Orchids: cultivation and sustainability – iO Donna

Wagner writes surrounded by his botanical orchids, which fill his home in Zoagli by the hundreds. For him «Having an orchid is a way to participate in the biodiversity of the Earth. When I look at them, originating from Madagascar or Brazil, I know they are like flags of a part of the world. If they exist, those forests, that country, those colors also exist. I am not exaggerating, it would be enough to know that half of the species listed in CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, are orchids. That’s why I always say: as long as there are orchids, there is hope».

A passion that consumes (in every sense)

And orchids, at least in number, there seem to be more and more. What began in the mid-nineteenth century as an elitist hunt for botanical jewels on behalf of wealthy English nobles is today within everyone’s reach. Of course, between the tropical specimens and the mass-produced jar of Phalaenopsisname of Greek derivation which indicates the resemblance to the moth, which we find in the supermarket there is a colossal difference, but the passion for orchids (all of them) puts Italians among the first in Europe.

Suffice it to say among the 80 million orchids (90 percent Phalaenopsis) produced every year in Holland, the king country of the large-scale market, more than a third are destined for us. We who count dozens of associations of doc enthusiasts, local and national (one above all theItalian Association of Orchidology); and that we have no equal in the number of events, fairs, exhibitions in which we participate with enthusiasm (see box on the following page). A passion that is now starting to become more aware, to ask for something more about this mysterious flower, an emblem despite itself of a wild globalization that has lowered its prices by bringing it everywhere, but which is starting to show the first cracks. It is a few months ago the news that the largest orchid grower in the world, the Dutch SO Natural, where SO stands for Small Orchids, a due to the costs of the energy needed to heat the greenhouses and emissions, he decided to stop growing and abandon the company. As if to say that the environmental impact of such a cultivation is becoming unsustainable. And that the era of the disposable orchid may be running out of time.

The ecological way of orchids

So what to do? In order to grow, the orchid needs its natural habitat to be artificially reproduced, and our hyper-heated houses which have welcomed so many Phalaenopsis I am proof of that. But is it really so? “That’s true for very commercial orchids,” he says Viviana Lorenzini, one of the few women in a world, that of orchidophiles, dominated by men. In his nursery The Box of Mist in Barbarasco, in the province of Massa, he grows rare orchids and botanical species from South America, such as the various ones Cattleya, Stanhopea or Catasetum. «I recently returned from Brazil and I discovered that it can also be grown between 18 and 23 degrees. Not all orchids are created equalThe Cymbidium, for example, it can also be kept outside with minimal temperatures. This year I have chosen to go down to 10 degrees: of course, by raising the temperatures I would have greater growth and flowering and therefore easier sales, but I try to get along with nature. I do not use fungicides or pesticides and on the other hand, with correct cultivation, the plant itself does not need it. When they suffer, I recover them with sphagnum therapy, a reservoir in natural moss».

They also dropped by two degrees in the South Tyrolean greenhouses of Barbara Raffeiner, a sort of tropical paradise in which 250 species of rare orchids unique in Europe triumph. The only example in Italy, it now has a production that is 80 percent energy self-sufficient: «We only irrigate with rainwater, since this autumn we have had a photovoltaic system for light, whose consumption we had already halved with the use of new LED lamps, and for heating, no gas, only wood chips and pellets». Respect for the environment is found in plant care: «We follow the whole cycle, from meristem cloning in our laboratories to flowering: in the end we keep them in the greenhouse for six months longer, and we have healthier and more vigorous plants. To combat orchid-loving consumerism, there is a need to increase botanical knowledge, because if you understand that an orchid, before being purchased, needs to be looked after for at least five years, you are ready to recognize its value». Even outside the greenhouses.

Keepers of blooms

There is a thin thread that unites the “noble” orchids with the spontaneous ones. The same Lombard Association of Orchid Amateursthe oldest, founded 41 years ago by a group of collectors from Varese who have scoured the globe to bring rare specimens to Italy, has joined LIFEorchids, a project co-financed by the European Union which aims to safeguard around eighty species that color our meadows. “Orchids are bioindicators of soil quality and the impact of climate change,” he says Giovanna Garrone, LIFEorchids project manager. «They have such a connection with the ecosystem that if the balance of the environment is lost, they disappear. That’s why we wanted to restore the ideal habitat for their survival by creating eight micro-reserves in the Piedmontese Po Park and in the Portofino Park, to then repopulate them with nine species, including the rare Orchis patens, present only in the Genoese area. However, the part of the project that has been most successful is that of the “custody agreements”. Farms, municipalities, private citizens have responded enthusiastically to the call that wanted them to be participants and protagonists in the land management to ensure that they repopulate with these flowers. Today there are hundreds and all have expressed the desire to continue even after the end of the project, scheduled for August 2023″.

Orchids also color the high mountain meadows

There is the hazelnut producer near Chiavari. In the Asti area, there is a retired couple who uprooted a vineyard and spontaneously reintroduced plants to recreate the original biodiversity, and today, Anna and Lorenzo Reverdito, in the grounds of their home in Calamandrana, in the province of Asti, found themselves with a dozen species of orchids and hundreds of specimens. And there is Rosella Rocchetti, a former bookseller from Seveso who moved to Cartosio (Alessandria) to create his organic agricultural enterprise, Roccabianca farmhouse: by varying the fertilization timing and limiting the mowing of the vine to respect the blooms, he has seen the orchids return and multiply. Prairies that recolor themselves, as in the Langhe and Roerowhere there are several municipalities that are “friends of orchids”, from Bra to Castiglione Tinella, which at the end of April organizes a walk through the vineyards up to the Bosco delle Badie to enjoy the flowering of the Orchis Purpurea.

But also pastures that bloom unexpectedly. Because if the orchids are sentinels of the climateis at high altitude, as taught by the team of botanists of Rovereto Civic Museum Foundation, national references for Alpine floristic cartography, that the most surprising finds take place. At 3,150 meters of Lobbia Alta in the Adamello-Brenta natural park, in Trentino, the altitude record of the wild Coeloglossum viridebut also the 1,800 meters of altitude of the Hammarbya in Alta Val di Non Trentino, testify to the resurgence of marsh orchids and their resilience. Because even from up there these flowers send us a message of protection of biodiversity. That yes, to be seized.

Where to see orchids

From March to May the events dedicated to orchids are concentrated, to then resume between September and October. Here are the most important

Exhibition Market of Orchids. At the Fornace di Asolo, on 11 and 12 February, the Triveneta Amateur Orchidee Association is organizing an international exhibition of botanical orchids and tropical plants. info: [email protected]

National Orchid Exhibition.From 24 to 26 March, at FICO Eataly World near Bologna, an event that promotes knowledge of the botanical and environmental heritage of orchids. The major Italian associations were present. info: fico.it

Orchids at Piovera Castle. From March 31st to April 2nd, a new and prestigious appointment for botanical orchid enthusiasts in the Alessandria countryside. Info: castellodipiovera.it Orchids from around the world. From 14 to 16 April, in the small town of Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), one of the most characteristic international events, which in three days brings up to 50,000 visitors to the narrow streets of this village. Info: common. monteporziocatone.rm.it

Orchid Show. In Asso, in the Como area, on 25 June, a new exhibition for real orchid lovers. Info: assarchidshow.com Varese Orchidea Organized in September by the Lombard Orchid Amateurs Association at the Agricola Home&Garden garden, it attracts amateurs from all over the world. ALAO also periodically organizes guided tours of the Orchidee space at the Liberty greenhouses of Villa Litta in Lainate. info: alao.it

Jacquard garden. On 23 and 24 September, in the ex Lanerossi industrial archeology of Schio, Vicenza, the most important Italian, European and non-European exhibitors. Info: jacquard garden orchids. weebly.com OrchidsDEA. On 14 and 15 October, in collaboration with the Italian Orchid Association, at the Vivai Mati 1909 in Pistoia, orchids and rare plants from all over the world, Info: Piantamati.com

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