Orchid obsession: Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania hosts special guest at annual spring show
More than 28,000 species of orchids bloom everywhere on earth except Antarctica, and hundreds of those delicate, colorful, perfectly symmetrical flowers will be on display and available for purchase this weekend during the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania’s annual spring show, “Orchid Obsession.”
“People think of orchids as being very elitist,” said Norma Raiff, co-chair of the spring show. “Orchids are for everyone.”
It’s no wonder the orchid at first intimidates. Orchids, which have graced the earth with their beauty for, by some calculations, an estimated 120 million years, have fascinated and mystified for centuries. Artists romanticized the flower in paintings and poetry (a piece by Korean philosopher Choi Chi-won is believed to be the first record of orchids in that country)/
Some orchid varieties were used to create fragrant perfumes; others were heralded for their healing properties. One, the Vanilla orchid genus, became a staple in baking, aromatherapy and perfume.
Humankind began cultivating the orchid in about 3000 B.C., and since then, orchid varieties have grown in king’s gardens and on windowsills in southwestern Pennsylvania homes.
“There’s something beautiful about an orchid. They’re interesting. They’re exotic,” said Sheila Nathanson, an award-winning orchid grower from Mt. Lebanon and co-chair of the spring show. “You don’t have to have a greenhouse. A lot of orchids are happy growing in your house, on your windowsill. It’s a very rewarding plant to grow. It’s just something you can do at all levels.”
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-ReporterIn this file photo from 2022, Sheila Nathanson, co-chair of the OSWP, poses amongst the orchids in her greenhouse at her Mt. Lebanon home. Nathanson will present “So… I Bought an Orchid. Now… What Do I Do?” at 3 p.m. both days of the annual orchid show.
Visitors with varying orchid experience will delight in the variety of plants available for admiration and purchase at “Orchid Obsession,” from vendors near and as far as Taiwan and Ecuador, who will set up inside the Crowne Plaza Suites at 164 Fort Couch Road, across from South HIlls Village mall, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 16, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 17.
“Most of the vendors bring unusual things that you’re unable to get anywhere else. It is a wonderful place to find unusual orchids,” Nathanson said.
The OSWP’s spring show is an official judge show for the American Orchid Society, which will be onsite throughout the event. Guests are encouraged to bring their cameras and photograph the displays set up between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday. Experts at the exhibit tables are always happy to share information on the orchids displayed and on growing and maintenance techniques.
Folks are also encouraged to bring their own orchids to the ever-popular repotting station, where OSWP members offer advice for keeping blooms alive while repotting the plants. Educational talks always draw large crowds, Raiff said, and this year, the OSWP welcomes two special guests: Dennis Whigham and Melissa McCormick, representatives from the Smithsonian’s North American Orchid Conservation Center and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
The Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania was founded by Mt. Lebanon’s Grete Evans in 1954. The annual spring show bloomed shortly after the society’s foundation, to share the joy and allure of orchids with other growers and the public. But this is the first time in the OSWP’s 70-year history that the Smithsonian will be onsite during its spring show.
“Their mission is to conserve North American orchids, native orchids. I think it’ll be a big draw, just the Smithsonian name … in Pittsburgh,” Nathanson said.
Both days, the Smithsonian’s Whigham and McCormick will host an exhibit table and offer information on orchid preservation.
“Orchid conservation is another facet of growing orchids that you first don’t think about,” said Janet Greenberg, OSWP treasurer and co-chair of the spring show, noting recent studies document the destruction of orchids in the wild. “If you’re out in the wild in Pennsylvania, and you see some exotic flowers, you realize later, that could have been an orchid. At meetings, sometimes somebody will show pictures of orchids growing in the wild, and I’ll think, ‘That’s the one I saw growing on the trail!'”
Whigham will cover how to spot those native orchids during his presentation, “Native Orchids in the U.S. and Canada” at 11 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. His lecture will be immediately followed by McCormick’s, “Our Native Orchids: Hidden Connections Below and Above Ground,” at noon.
“Our society has a longstanding interest in native orchids,” Raiff said, adding members venture deep into the woods every couple years to observe orchids in bloom. “People are interested in conservation. We’re hoping that this will be a great message for people to come see the show and learn something about conservation.”
Additional talks will be held throughout the two-day event, including an orchid care Q&A with OSWP member Nancy Klein at 2 p.m. both days. Nathanson will close out the lecture series with “So… I Bought an Orchid. Now… What Do I Do?” at 3 p.m. March 16 and 17.
“Each orchid species, or genera, has its own requirements. Some can be challenging,” Greenberg said. But, no matter how difficult or easy the orchid is to grow, she said, “I think the appeal is their beauty.”
Courtesy of Janet GreenbergThe OSWP’s display, arranged by members Carolyn Bolton, Carol Panza and Kathy Collins, won Best in Show at the Greater Akron Orchid Society spring show the first weekend in March.
Along with educational talks and dazzlingly beautiful displays, the OSWP will set up another important table at the event’s entrance: “We do plant parking,” said Greenberg. “When people go into the vendor room and buy orchids and come out, you cannot carry an orchid back into the exhibit room. Plant parking, it’s secure, we put their name on the front of a card and their phone number on the back.”
That way, folks can buy, and then continue browsing and learning. Orchid Obsessions visitors can also try their luck at the raffle table, where a winner is drawn every hour, and bid on orchid-related items, including a glass-blown lady slipper, at the silent auction table.
Visitors so inspired may also join the OSWP; last year, about 100 new members joined during the spring show, Greenberg said.
The Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania, a nationally recognized league, hopes to add a few more names to its roster this year. Membership includes monthly meetings, access to publications and speakers, and volunteer opportunities, like helping in the Orchid Room at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, which the OSWP maintains.
“We’re casting a broad net,” Raiff said.
The orchid curious and orchid obsessed alike are encouraged to attend one or both days of the OSWP’s spring show. Tickets are $5 at the door. OSWP members and guests under 18 are free.
For more information on the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania or this year’s spring show, visit https://www.oswp.org/.