By Cam Lucadou-Wells
More than 200 species of orchid will be on bloom at Berwick Orchid Society’s annual show.
Despite a difficult growing season, spokesman Murray Harding promised a spectacular display of up to 400 plants., including the native dendrobium speciosum.
The Devon Meadows grower said Melbourne’s winter had offered few minutes of necessary warmth, although many orchids were used to cool highland climes.
“There’s been reasonable temperatures during the day, but it has been only briefly.”
One of the member exhibitors is prize-winning grower Jonathan Lae, 16, who Mr Harding said “grows a pretty mean orchid”.
Jonathan recently won the champion junior grower award at Australia’s largest annual orchid show, the Melbourne Orchid Spectacular.
He said it was not too hard to grow a prize-winning cymbidium – just add fertiliser at the right time and shelter them from Melbourne’s weather under shadecloth.
He has been growing for the past three years, inspired by his mother’s interest at the orchid club.
By showtime, he hoped to have his best examples of speciosum ready.
The orchid show includes morning and afternoon teas, floral art displays, growing accessories and plant-care demonstrations. Several flowering orchids will be up for grabs in a raffle.
The show is at Berwick Senior Citizens Hall, 112 High Street, Berwick on 23 and 24 September, 9am-4pm. It has been sponsored by Berwick Pottery for the past 26 years.
