Orchid appreciation is so widespread in our time that it is diffcult to picture a world without these marvelous flowers. However, not very long ago, the people of the so-called civilized world were completely ignorant of the overwhelming majority of orchid species.

Europeans of course knew about their local orchid types, such as the exuberant Bee Orchid. But knowledge of the many splendid tropical orchids had to await the results of explorations into the jungles and mountains of South America and the eastern Indies. Even then, specimens only slowly wended their way to England and the rest of Europe.

Possibly the first living orchid to find its way from the tropics to England was an Epidendrum cochleatum, one of the more showy of its genus. It flowered in London in the year 1787. Another species from the same orchid family was brought in to England in 1778. It took ten years for its caretakers to bring forth flowers from it.

Admiral William Bligh, of Mutiny on the Bounty fame, brought 15 species of epiphytal orchids native to West Indies in the early 1790s. These were put on display at the famous Kew Gardens in London. For many years thereafter the West Indies, along with India, were the main sources of tropical orchids in Europe. In 1793, however, a species of Oncidium was carried to England from Panama, followed a few years later by orchids from Uruguay.

By 1818, Brazil in partcular was contributing to what had become a steady stream of orchids back to England and other countries of Europe. By 1830 the Royal Horticultural Society had sent representatives traveling throughout Brazil looking for unusual species.

The orchid trade soon evolved into a serious profit making endeavor, with businessmen in Brazil making arrangements with their London counterparts to send plants to England to be resold there. William Harrison, a merchant living in Rio de Janeiro in the 1830s and 1840s, shipped many beautiful orchids to his brother Richard in Liverpool. Richard’s house quickly became a magnet for orchid enthusiasts who journeyed there to see the latest arrivals.

Introducing orchids to Europe was one thing, but cultivating them successfully proved quite another. For more than half a century England was known as the grave of tropical orchids. The plants that survived did so in spite of rather than because of the handling they received. Growers continuing experimenting and making mistakes until, by about 1850, they had largely figured out the art of orchid cultivation. That is when the orchid craze really took off, because now the knowledge was available by which even non-botanists could grow these stunning plants.

Knowledge of successfully growing orchids has increased during the intervening years and today we know so much more than did those Victorian enthusiasts. We also have, of course, better technology to assist us in the greenhouse and garden.

The most thorough guide to expert orchid cultivation, I have found, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded from the web. Mr. Howard’s guide is a complete course in itself, appropriate for neophytes as well as those more experienced. Also, visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing library of articles on all facets of orchid cultivation.

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