"New Plymouth's George Fuller... six decades ago... George... sailed for England on a cargo ship, working during the voyage to pay for his passage. He'd wanted to learn about growing orchids and there was not much available in New Zealand at the time. In England, he took a job at a well-known orchid nursery...
returned to New Zealand in 1964, after stints in Sweden and Malta... joined the staff at Pukekura Park in 1965 after being appointed to help care for the Fred Parker orchid collection. A year on, he was promoted to the curator's position... George retired in 1990 from his official role, but remains a dedicated plantsman and is still passionate about orchids. He has a collection of 1500 orchids at... New Plymouth home. ... Dracula robeldrum [robledorum], has spiky hairs over its petals and deep, dark blotches, while Dracula vampira Midnight Moonlight is almost black, also hairy and has stripes. ... Dracula's gorgon [gorgona] and gorgonella, from Colombia. ... Some of George's favourites are pleione orchids, which grow in quite cool conditions in the Himalayas from India to Taiwan, high enough up so they sometimes have a covering of snow in winter. "As the snow melts... they start to flower." They are also known as crocus orchids, as their flowers look quite like crocuses. These emerge from dormant corms at the end of winter, before the plant grows its leaves. Some of them grow on the ground, others perch partway up trees. "There are some growing in trees in Pukekura Park, incidentally," George adds. In 2007, a pleione orchid he bred was named orchid of the year by the Orchid Council of New Zealand. It goes by the.... name of Pleione Veli Wackernagel "Wow" ['Wow']... bright magenta colour and lavish lacy frill around the edge of its trumpet. Another of the pleiones George has bred is named after Doris. It has a flower that is a rosy pink with reddish mottling on the trumpet and the same lacy edge to it. These orchids are quite easy for beginners to grow, particularly as they need no care other than a dry storage space for three months each year. ... "... When the shoot is 30 millimetres long, they are three weeks away from flowering... Australian orchids grow well here as the climate is similar enough to some parts of Australia for them to flourish" URL : http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dailynews/4656293a6551.html *********** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
