World's orchid growers gather in Singapore
MANILA, Philippines - The 20th World Orchid Conference, with the theme ‘Where New and Old World Orchids Meet,” was held on Nov. 13 at the Expo Center of Marina Bay Sands Casino and Hotel in Singapore, and featured exhibits from participating countries from around the world. The exhibits were thoughtfully executed and lavishly adorned with some of the most colorful and interesting orchid species and hybrids.
Prime among the many orchids on display was Dendrobium lasianthera, a New Guinean species exhibited by Neo Cheng Soon Farm of Singapore and winner of the Best Species Orchid Award. A magnificent, albinistic plant of Vanda lamellata won the Best Specimen Plant, and was displayed by the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Cycnodes Taiwan Gold ‘Orchis,’ shown by Orchis Floriculturing Inc. of Taiwan, walked away with two highly coveted awards — the Best Hybrid and Grand Champion Plant awards.
Jim Cootes, author of Philippine Native Orchid Species, with Cora Purificacion Of special note among hybrids were three that were launched specifically for the occasion. One was VIP Orchid Paravanda Nelson Mandela, a yellow-flowered cross between Vanda Mas Los Angeles and Paraphalaenopsis labukensis. The other hybrid orchid of distinction is Doritaenopsis Sir Elton John. For the launching of this hybrid, Sir Elton John graced the occasion, with the prestigious ceremony preceded over by the Chairman of the 20th WOC Organising Committee, Dr. Kiat W. Tan. The Orchid Society of South East Asia on the other hand prepared a display highlighted by Renanthera 20th WOC Singapore 2011, the official flower of the event.
Worth mentioning here is a gold medal received by our very own Jay-R Higuit Villalobos in the Ikebana-Windows category.
The World Orchid Conference, perhaps above all else, is an event where papers concerning a wide variety of subjects pertaining to orchids are presented. Many of the topics are technical in nature, and were presented by some of the world’s luminaries in orchidology, with topics like Scientific Session, Darwin and Orchid Pollination Symposium, and Computer and Database Resources Symposium.
Adjacent to the exhibit area was the well attended marketplace with 79 stalls from 17 countries. Apart from orchid booths, there were booths that featured fashion products, promoted tourism and events, such as from Australia (by the Australian Orchid Council), Singapore (for the Singapore Garden Festival to be held next year in July) and South Africa (Johannesburg will be the host for the 21st WOC in 2014).
The Indonesian exhibit Not surprisingly, Singapore spearheaded as far as number of participants was concerned, with 33 booths occupied. Taiwan, with its very well developed horticulture industry, made its presence felt with a total of 17 participating enterprises. Five came from Malaysia, and despite the cataclysmic events that deluged many of Thailand’s burgeoning nurseries, four were able to join for the event. For many, Borneo Exotic’s (Sri Lanka) decision to not sell plants and instead promote their upcoming business ventures proved to be rather disappointing from a hobbyists’ point of view, but the public’s thirst for carnivorous plants was amply filled by Malesiana Tropicals (Malaysia), with its wide array of tissue-cultured Nepenthes species and hybrids, Cephalotus (Australian pitcher plants), Heliamphora (the so-called marsh pitchers native to high altitude tepuis in South America) and seeds from uncommonly available palms. Terrascapes (Singapore) was a jewel of a store, because despite of the small size of their stall, it was filled with well-grown Begonia species, tillandsias (air plants) and carnivorous plants (Drosera, Nepenthes and Pinguicula). Rainforest Flora (USA), with its spacious stall occupying two booths and manned by no less than Paul Isley (author of highly informative Tillandsia books) and a very knowledgeable staff, proved to be one of the most visited- no doubt bolstered by their wide array of Tillandsia species and hybrids, and the ease of care that makes these plants attractive to people. Peruflora (Peru), bannered by spectacular flowering specimens of Catasetum, Coryanthes and Masdevallia, Mundiflora (Ecuador), with their attractively priced species orchids, anthuriums and columneas, and the various stalls from Malaysia and Thailand with orchid rarities like Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis, B. fletcherianum, B. purpureorachis, Chiloschista, the blue-flowered Cleisocentron merrillianum, Dendrobium fytchianum, D. lowii, jewel orchids (Anoectochilus, Dossinia, Erythrodes, Goodyera and Macodes), Madagascan Oeceoclades, Paphiopedilum species, variegated Phaius tancarvilleae, the leafless Vanilla aphylla and countless other botanical orchid oddities provided a constant source of interest to serious collectors.
Without a doubt, one of the best sellers was Ecuador’s Ecuagenera. They offered a very wide range of miniature orchids conveniently segregated by species in plastic cups and usefully specified -for customers- as either warm or cool-growing. Among their delightful offerings were orchid species from Cattleya, Dracula, Epidendrum, Lepanthes, Pleurothallis, Porroglossum, Psychopsis and Rodriguezia.
Our very own Purificacion Orchids was also a well-visited store. Various people from different nationalities stopped by to inquire for available plants and import prerequisites, and others for a chat. Being the only store there that specializes in Philippine plants, Purificacion Orchids was an altogether different flavor in the marketplace and its orchid offerings was augmented by its hoyas, platyceriums (stag-horn ferns), succulents and tillandsias that no other store in the vicinity offered.
Singapore’s aims to promote its country through lenient and open trade via the staging of a truly world-class show in an environment that was totally safe and friendly to visitors paid dividends for its tourism industry.
