As the 2016 Hilo Orchid Society Orchid Show and Sale approaches, students in professor William Sakai’s floriculture and orchid production class at the University of Hawaii at Hilo recently took a field trip to local commercial orchid grower The OrchidWorks in Hakalau.
As the 2016 Hilo Orchid Society Orchid Show and Sale approaches, students in professor William Sakai’s floriculture and orchid production class at the University of Hawaii at Hilo recently took a field trip to local commercial orchid grower The OrchidWorks in Hakalau.
Hawaii Island is the center of the orchid-growing industry in the state, with vast opportunities for students to learn about orchids and how they are grown.
Ken Armour, proprietor of The OrchidWorks, showed the students many different kinds of orchids. He also showed examples of the orchid life cycle, from pollination to seedpods to tiny seedlings in glass flasks to plants in pots, a process that takes several years until the orchids reach blooming size.
Blooming orchids grown by The OrchidWorks and many other Big Island orchid growers will be on display and available for sale at the upcoming orchid show and sale. The largest orchid show in the state will take place June 3-5 at Edith Kanaka‘ole Stadium in Hilo.
For more information about orchids and the show, visit www.hiloorchidsociety.org.