"the owner of the business, Alan Koch. Approximately 5,000 varieties of orchids... grow in Gold Country Orchids in rural Lincoln. ... The orchid is the No. 1 flower, in terms of industry sales, Koch said. It's even more popular than roses. ... the orchid's show season... runs from the second week of January to the third week of May. ... "It started out as a backyard hobby for me," Koch said, "something to help relieve stress..." That was 1969... In 1978, Koch decided to get into the orchid business... he moved to Lincoln 18 years ago... Koch has approximately 5,000 varieties of orchids, about 200,000 plants total. "Almost 90 percent of the orchids in the greenhouse are my own breed," Koch said, adding he is the No. 1 breeder of miniature cattleyas in the world today. ... Perhaps the rarest orchid Koch owns is one that was growing near the Mt. Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines. "When the volcano blew (in 1991), it destroyed all of the habitat there," Koch said. "I had the chance to get an orchid from there. It's the only one in the world that I know of."
Properly cared for, Koch said orchids can live for 20 years or more. In fact, he noted he has an orchid that was made in England in 1886. It was brought to the U.S. in 1922 and is living in Koch's greenhouse." source : http://www.thepresstribune.com/articles/2006/05/17/news/business/01blooming.txt ********** regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
