid Society who will display their impressive blooms at OSWPA’s 2023 Orchid Show, “Orchid Obsession,” on March 18 and 19 at The Crowne Plaza Hotel on Fort Couch Road in Upper St. Clair. Admission is $5, free for guests under the age of 18. Doors open at 9 a.m. each day.
The National Garden Bureau chose the orchid as “House Plant of the Year” for 2023. But for some of these orchid growers, the orchid has been, well, an obsession for many years.
Longtime member Jim Yamber became smitten with orchids at an early age while watching Saturday morning television shows in 1955. “While other kids were watching cartoons, I was watching the Farm Report,” he said. One morning he saw the director of Phipps Conservatory talking about orchids, and he was hooked. Yamber saved to purchase Rebecca Northen’s book “Home Orchid Growing” for $10, and his mother had a fit, he said. “You’ve wasted all of your allowance on something you will never keep interest in,” he recalls her telling him. Sixty-five years later, he has an amazing collection of orchids and has become a wealth of knowledge regarding these plants that grow on trees, in crevices and in soil all over the world.
Bolton’s orchids are divided by room according to their lighting and temperature needs. Some are under 3000-watt LED lights, like the cattleya, vandas and oncidiums. The paphiopedilum and phragmipedium are under lower-watt LED lights, and in the “cold room,” she keeps the cymbidiums. Among the cymbidium orchids is a variety that bears her name. The “Cymbidium Carolyn Smith Bolton” was hybridized by a grower from California who visited Pittsburgh twice and spoke to the Society while Bolton served as an officer. On his second visit, he brought seven specially named plants for Bolton. She gave two of the plants to Phipps Conservatory, several to friends and kept three varieties for her own collection.
Yamber has spent many years growing and gathering orchids, sometimes in hazardous places. As a young man in the U.S. Navy, Yamber spent his shore leave while docked in the Philippines looking for orchids in the jungle as his fellow service members headed into town. When he brought the plants back aboard the ship to bring home, he said the inspecting officer looked at him “cross-eyed” but never said anything. In the early 1970s, he was part of a three-week orchid gathering trip to South America and remembers collecting orchids at heights of 20,000 feet during snow flurries. On that trip, one of his companions fell nearly 2,000 feet down the side of a mountain and had to be carried to safety.
Like Yamber, Bolton’s passion for growing orchids has led to lifelong friendships in the Orchid Society and travel opportunities. She recently visited Hawaii and a few large orchid growers, shipping several dozen Hawaiian orchid plants back to Pittsburgh to share with society members over the holidays.
This year the Orchid Society show organizers have broadened vendor participation and invited international orchid vendors Ten Shen Gardens from Taiwan and Ecuagenera from Ecuador. “Adding these two vendors provides us with the opportunity to offer orchids directly from Southeast Asia and South America, which is a new concept for us, one that we hope will be a popular addition to this year’s show,” said Norma Raiff, member of OSWP’s planning committee. These vendors fill a void left during COVID; some of the smaller American orchid growers ceased operation with some of the growers retiring, according to Raiff. She said that this presented the organization with a challenge to maintain the high quality of the show with a decreasing number of available vendors. “Our attendees are accustomed to seeing a variety of quality vendors offering a wide range of high-quality plants,” Raiff said. Along with the international vendors, rounding out the scope of the show are regional vendors, including Windswept in Time Orchids and Mayfield Village Orchids, both from Ohio; Wade’s Orchids and Kelley’s Corner Orchid Supplies from Pennsylvania as well as Woodstream Orchids from Maryland.
In addition to displays, the vendor area will feature plants perfect for beginners and a large selection of rare and unusual orchids for more adventurous growers.
Guests can bring their own plants from home and visit the repotting table for expert repotting and growing tips from OSWP members. The price for repotting a 6-inch plant or less is $5, and larger repotting will be priced case-by-case. Advice is free.
There will be free educational seminars offered throughout both days of the show, and society members, along with expert orchid growers, will be available to give first-hand information about orchid cultivation. Guests can even win a plant with hourly raffles of orchid plants and orchid-related items or bid on a silent auction item.
For more information about the orchid show, orchids and the OSWPA, visit www.oswp.org.