"large orchid nursery in Maaleh Hahamisha... Sandy Kaye... two weeks ago... arrived in Ra'anana as a new immigrant from New Jersey, where she left behind an orchid collection.... Kaye... has come to purchase the orchid that will launch her new collection. ... phalaenopsis... common in Israel. In the U.S. she had oncidium...
The hothouse used to belong to... Yitzhak Navat , a veteran kibbutz member, who made the orchid his life's work... Israelis cannot get enough of the plants. In recent years the local orchid market has constantly expanded. Most of the plants are imported from Holland. They are sold not only in nurseries but in florist shops and grocery stores as well. Last year, Utopia, a botanical garden in Kibbutz Bahan in Emek Hefer, opened its doors with 500 species... The Sahlavim BaSharon nursery in Rishpon, owned by Itzik Ben Yair and Tami Sharon... a collection of thousands of orchids. Most are common species, sold at average prices, but there are also rare blooms that cost thousands of shekels. The place offers beginning and advanced courses, as well as seeding lessons. This is one of the only nurseries in the world where orchids are seeded [!?] by a complex process in sterile laboratory conditions, a skill that Ben Yair, 57, an engineer by profession, acquired in Florida. ... From 240 to 300 Israelis, he estimates, have home hothouses... Aracadi Gaydamak. For a party he threw recently in honor of the Chelsea soccer team, he bought 600 orchids... an employee in the Yoshko family store in Moshav Udim... calls the customers "patients .... They come to me trembling, they have pictures of their orchids in their wallets. I make a living from crazy people... I promised myself that when I retire I'll do an anthropological study of orchid collectors." ... Anyone who doesn't have patience can't grow orchids.... In summer, the air conditioner contributes another 70 liters [water] a day... the Israeli Orchid Society's annual hike. The members of the society usually travel together to exhibitions all over the world, and meet on Fridays at the nursery in Rishpon for what is called the "congress." They have no problem with hiking on a rainy day. After all, they had a purpose: to find wild orchids." article [looooooooong] URL : http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/834856.html ************ Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
