Name Your Own Orchid
Just like naming a star - This makes a great gift!
The naming of orchid hybrids dates back nearly 150 years when the first cross pollinations took place. Breeders would select two species parents with desirable traits, put them together, culture the seeds, grow the plants at least 5 years until they bloomed, and hope for improved strains. In the jungle where the epiphytes are native to, insects perform the hybridizing duties.
In the 1940’s, a tradition began in the United States in which First Ladies had Cattleya orchids named after them. At that time, corsages were at their peak of fashion and women everywhere wore orchids to glamorous events. Several decades later, public interest in orchids started changing from cut flowers to pot plants and, today, orchids are the #1 grown houseplant having recently overtaken poinsettias, chrysanthemums, and African violets.
Chadwick’s has continued the First Lady tradition by naming Cattleya orchids after the four most recent administrations – Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Barbara Bush – and personally presented the flowers to the honored recipients. Other female celebrities to have received their namesake hybrids from Chadwick’s include Martha Stewart, Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher, and Tipper Gore.
Chadwick’s has hundreds of orchids in production at all times in preparation for celebrity presentations. A percentage of these are made available to the general public in a program called ‘Name Your Own Orchid.' For a $1500 fee, the entire cross of seedlings will be officially registered under any name you choose (pending approval by the Royal Horticultural Society) with a certificate of authenticity. Up to 20 blooming size specimens will also be provided, each with the new botanical name printed on the label. Pictures of the flowers are made available if the recipient would like to see the orchid ahead of time. Three genera are available to choose from – Cattleya (Corsage), Paphiopedilum (Lady Slipper), and Phalaenopsis (Moth) and typical colors are whites, pinky/purples, and yellows.
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