Wind Dancer Orchids

Diversity of the flowers
fascinated Bernie Huizing
Thursday, March 25, 1999

Bernie Huizing has loved to raise plants since he was 14, but is especially entranced by the exotic beauty of orchids.

He bought his first one 20 years ago and fell head over heels, resulting in the greenhouse of 1,500 plants he has today, and his business, Wind Dancer Orchids, which he runs from his Coalhurst home.

It's the diversity of the flowers that fascinates him, he says.

"Some are the size of a thimble, some grow to 15 or 20 feet (4 ½ to six meters). The flowers come in a variety of shapes and colors. Some are quite bizarre."

There are more than 30,000 species of orchids and they grow everywhere in the world except in the arctic and in the deserts, Huizing says.

Eighteen varieties are native to Alberta.

From the naturally occurring varieties, hundreds of thousands of hybrids have been developed. No wonder Huizing canUt single out any particular one as his favorite.

His specialty, however, is a type of ladyslipper orchid.

Although not everyone is as devoted to orchids as he is, Huizing wants people to know anyone can raise orchids at home.

"I'd like to get rid of the misconception that all orchids are difficult to grow," he says. "Some are difficult, but some can be grown just like African violets or any household plant. They just need as much humidity as possible."

Some orchids can even be grown outdoors, although the clay-based soil here would need to be supplemented with humus, he says.

"You find more orchids outside in Calgary and north because there is more snow to cover them and protect them in the winter and no chinooks."

Depending on the variety and conditions, orchids may flower all year, but most bloom for three or four months, Huizing says.

And he has one variety that blooms for only three days once a year.

While their colors and shapes make them attractive, fragrance is not a widespread feature among orchids, Huizing says.

Some are fragrant only at night or only early in the morning. One type smells like rotting flesh, so it will attract flies as pollinators, but obviously itUs not popular as a houseplant.

Each year more natural species of orchids are discovered, Huizing says.

"When China first opened to the Western world in 1979, five species were discovered or rediscovered. One was butter yellow, another was green and smelled like raspberries. A brilliant red one was discovered recently in South America. Four or five new species were discovered in Vietnam. These discoveries open a whole new door in the world of hybridization."

Many hybrid orchids have pedigrees so people can trace their lineage, Huizing says. As a result, a ladyslipper, for example, may cost $5,000.

Huizing has heard of one orchid being sold for $100,000.

However, the average person can buy a plant of good quality starting at $25.

Orchids will be on sale from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the atrium of the Park Place Shopping Center during a show put on by the Chinook Country Orchid Society, for which Huizing is secretary.

The Society will also have displays at the Nikko Yuko Garden this summer since the public response to a display there last year was so positive, Huizing says.

Huizing was one of the founders of the society 13 years ago. Today the group has about 25 members who come from communities throughout southern Alberta to meet once a month at the Agriculture Canada Research Station.

For more information on the society or the show and sale, call Huizing at (403) 381-0303 or e-mail wdancer@telusplanet.net

Other questions, contact the writer at hicksonj@telusplanet.netor call (403) 328-4411.